yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
3eeabe9649
6,654 pages: 1,289 machines, 702 software, 460 companies, 64 history, 17 articles, 59 fun. 4,336 media files so far; references to files not downloaded yet are left out. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
31 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
31 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: EXIDY ANNOUNCES ITS SORCERER
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date: '1978-04-01'
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years:
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- '1978'
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topics:
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- Hardware
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params:
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when: APRIL 1978
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image: /media/history/images/timeline_0478_sorcerer_2.jpg
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oc_id: 3
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20211018201426/http://www.old-computers.com/history/detail.asp?n=3
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date: '2021-10-18'
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---
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Exidy, Incorporated, was founded in 1974 by **H.R. Kaufman** at Sunnyvale, California, and became a leading manufacturer of arcade type video games.\
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Their first release was TV Pinball, followed by Mouse Trap or Boulder Dash which became worldwide hits when licensed to Coleco.
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While developing the Sorcerer hardware, Exidy designers closely examined all-in-one competitor systems released a few months earlier, the [Commodore PET](/museum/commodore-pet-2001/) and [Tandy TRS-80](/museum/tandy-radio-shack-trs-80-model-i/). The Sorcerer was thus a combination of best features they offered plus an innovative idea, the software ROM cartridge called **ROM PAC**, making the Sorcerer the first Home Computer to support ROM cartridge use, even if these ROM PAC's were enclosed into 8-track audio housings!
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In spite of marketing and production problems, first sales occurred in the USA about 5 months after the machine was announced. The Sorcerer was then introduced in Europe and in Australia by **Dick Smith Electronics** making it the first personal computer available in this country.
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In Holland, **Compudata** produced the Sorcerer under licence for several years, and sold a lot of them to educational market with several hardware and software improvements: CP/M operating system, S-100 bus support allowing various mass storage systems - including hard discs - to be connected.
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Despite obvious qualities, the Sorcerer - and the [Sorcerer II](/museum/exidy-sorcerer/) launched in 1980 - never met a real success. Exidy ceased production and closed its doors in 1982, but the CompuData version was still produced in Europe until 1984.
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