Atari's best selling 8bit?

[+Sauron]

Just wondering if anyone knows or has any ideas on which 8bit computer lead Atari's sales? My vote would go for the 800, as that seems to be the most common system out there. A fairly close second place would probably be the 800XL, as there seems to be no shortage of those either.

[+davidcalgary29]

I'd think that the 800XL would take the prize.

From most reports, the 400/800 models weren't huge sellers because of their comparatively high prices. I was reading an old Antic interview with James Morgan last night, and he indicated "disappointment" with 400/800/1200 sales.

[devils advocate]

I'd have to say that it is probably the 800xl up here in Canada. They use them for doorstops in some game stores!(just kidding).

[t.skid]

In Italy, I'm pretty sure best selling was 800XL, followed by XE line. Original 400/800 was too high priced and too early, for Italy market. And, until 1983/1984 there wasn't an official branch of Atari in Italy.

[A2600]

well as my knowledge goes the atari 800 sales boosted as it was stopped being manufactured...

[bigdcaldavis2k]

well as my knowledge goes the atari 800 sales boosted as it was stopped being manufactured...

 

 

Actually, I heard that the 800 was already discontinued by the time Atari released the 1200XL, but the design flaws in the 1200XL caused people to rush out and buy the 800 instead before the 800 disappeared from stores.

[svenski]

 

Yeah, Atari announced it was discontinuing the 400 and 800 as they launched the 1200XL.

 

Improvements in the OS, plus the new design, put a lot of people off and they rushed to snap up remaining stocks of 400s and 800s.

 

The 1200XL was around for just a year before Atari scrapped it and launched the 600XL and the , sexy, 800XL.

[AtariDude]

I don't have figures to back this up but I would tend to think that the 800XL would have sold the most units since it was eventually dropped to a price that a lot of people could afford.

[+davidcalgary29]

...of course, I've assumed that Sauron's question referred to the North American market. I'd be curious to see what Atari's most popular 8-bit computer was in markets that "peaked" later, such as in central and eastern Europe. Most Polish and Slovakian games that I've seen require at least 64K, and I'd assume that they were written specifically for the 800XE or the 130XE. I wonder what a regional breakdown of sales would look like?

[jon-paul]

well in the UK 800's seemed to dissapear just as home computers were taking off in a big way. At their price they had direct competition from the Acorn BBC Micro which was

A: BBC's standardised machine for their educational programs, (at night when they had only teletext on, they used to play the audio of the cassettes, that you could re-record on a cassette from the VCR and play into your BBC)

B: purchsed by every school.

 

So it didn't stand a chance at that price as parents were the ones buying. And they wanted us to have what the school had (shades of IBM/Dos/Windows marketing stratergy?)

 

I actualy have fingers left on my hands to count the number of 400/800's i have seen in recent years. The XL seems quite common however. The 65XE next common and the 130XE after that. 600XLs seem not to be around at all. Its worth noting that the XL range appeared just as the 'RAM' wars started. People demanded 48 or 64 k from their machines. 8, 16 and 32 k were no longer cutting it in the consumers eyes (or at least the word on my playground said so) , so that may explain the lack of 600's.

[svenski]

 

When you consider the 65/130/800 XE's had a production life of almost seven years compared to the 800XLs two, then you'd probably say one of the XE models had the 'most sold' issue in the bag.

 

The 130XE never sold in huge numbers due to price. Also, the eastern european markets just didn't compare to western europe, the UK and north america when you consider market size.

 

I would say the 800XL is overall, the biggest seller, followed by the 65 XE. The 800XE seemed to be an Eastern European version that made its way westward. They crop up in Germany and Holland.

[Curt Vendel]

Hmmmm, I have some projected sales sheets, Atari was looking to sell 4mill 800XL's in 83-84, but production delays killed their Holiday 83' sales window and 84 saw the cancelation of the XL line in Aug 84' and by Jan 85 the XE's were announced, the 65XE's first started to ship followed by the 130XE's in April 85' I would say most likely the 65/130XE's have the largest amount of sales since they had the longest sales life.

 

 

 

Curt

[+Sauron]

Thanks for the info, Curt. I wonder how many 800XL's Atari actually sold back in 83-84. I'm sure we can all guess they never quite hit 4 million.

[Curt Vendel]

HIIIIIGGGHHHLY Unlikely.... When James Morgan came on board in September 83' (actually he was hired in July 83' but needed 2 months off before starting) he put a freeze on all projects, then while trying to decide whether to have the XL line produced in the existing plant (all tooled up and geared up to start pressing out systems) which would more expensive -or- tool up a newer plant to produce them cheaper, he waited too long in the decision and blew the 83' holiday sales season....

 

Can you say "Knucklehead"??? So that blew the sale curve right off the bat and also gave Commodore a HUGE landslide sales advantage for the 83' Holiday sales season which Atari already didn't need. When the XL's did finally come out the 600XL's were actually $50 higher then originally sold for, maybe PR griping came of that! Then the DOS 3 complaints for incompatibility and also the additional gripes for the 1050 not being double density (180K) but "Enhanced Density" (aka 1 1/2 density) .... "sheez Atari can't even make a DD drive, while everyone else is"

 

Between the 1200XL debacle, the 1050 not being Double Density and throw in the DOS 3 disaster, the newer XL's slow production #'s, then the raise in prices, the lowering of C64 & VIC20 prices; Atari's Home Computer Division was staggering around like the loser in a boxing bout, talk about painful...

 

 

 

Curt

[mos6507]

Yes, the Atari8 was the biggest missed opportunity at Atari.

[Fröhn]

Hmm, when I look in old magazines I always see that the 800XL is sold cheaper than the C64. Oh, and my vote for the most sold A8 is ofcourse the 800XL aswell.

[Gury]

Atari 130XE sold well in Slovenia. The main book compay from my country sold it in companion with Atari 1050 disk drive. But ok, I got one with just a cassette recorder back then.

[urborg]

I heard that "Pewex" in Poland (they have monpoly to sell Atari computers in Poland until the year 1989) sold 220 000 - 25 000 Atari 8-bit computers in this country.

[JamesD]

Thanks for the info, Curt. I wonder how many 800XL's Atari actually sold back in 83-84. I'm sure we can all guess they never quite hit 4 million.

The only sales figures I've found for the 400/800 I've found said 2 million. Later models were cheaper though and I'm sure sold better.

[Rybags]

As I recall, the 800XL was a good deal more expensive than the C-64 for most of it's life.

 

I think it was probably not till the Tramiels took over that the 800XL undercut the C-64. From memory, at one stage the 65XE was about $99 with the C-64 $30 or so more, then the 130XE at somewhere around $150. Those prices I remember from Compute magazines.

 

I bought my 800XL around mid-1984. I'm fairly sure it was around $600 here, which was probably $100 more than a C-64, but we never really had cheap 8-bit Ataris until late in the life of the XEs.

[Gunstar]

I remember buying my 130XE in the summer of 1985. When I went to buy it (from one of those catalog house department stores; I forget the name), they had a room set up with Atari XE's and XL's for sale as well as Commodore computers. The salesman actually tried to get me to buy an 800XL instead of the 130XE, pointing out that it was about $50 less since it was discontinued, but said it the two machines were still 100% compatible. But I stuck with my choice ot the 130XE for it's 128k memory, that was the new standard for the 8-bit world I came from; Apple's in the school and the new Apple IIc's with 128k. I originally wanted an Apple, but "settled" for the Atari due to my low budget, but I wasn't going to give up a full 128K too! Anyway, best decision I ever made to get the Atari now, instead of waiting to save up for the Apple IIc.

 

Anyway, my point here is that in '85-86, even though the XL line was discontinued in favor of XE's, Atari and stores still had TONS of XL's in stock to sell, so the Xl's market lifespan actually outlived it's discontinuation, and probably sold steady along XE's and C64's well into 1986 and beyond. It really had at least 3-4 years on the market. There was a distinct overlap for the XL and XE lines, since the XL's were practically new still when the Tramiels took over Atari Corp. it wouldn't suprise me one bit if 800XL sales actually overwhelmed 65XE sales with a slightly lower price for basically the same machine, with a better keyboard. The 130XE was better off with the extra memory.

[Tickled_Pink]

For a machine that lasted just 2 years and which apparently production ended in 1984, Atari must have been left with a hell of a lot of excess stock. I received my 800XL for Christmas in '85. I remember reading that Atari sold around 100,000 units that Christmas through Curry's alone.

 

The 800XL is definately the most abundant in the UK. Not sure if the 65XE did outsell the 130XE. If it did, then it wasn't by much since I've seen them in equal quantities.

 

I also remember an interview by Atari UK's MD, Bob Gleadow, stating that when he took over his role at Atari UK the 130XE was being sold at below cost.

[Almost Rice]

For a machine that lasted just 2 years and which apparently production ended in 1984, Atari must have been left with a hell of a lot of excess stock. I received my 800XL for Christmas in '85. I remember reading that Atari sold around 100,000 units that Christmas through Curry's alone.

 

The 800XL is definately the most abundant in the UK. Not sure if the 65XE did outsell the 130XE. If it did, then it wasn't by much since I've seen them in equal quantities.

 

I think that is what happened here in the US too. I remember getting a 800xl in 1987 or 1988 with XF551,XM301,and a XMM801 all for $199 at Federated. It was such a good deal I could not pass it up. That price was the same for just the XF551 alone at the time. So they still had new 800xl at the time. Warner must have way overproduced back in 1984.

[Joey Kay]

Warner must have way overproduced back in 1984.

 

What...? Warner overproducing Atari products??? What kind of outrageous thinking is that!

[zektor800]

In a twist to the topic, what was the worst selling? I am guessing the XEGS. Does anybody know the estimated number of XEGS system sales for it's lifetime?