Editing Amiga (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Amiga}}

=== Concept and early development ===
[[Jay Miner]] joined [[Atari, Inc.]] in the 1970s and led development of the [[Atari Video Computer System]]'s graphics and sound chip, the [[Television Interface Adaptor]].<ref name=p1p3>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/07/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-1/3/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 1: Genesis |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=3 July 2007 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704114247/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/07/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-1/3/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> When complete, the team began developing a much more sophisticated set of chips, [[CTIA and GTIA|CTIA]], [[ANTIC]], and [[POKEY]], that formed the basis of the [[Atari 8-bit computers]].<ref name=p1p4>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/07/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-1/4/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 1: Genesis |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=3 July 2007 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704114244/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/07/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-1/4/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

With the 8-bit line's launch in 1979, the team once again started looking at a next generation chipset. [[Nolan Bushnell]] had sold the company to [[WarnerMedia|Warner Communications]] in 1978, and the new management was much more interested in the existing lines than development of new products that might cut into their sales. Miner wanted to start work with the new [[Motorola 68000]], but management was only interested in another [[6502]] based system. Miner left the company, and, for a time, the industry.<ref name=p1p4/>

In 1979, [[Larry Kaplan]] left Atari and founded [[Activision]]. In 1982, Kaplan was approached by a number of investors who wanted to develop a new game platform. Kaplan hired Miner to run the hardware side of the newly formed company, "Hi-Toro". The system was code-named "Lorraine" in keeping with Miner's policy of giving systems female names, in this case the company president's wife, Lorraine Morse.<ref name="AutoP5-1" /> When Kaplan left the company late in 1982, Miner was promoted to head engineer<ref name=p1p4/> and the company relaunched as Amiga Corporation.<ref>''New York Times'', 29 August 1984, p. D1</ref>

[[File:boingball.png|thumb|The Boing Ball]]

The Amiga hardware was designed by Miner, [[RJ Mical]], and Dale Luck.<ref name=NGen39>{{cite magazine |title=Cribsheet |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=39 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |date=March 1998|page=22}}</ref> A [[breadboard]] prototype for testing and development was largely completed by late 1983, and shown at the January 1984 [[Consumer Electronics Show]] (CES).<ref>Wallich, Paul: [https://spectrum.ieee.org/amiga-the-computer-that-wouldnt-die Amiga: The Computer That Wouldn't Die], ''spectrum.ieee.org'' 1 March 2001. Accessed on 3 February 2020.</ref>

A further developed version of the system was demonstrated at the June 1984 CES and shown to many companies in hopes of garnering further funding, but found little interest in a market that was in the final stages of the [[video game crash of 1983]].<ref name="AutoP5-1" /><ref name="AutoP5-2" />

In March, Atari expressed a tepid interest in Lorraine for its potential use in a games console or home computer tentatively known as the {{vanchor|1850XLD}}. The talks were progressing slowly,<ref>''New York Times'', 29 August 1984, p. D16</ref> and Amiga was running out of money. A temporary arrangement in June led to a $500,000 loan from Atari to Amiga to keep the company going. The terms required the loan to be repaid at the end of the month, otherwise Amiga would forfeit the Lorraine design to Atari.<ref name=p3p3/>

=== Commodore ===
By the end of the [[video game crash of 1983]], Warner was desperate to sell Atari. In January 1984, [[Jack Tramiel]] resigned from Commodore, taking some Commodore employees to his new company, Tramel Technology. This included a number of the senior technical staff, where they began development of a new 68000-based machine. In June, Tramiel arranged a no-cash deal to take over Atari, reforming Tramel Technology as [[Atari Corporation]].

Commodore was left without a workable path to creating a next-generation home computer, and it offered to fund Amiga development. The two companies were initially arranging a {{US$|long=no|4 million}} license agreement before Commodore offered {{US$|long=no|24 million}} to purchase Amiga outright.<ref name=p3p3>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/08/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-3/3/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 3: The first prototype |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=21 August 2007 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704102904/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/08/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-3/3/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

By late 1984, the prototype breadboard chipset had successfully been turned into integrated circuits, and the system hardware was being readied for production. At this time, the [[operating system]] was not ready, and led to a deal to port [[TRIPOS]]. TRIPOS was a [[Computer multitasking|multitasking]] system written in [[BCPL]] during the 1970s for the [[PDP-11]] [[minicomputer]]. This early version was known as AmigaDOS and the GUI as Workbench. The BCPL parts were later rewritten in the [[C (programming language)|C]] language, and the entire system became AmigaOS.

The system was enclosed in a [[pizza-box form factor]] case. A late change was the introduction of vertical supports on either side of the case to provide a "garage" under the main section of the system where the keyboard could be stored.<ref name=p5p1>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/10/amiga-history-4-commodore-years/2/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 4: Enter Commodore |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=10 December 2007 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704100028/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/10/amiga-history-4-commodore-years/2/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Launch===
The first model was announced in 1985 as simply "The Amiga from Commodore", later to be retroactively dubbed the [[Amiga 1000]].{{efn|The name "Amiga" was chosen because it is the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] word for ''(female) friend'', and alphabetically it appears before Apple in lists of computer makers. It originated as a project code-named "Lorraine", therefore the female was used instead of the male and general version ''Amigo''.}} They were first offered for sale in August, but by October only 50 had been built, all of which were used by Commodore. Machines only began to arrive in quantity in mid-November, meaning they missed the Christmas buying rush.<ref name=p4p2>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/12/amiga-history-part-5/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 5: postlaunch blues |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=21 October 2007 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704092503/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/12/amiga-history-part-5/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> By the end of the year, they had sold 35,000 machines, and severe cashflow problems made the company pull out of the January 1986 CES.<ref name=p5p2>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/12/amiga-history-part-5/2/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 5: postlaunch blues |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=21 October 2007 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704101525/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2007/12/amiga-history-part-5/2/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Bad or entirely missing marketing, forcing the development team to move to the east coast, notorious stability problems and other blunders limited sales in early 1986 to between 10,000 and 15,000 units a month.<ref name="p5p1"/> 120,000 units were reported as having been sold from the machine's launch up to the end of 1986.<ref name="computerworld19870615_amiga">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/computerworld2124unse/page/39/mode/1up | title=Memory up for Amiga | magazine=Computerworld | last1=Bright | first1=David | date=15 June 1987 | access-date=26 April 2024 | pages=39, 42 }}</ref>

=== Later models ===
In late 1985, [[Thomas Rattigan]] was promoted to [[Chief operating officer|COO]] of Commodore, and then to [[CEO]] in February 1986. He immediately implemented an ambitious plan that covered almost all of the company's operations. Among these was the long-overdue cancellation of the now outdated [[Commodore PET|PET]] and [[VIC-20]] lines, as well as a variety of poorly selling [[Commodore 64]] offshoots and the [[Commodore 900]] [[workstation]] effort.<ref name=p6p2/>

Another one of the changes was to split the Amiga into two products, a new high-end version of the Amiga aimed at the creative market, and a cost-reduced version that would take over for the Commodore 64 in the low-end market.<ref name=p6p2>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/02/amiga-history-part-6/2/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 6: stopping the bleeding |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=11 February 2008 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704112950/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/02/amiga-history-part-6/2/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> These new designs were released in 1987 as the [[Amiga 2000]] and [[Amiga 500]], the latter of which went on to widespread success and became their best selling model.

Similar high-end/low-end models would make up the Amiga line for the rest of its history; follow-on designs included the [[Amiga 3000]]/[[Amiga 500 Plus]]/[[Amiga 600]], and the [[Amiga 4000]]/[[Amiga 1200]]. These models incorporated a series of technical upgrades known as the [[Amiga Enhanced Chip Set|ECS]] and [[Amiga Advanced Graphics Architecture|AGA]], which added higher resolution displays among many other improvements and simplifications.{{Sfn|Loguidice|Barton|2014|pp=162–163}}

The Amiga line sold an estimated 4,910,000 machines over its lifetime.<ref name="ahoy">{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXCWYKSjHnI |title=Nobody Knows How Many Amigas Commodore Sold |last=Brown |first=Stuart |work=Ahoy |via=[[YouTube]] |date=30 August 2024 |access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref>{{Self-published source|date=December 2024}} The machines were most popular in the UK and Germany, with about 1.5 million sold in each country, and sales in the high hundreds of thousands in other European nations. The machine was less popular in North America, where an estimated 700,000 were sold.<ref name="amigahistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.amigahistory.plus.com/sales.html |title=Commodore-Amiga Sales Figures |first=Gareth |last=Knight |website=Amiga history guide |access-date=2019-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927041337/http://www.amigahistory.plus.com/sales.html |archive-date=2018-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="commodorereport">{{cite web |url=http://xboxahoy.com/downloads/commodore-annual-report-1993.pdf |title="Commodore Annual Report 1993" |website=XboxAhoy |access-date=2024-08-30 }}</ref><ref name="AF47">{{cite magazine |last1=Dyson |first1=Marcus |title=World of Commodore New York |magazine=[[Amiga Format]] |date=13 May 1993 |issue=47 (June 1993) |pages=16–7, 20–1 |url=https://archive.org/details/AmigaFormatMagazine_201902/Amiga_Format_Issue_047_1993_06_Future_Publishing_GB/page/n15/mode/2up}}</ref> In the United States, the Amiga found a niche with enthusiasts and in [[vertical market]]s for [[video processing]] and editing.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Next Generation 1996 Lexicon A to Z|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=15 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=March 1996|pages=29–30}}</ref> In Europe, it was more broadly popular as a home computer and often used for [[video game]]s.<ref name=NGen39/> 

Beginning in 1990, the Amiga overlapped with the European release of the [[Fourth generation of video game consoles|16-bit]] [[Mega Drive]], then the [[Super NES]] in 1992. Commodore UK's Kelly Sumner did not see [[Sega]] or [[Nintendo]] as competitors, but instead credited their marketing campaigns which spent over {{£|40 million|long=no}} or {{US$|{{To USD|40|GBR|year=1993|round=yes}},000,000|long=no|1993|round=-7}} for promoting video games as a whole and thus helping to boost Amiga sales.<ref name="AF47"/> Some games were released for both 16-bit consoles and the Amiga, such as ''[[Chuck Rock]]'' and ''[[Zool]]''.

=== Bankruptcy and aftermath ===
In spite of his successes in making the company profitable and bringing the Amiga line to market, Rattigan was soon forced out in a power struggle with majority shareholder, [[Irving Gould]]. This is widely regarded as the turning point, as further improvements to the Amiga were eroded by rapid improvements in other platforms.<ref name=p8p2>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-9-the-demo-scene/2/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 8: The demo scene |website=Ars Technica |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=28 April 2013 |access-date=14 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704093424/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-9-the-demo-scene/2/ |archive-date=4 July 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Commodore shut down the Amiga division on April 26, 1994, and filed for bankruptcy three days later. Commodore's assets were purchased by [[Escom AG|Escom]], a German PC manufacturer, who created the subsidiary company Amiga Technologies. They re-released the A1200 and A4000T, and introduced a new [[68060]] version of the A4000T. Amiga Technologies researched and developed the [[Amiga Walker]] prototype. They presented the machine publicly at CeBit,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.amigareport.com/ar405/news13.html|title=The Amiga Walker Prototype|website=www.amigareport.com|access-date=2020-04-10|archive-date=2020-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027210255/https://www.amigareport.com/ar405/news13.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=German firm will sell Amiga division |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=12 April 1996 |page=41|first=Dan|last=Stets}}</ref> but Escom went bankrupt in 1996.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clarke |first1=Roger |title=Amiga's amigos |work=The Birmingham Post |date=9 December 1996 |page=52}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stebbins |first1=John |title=Amiga users fight final frontier battle |work=The Ottawa Citizen |date=10 February 1997 |page=10}}</ref> Some Amigas were still made afterwards for the North American market by QuikPak, a small [[Pennsylvania]]-based firm who was the manufacturer of Amigas for Escom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 10, 1998 |title=THE RETURN OF AMIGA – Chicago Tribune |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/07/10/the-return-of-amiga/ |access-date=2024-09-30 |archive-date=2024-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240923165840/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/07/10/the-return-of-amiga/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

After a reported sale to VisCorp fell through,<ref name="NGen39" /> a U.S. [[Wintel]] PC manufacturer, [[Gateway 2000]], eventually purchased the Amiga branch and technology in 1997.<ref name="NGen39" /> QuickPak attempted but failed to license Amiga from Gateway and build new models.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1998-12-05 |title=quikpaksite |url=http://www.quikpak.com/page2.html |access-date=2024-09-30 |archive-date=1998-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981205180326/http://www.quikpak.com/page2.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Gateway was then working on a brand new Amiga platform, likely encouraged by a desire to be independent of [[Microsoft]] and [[Intel]].<ref name=":0" /> However this did not materialize and in 2000, Gateway sold the Amiga brand to [[Amiga, Inc.]], without having released any products. Amiga, Inc. licensed the rights to sell hardware using the [[AmigaOne]] brand to [[Eyetech|Eyetech Group]] and [[Hyperion Entertainment]]. In 2019, Amiga, Inc. sold its intellectual property to Amiga Corporation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2019-02-00009-EN.html|title=Legal dispute: Amiga Inc. transferred rights to Mike Battilana's company|publisher=Amiga-News.de|date=5 February 2019|accessdate=26 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2020-07-00032-EN.html|title=C-A Acquisition Corp. renamed to Amiga Corporation|publisher=Amiga-News.de|date=15 July 2020|accessdate=26 July 2022}}</ref>