Thomson computers

Thomson TO7 computer on display at the Musée Bolo, Lausanne

In the 1980s the French Thomson company produced a range of 8-bit computers based on the 6809E CPU.[1]

They were released in several variations (mostly concerning the keyboard or color of the casing) covering the MO and TO series[2] from late 1982 to 1989. While MO and TO models are incompatible in software, most of the peripherals and hardware were compatible.

These machines were common in France due to the 1980s governmental educational program Computing for All (Informatique pour Tous).[3][4][5] Around 100,000 MO5 and TO7/70 computers were ordered and installed in schools.[6] Export attempts to Germany, Italy, Algeria, USSR, India, Argentina and Spain were unsuccessful.

It is reported that there were 450,000 Thomson computers in France in 1986.[7] By 1988 Thomson had only sold 60,000 of the predicted 150,000 computers, abandoning computer development the following year.[6]

About 84 games were released for the TO7,[8][9] 194 for the MO5,[10][11] 3 for the TO7/70,[12] 10 for the TO9,[13] 21 for the MO6,[14][15] and 128 for the TO8.[16][17] Most titles were released between 1984 and 1987 and by French companies such as Infogrames, Loriciel, FIL or Coktel Vision.[18][19]

  1. ^ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum - Thomson". Archived from the original on 25 February 2021.
  2. ^ Thomson 8-bit computer emulation with MESS
  3. ^ Ina.fr, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel-. "Plan informatique : conférence de presse Fabius". Ina.fr.
  4. ^ "Près du radiateur...l'ordinateur !". Les Echos. October 2, 1991.
  5. ^ "Le Nanoréseau". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  6. ^ a b "Thomson". www.obsolete-tears.com.
  7. ^ "THOMSON JOUE LES LAPINS" (PDF). Hebdogiciel Magazine (150). August 29, 1986.
  8. ^ "Thomson TO7 video games (Hardware entity)". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  9. ^ "Listing of all Thomson TO7 games - Page 1". The Video Games Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  10. ^ "Thomson MO5 video games (Hardware entity)". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  11. ^ "Listing of all Thomson MO5 games - Page 1". The Video Games Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  12. ^ "Thomson TO7/70 video games (Hardware entity)". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  13. ^ "Thomson TO9 video games (Hardware entity)". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  14. ^ "Thomson MO6 video games (Hardware entity)". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  15. ^ "Listing of all Thomson MO6 games - Page 1". The Video Games Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  16. ^ "Thomson TO8 video games (Hardware entity)". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  17. ^ "Listing of all Thomson TO8 games - Page 1". The Video Games Museum. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  18. ^ "Thomson - Releases per year". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  19. ^ "Thomson - Most common companies". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2023-01-01.