1977 · Tandy · US · computer
Tandy TRS-80
One of 1977's founding computers, sold to the masses through Radio Shack.
Mixed Trivial to run Needs a keyboard ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
One of 1977's three machines that launched personal computing, sold through Radio Shack's thousands of stores to a mass audience the Apple II could not reach. Cheap, plain, and — thanks to that retail reach — briefly everywhere.
Infocom's Zork found an early home here, as text adventures became the platform's signature and its strength.
What it cost
roughly 75% of a month's pay in 1977 · about $3,106 today
| US TRS-80 Model I package ($599.95 with monitor & cassette recorder) |
$599.95 (1977)
Sold through thousands of Radio Shack stores across America. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈250,000 estimate Over 250,000 Model I units sold in the 1977 Trinity era. |
Why it mattered
Sold through Radio Shack's vast store network, the TRS-80 put computers in front of a mass audience the Apple II could not reach, and gave early text adventures like Zork a home.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | sdltrs, 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
- Zork 1980 text adventure
- Temple of Apshai 1979 RPG
- Dancing Demon 1979 novelty
A tap-dancing skeleton you could choreograph — an early viral demo.
- Eliminator 1981 shooter
The verdict
A foundational machine for text adventures and early software history.
Its games are text and simple graphics — come for the roots of the medium, not for spectacle.
- 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.