Philips VG5000

The VG5000μ is a computer created by Philips in 1984. It was manufactured in Le Mans by Radiotechnique (RTS) and marketed under the Philips, Radiola and Schneider brands.

Not compatible with any other machines, it offered VG5000 BASIC (derived from Microsoft BASIC-80) as the operating system upon boot. Graphic ability was limited to a semigraphic symbol display, with the equivalent resolution of 320 x 250 in 8 colors. There are about forty games available for the system.

300 000 units were sold in 1984, according to an internal Philips report, with 500 000 predicted for 1985.

Aimed at schools, it was unsuccessful and production ended in 1986. As of 2022, enthusiasts remain active in developing new homebrew software and emulators for the system.

Specifications

 * Zilog Z80A processor running at 4 MHz
 * RAM: 24KB, including 16KB of system memory (expandable to 48KB) and 8KB of dedicated memory for the video processor
 * ROM: 18KB, including 16KB containing the VG5000 BASIC (derived from Microsoft BASIC-80) and 2KB of character bitmaps built into the video processor
 * Video processor: SGS Thomson EF9345P
 * Graphics: 320 × 250 in 8 colors (8 × 10 pixel characters)
 * 1 voice, 5 octave range
 * Built-in keyboard 63 keys AZERTY with keyboard shortcut to BASIC instructions
 * DIN5 cassette player connector (1200/2400 baud)
 * DIN8 SCART connector
 * Bus connector 2×25 pins

List of video games
There are 33 commercial video games for Philips VG5000.