Demise of Commodore Corporation

BUS 366 – Project 1 Innovation/Demise

Commodore Corporation

“Computers for the masses, not the classes” is the punch line that Commodore Corporation was based on. Commodore Corporation was a home computer and electronics manufacturer that operated between 1954 and 1994 and was founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore Corporation did succeed in developing and revolutionizing the market, however, their failure to recognize the emergence of competitors and technology ultimately led to their demise.

As previously mentioned, the company was founded in 1954 by Jack Tramiel, an immigrant from Poland. Tramiel moved to Toronto in 1955 after locking up a deal to manufacture his original design in Canada. His original endeavor was typewriters. In the early 1960’s, Tramiel began making adding machines. During this time he also took his company public on the New York Stock Exchange. Heading into the 1970’s and 1980’s, Commodore had revolutionized the market and became a dominant company. By this time Tramiel’s company was playing a vital role in the development of the personal computer industry. In 1984, Tramiel and his company had developed and successfully marketed the world’s best-selling desktop computer. This successful desktop computer was named Commodore 64. In 1985 he released his answer to the Apple Macintosh and the Atari ST; He called it the Commodore Amiga 1000.

The Commodore Amiga 1000 was not an instant success. John C. Dvorak, the former editor of InfoWorld magazine and writer of Inside Track, InfoWorld’s industry news column wrote in a 1985 issue that the Amiga was a “cheap disposable” game machine. Bruce Weber, considered an expert on information technology, said that Amiga sold about 150,000 units the first year, and imagine how many they could have sold if it were marketed correctly. Several years later, Tom Halfhill of BYTE wrote: “The Amiga was far ahead of its time that almost nobody could fully articulate what it was all about. Today...