Texas Instrumentsįrom the beginning, TI wanted to maintain tight control over who developed software for its 99/4 platform, so the company didn’t publish technical specifications or initially release an editor/assembler package that would allow for advanced programming on the system. The predecessor of the 4A, the TI-99/4, launched in 1979. Notably, the TI-99/4 included the 16-bit TMS9900 CPU, which was based on the TI-990 minicomputer, making it the first mass-market PC with a 16-bit CPU in the U.S. The 99/4 retailed for $1,150 (about $4,083 today), and due to strict FCC emissions regulations, shipped with its own 13″ custom color TV set as a monitor. What Came Before: 1979’s TI-99/4Īfter dazzling the world with pocket calculators and digital watches in the early-mid 1970s, Dallas-based electronics powerhouse Texas Instruments set its sights on the emerging video game and personal computer markets in the late 1970s.Īt first, the firm intended to create both a video game console and a low-cost personal computer, but while in development, those products merged together into the TI-99/4 (no “A” yet), which was released in late 1979.

Forty years later, here’s what made it special. In June 1981, Texas Instruments released the TI-99/4A, a 16-bit home computer and gaming platform that became a huge cultural success in America after selling 2.8 million units, although it resulted in a business loss for TI.

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