Commodore Founder Jack Tramiel Passes Away

Commodore International founder Jack Tramiel, 83-years-old, is no longer with us, reports Forbes.

The Commodore 64 was before my time, a whole three years before my own existence, but it’s impossible to understate its importance in bringing video games to the masses. There’s a reason the machine is often compared to the Ford Model T.

The original Commodore 64 went on sale in 1982 for $595, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $1,403, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The machine continued to be hugely popular for years after.

There’s still plenty of love for the Commodore 64, too, with scores of websites dedicated to the platform. You can even play emulated Commodore 64 games on your iPhone with an app from late last year.

RIP MR. Tramiel

Oh no.

First videogames I played were on a C64. Crazy to think how long ago that was.

Too bad to hear this as there were plenty of early pc games I played on a C64 & while not the best games around, they were quite memorable.

He made a meaningful and loved contribution to the community, peace be with him.

My CM 64 is still in my basement. RIP Tramiel.

RIP Mr. Tramiel

RIP Mr. Tramiel, and thanks

I was mostly a Speccy 48 / 128+2 guy but did have respect for the C64 it was a good system, It's sad day.

the amount of computer pioneers that have died in the last 2 years is ridiculous RIP

:(
 

The Commodore 64 was the first video game anything I had. Dad bought it for me once while on a trip to Germany.

Whoa, this guy is a legend in my eyes, the C64 is probably my favorite pre-NES game system. Rest in peace, Mr. Tramiel.

I've always heard he could pretty much be a prick to his employees and not a nice person overall but no one can deny the C64 was the most popular computer of all time. Wonder if they'll bury him with the leftover Atari Swordquest prizes.

I learned to program on a C-64 and so partly owe my career in software development to it. Thanks Mr. Tramiel.

Legacy!

I've been listening to the Last Ninja 2 and Ocean Loader 4 soundtracks all day in his honor.

I had a Commodore 64. It was the first "game system" I ever used. I still love those games, though the load times could be brutal. GI Joe I am looking at you...

Fave game was probably Epyx Winter Games or Deceptor.

Wish I still had it, but I think we got rid of it and our games at a yard sale or something in the mid 90s.

Godspeed Mr. Tramiel.

Let's honor him tonight with a round of Bruce Lee and Maniac Mansion.

Tis a sad day for sure. The Commodore 64 was the first thing I ever played a video game on. The Commodore 64 also had some amazing music.

So long and thanks for all the fun Mr. Tramiel. The C64 was my first PC and I'm damn glad I had fun with it.

I was actually watching some stuff on youtube just yesterday from the C64 & was impressed with how it looked compared to the machine I owned (well it was my dads really) from that era, the ZX Spectrum. Mr Tramiel has played a big part in the development of home gaming. The Commodore 64 was an awesome system, a couple of friends from Primary School had one & it was a lot of fun. Fond memories.

Everyone keeps drawing attention to the fact that founded Commodore, but no one seems to mention that his next company Tramel Technology (which he spelt incorrectly on purpose so people would pronounce his name correctly) went on to purchase the home consoles division of Atari and owned that brand from 1983 until 1996. He had a big impact on the gaming industry, and not just at Commodore.

Many happy memories of playing Ghostbusters on the C64. RIP Jack Tramiel.

It would be great to see a Giant Bomb Commodore 64 retrospective!

Rip man!

I wonder who's got those Air World prizes now.

It would be great to see a Giant Bomb Commodore 64 retrospective!

This news has made my day much worse. I've always had a great deal of respect for Tramiel. He was a business guy through and through, but he seemed to at least understand what games were about better than most business guys. This is a sad day for the industry, and I raise my glass to the man.

An important man, but Patrick the ending to your article seems kinda weird to me. It ends so abruptly, almost like it's missing its final paragraph.

My profile pic shows my love for the C64.

RIP

My first foray into computers was with the Commodore 64. I don't think I would have been as interested in computers and video games without it. Thank you, Jack Tramiel.

@MattyFTM said:

Everyone keeps drawing attention to the fact that founded Commodore, but no one seems to mention that his next company Tramel Technology (which he spelt incorrectly on purpose so people would pronounce his name correctly) went on to purchase the home consoles division of Atari and owned that brand from 1983 until 1996. He had a big impact on the gaming industry, and not just at Commodore.

He also kind of drove Atari intro bankruptcy for rushing the development for the Atari 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar. That and he mismanaged the release and promotion of the Atari ST.

No one questions the impact that he has made on modern computing and console gaming, but it's not all positive.

Wonder if he will be buried with the sword from Swordquest!

RIP

Kinda reminds me of Joe Don Baker with a Frier Tuck haircut.

@ZombiePie said:

@MattyFTM said:

Everyone keeps drawing attention to the fact that founded Commodore, but no one seems to mention that his next company Tramel Technology (which he spelt incorrectly on purpose so people would pronounce his name correctly) went on to purchase the home consoles division of Atari and owned that brand from 1983 until 1996. He had a big impact on the gaming industry, and not just at Commodore.

He also kind of drove Atari intro bankruptcy for rushing the development for the Atari 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar. That and he mismanaged the release and promotion of the Atari ST.

No one questions the impact that he has made on modern computing and console gaming, but it's not all positive.

Yeah, I was wondering why no one else was mentioning that he pretty much drove Atari into the ground.

Freakin' loved my C64. Larry Bird vs. Dr. J!

@jaycrockett said:

I learned to program on a C-64 and so partly owe my career in software development to it. Thanks Mr. Tramiel.

Totally this, along with many of my peers. RIP Mr. Tramiel, and thanks.

The original Commodore 64 went on sale in 1982 for $595, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $1,403, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While $600 wasn't much for a home computer in 1982, what really made it one of the best selling machines of all time was they dropped the price a lot in the coming years. I think it was sold for around $300 by 1985 or so, and thus became a machine most families could afford, and it remained a popular machine well into the early 90's.

Rest in peace Mr. Tramiel. The C64 played a huge part in my life.

As you may or may not know, I'm very much the Commodore 64 lover. It was the first system I owned (bought with saved pocket money) and I have spent an inordinate amount of my life making sprites, music and games on the legendary beige box. I still have that very same C64 I bought as a lad, and it remains one of my cherished possessions.

Godspeed, Jack. You were a man whose vision for the future touched so many lives.

@patrickklepek said:

The Commodore 64 was before my time, a whole three years before my own existence...

Way to bring me down even more, man. ;)

P.S. I think this week is a good time to resume my long-dormant SID-licious series.

We wish for our childhood to last forever but alas out favourite people are getting older. look up a lot of the top game producers and you'll see fifties and sixties and seventies.

This is my problem with the current generation. It's not that the quality isn't there it's that the dreamers are being replaced by a marketing team. And the consumer is being fed with gruel as opposed to steak.

When I was a kid, we had a C64 that my dad had brought home from work. I'm not sure what kind of work he did on it, but I know I played games on it. A lot. It was, in fact, my first gaming platform.

Thank you Mr. Tramiel.

=(

The c-64 and c-128 were the 3rd and 4th computers i owned growing up. Actually was the computer we used in 7th grade computer class. They were the computers i learned to type, hack , pirate games and it introduced me to some of the best friends i ever had growing up.  I also remember this was the time when discussing games started to become as common as talking about chicks, sports, and movies. RIP dear old friend.

I remember him best as the CEO of Atari during its Jaguar era.

The man was notoriously hard to work with, but he played an integral role in the early history of computer and console games. He will certainly be missed.

I think I feel a little worse about this loss than most because Mr. Tramiel was a Holocaust survivor. The number of survivors still alive has declined greatly over the past few years and it hurts to think that their stories may be taken for granted.

Wish I still had my Amiga.

Never could get the hang of Falcon.

He will be missed.

The C64 was my first games machine. I spent hours playing a ton of great titles on it. Also, using it to make simple software with code from magazines. Ah... those were the days!
I salute you, Mr. Tramiel.