The Amstrad CPC Turned 40 And We Almost Didn't Notice 1
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Amstrad CPC home computer – and it almost slipped us by.

Were it not for a tweet (spotted half a day after publication) by Revolution Software co-founder Tony Warriner, this momentous occasion might have gone unnoticed, at least by the Time Extension team.

Released on April 11th 1984, the Amstrad CPC 464 was Alan Sugar's attempt to crack the lucrative 'mini micro' market, which would become dominated by the ZX Spectrum and C64.

It would spawn other variants, including the CPC 664, CPC 6128, 464 plus (shown in the photo above) and 6128 plus, as well as the ill-fated GX4000 console.

With around three million units sold across the entire CPC range, this particular computer can hardly be deemed a failure, but it was treated like a red-headed stepchild by many gamers during the '80s – something that continues to grate with Amstrad fans to this very day.

Amstrad would later move into the realm of internet phones and TV set-top boxes before being absorbed into BSkyB in 2007. Sugar has recently revived the Amstrad brand as a digital marketing firm.

[source twitter.com]