1977 · Apple · US · computer
Apple II
Wozniak's 1977 masterpiece, and one of the machines that built the industry.
Mixed Trivial to run Needs a keyboard ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Image: Rama & Musée Bolo · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr
Steve Wozniak's 1977 masterpiece and one of the machines that created the personal computer industry — colour graphics, expansion slots and a clean design that kept it in production for sixteen years. The spreadsheet VisiCalc gave people a reason to buy one for work as well as play.
It shaped a generation of gamers too, from the dysentery of The Oregon Trail to Jordan Mechner's rotoscoped Prince of Persia and the dungeon that taught Japan how to build an RPG, Wizardry.
What it cost
around a month and a half of an average wage in 1977 · about $6,719 today
| US launch list price ($1,298 for 4K RAM, $2,638 for 48K) | $1,298 (1977) |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈6,000,000 estimate Over 6 million units across the Apple II series. |
Why it mattered
The Apple II funded Apple's rise and, through VisiCalc, proved a computer could pay for itself in an office — the argument that put personal computers on desks worldwide. Its sixteen-year production run is almost unheard of.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | AppleWin, LinApple, MAME |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Trivial to run (1 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | This is a computer-like platform: games may use a joystick or pad, but launching and configuring software often needs a keyboard. |
| Runs on a handheld | Yes |
The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
Firmware
This system needs no firmware file. Install an emulator, open a game, and it runs.
How many files you need: none to go and find. No separate firmware file is needed for an ordinary setup.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see Libretro documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
TOSEC catalogues computer disks and tapes broadly, including many revisions. It is useful for preservation, while a smaller curated selection is usually easier to play.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- The Oregon Trail 1985 educational
Dysentery as a national memory; a whole generation's first computer game.
- Prince of Persia 1989 cinematic platformer
Rotoscoped animation on a machine from 1977, by one determined programmer.
- Karateka 1984 fighting
- Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord 1981 RPG
The dungeon crawler that taught Japan how to make an RPG.
- Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar 1985 RPG
- Lode Runner 1983 puzzle platformer
- Choplifter 1982 action
- Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? 1985 educational
- Taipan! Trading Strategy
Addictive text/graphics maritime trading sim.
The verdict
A genuinely deep library of foundational games and a comfortable emulation target; one of the most rewarding vintage computers to explore.
Disk-swapping and copy-protection quirks come with the territory — budget some patience for the authentic 1980s loading experience.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about apple and the ibm pc and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 3/5 for fun today and 3/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 50% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.