kids encyclopedia robot

Commodore VIC-20 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Commodore VC20 Logo.jpg
Commodore-VIC-20-FL.jpg
Type Home computer
Release date 1980 (VIC-1001) / 1981
Introductory price US$299.95 (equivalent to $909.57 in 2022)
Discontinued January 1985; 40 years ago (1985-01)
Operating system Commodore KERNAL/
Commodore BASIC 2.0
CPU MOS Technology 6502 @ 1.108404 MHz (PAL) @ 1.02 MHz (NTSC)
Memory 20 KB ROM + 5 KB RAM (expandable to 32 KB), 3.5 KB for BASIC (expandable to 27.5 KB)
Graphics VIC 176 x 184 3-bpp
Sound 3 × square, 1 × noise, mono.
Predecessor Commodore PET
Successor Commodore 64

The VIC-20 was an early home computer made by Commodore Business Machines. It was one of the first computers many families owned. The VIC-20 was first announced in 1980. It came out about three years after Commodore's first computer, the PET. This computer was special because it was the very first computer of any kind to sell over one million units!

The Commodore VIC-20 used a special chip called a 6502 CPU. This chip worked like the computer's brain, running at about 1 MHz. The computer had 5KB of RAM, which is like its short-term memory. However, users could only use about 3.5KB for their own programs. The VIC-20 did not have a built-in way to save information permanently. Instead, you could save your programs onto regular audio tapes. Later, you could also use 5.25-inch floppy disks. Commodore stopped making the VIC-20 in early 1985.

The Rise and Fall of a Computer Star

Commodore VIC-20 Tietokonemuseo
A VIC-20 computer in a museum

In 1982, the VIC-20 was incredibly popular. It was the best-selling computer of that year. About 800,000 machines were sold. By the end of 1982, over one million VIC-20 computers had been sold. At one point, Commodore was making 9,000 units every single day!

However, things started to change that summer. Commodore introduced a new computer called the Commodore 64. This new machine was much more powerful. It had 64 KB of RAM, which was a lot more than the VIC-20. It also had much better sound and graphics.

At first, sales of the Commodore 64 were slow. There were some problems with how reliable it was. Also, there weren't many games or programs for it yet. But by the middle of 1983, many more programs became available. This caused the sales of the VIC-20 to drop very quickly. The VIC-20 was quietly stopped from being made in January 1985.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Commodore VIC-20 para niños

kids search engine
Commodore VIC-20 Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.