January 8, 1987 was a good day for the Commodore Amiga. It was the day the Amiga came into its own, when Commodore introduced the Amiga 500 and Amiga 2000 models at CES.
The Amiga’s initial promise
The original Amiga, rechristened the Amiga 1000, was a promising computer but it had an identity crisis. The first Amiga tried to be all things to all people and fell frustratingly short.
It was bigger than a typical home computer of 1985 but not big enough to qualify as a big box computer. It was stuck in the middle like the IBM PCjr, with similarly awkward options for expansion.
And the price was stuck in the middle too. It cost less than an Apple Macintosh, but the Atari ST seriously undercut it in price. And while it was less expensive than an IBM, there were less expensive IBM-compatible options available. The Tandy 1000 was a notable example.
Reasons for the Amiga 500 and Amiga 2000 introduction
Rather than try again to build one computer that could be everything to everyone, Commodore designed two machines. The Amiga 500 was a wedge-shaped all-in one that looked like an Atari ST, and while it was still more expensive than an ST, the price was close enough that Commodore thought it could compete. The Amiga 2000 was a big-box professional computer, with room for three internal disk drives and a total of 9 expansion slots inside. While the Amiga 1000 showed promise as a workstation for professional video, the Amiga 2000 took those capabilities to another planet.
Both of them were enhanced over the original Amiga 1000, with Kickstart in ROM rather than having to be loaded from a floppy, but initially they both had the same OCS chipset. Later revisions have the upgraded ECS chipset, with more video modes and higher capacity for chip RAM.
Amiga 500
Of the two machines, the Amiga 500 is the more common today. It didn’t sell in Commodore 64-like numbers like Commodore hoped, but it was the best selling Amiga model by far. It became a very popular home computer, especially in the UK and in Europe. But in the late 80s, it didn’t exactly do badly in the United States either.
Amiga 2000
The Amiga 2000 became legendary as the first big box Amiga. With the same Motorola 68000 inside running at 7.14 MHz as the other two models, it was underpowered. But it had an expansion slot dedicated to CPU upgrades, which Commodore and third parties took advantage of to make every generation of 68000 CPU available to the Amiga 2000 as an upgrade option.
The Amiga 2000 also had a video expansion slot that was capable of a number of things. But the most famous card to plug into that slot was Newtek’s original Video Toaster. At its $1,600 introductory price, the Video Toaster wasn’t cheap, but it could replace $10,000 worth of other equipment. The Video Toaster’s effects defined early 1990s video editing, to the point they became cliche. But every bit as much as the Mac redefined publishing, the Amiga 2000 redefined video.
Legacy
Both Amigas are prized collectibles today. Pro tip: Be sure to open up the case and get the Varta battery out if someone else didn’t do it already. In the Amiga 500, the battery is on the memory expansion in the trapdoor on the underside of the machine. On the 2000, the battery is at the front of the machine, under the drive cage, near the CPU.
We don’t know the exact sales figures, but based on data from Commodore’s annual reports, it’s possible to estimate the Amiga 500 and Amiga 2000 combined to outsell the Amiga 1000 nearly 10 to 1. The Amiga 1000 sold around a quarter million units, while the 500 and 2000 combined sold nearly 2.4 million. Commodore had a good year after these two machines came out, and both Mehdi Ali and Max Toy claim credit for it.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.