Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 3, 2026

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.

Last revised
Jul 3, 2026
Read time
≈ 5 min
Length
1,149 w
Citations
56
Source
Wikipedia ↗
VG5000μ
DeveloperPhilips
ManufacturerRadiotechnique (RTS)
TypeHome computer
Generation8-bit
ReleasedFrance: 1 October 1984 (1984-10-01)
Lifespan1984-1986
Introductory price
1990 FF
Discontinued1986
Units sold300000 in 1984
VG5000 BASIC
CPUZ80 @ 4 MHz
Memory24 KB RAM, 18KB ROM
Cassette tape
DisplaySemigraphics (equivalent resolution of 320x250), 8 colors
GraphicsThomson EF9345
Sound1 voice, 5 octave range
LanguageLogo

The VG5000μ is a computer created by Philips in 1984.123 It was manufactured in Le Mans by Radiotechnique (RTS)4 and marketed under the Philips,56 Radiola7 and Schneider8 brands.49

Not compatible with any other machines, it offered VG5000 BASIC (derived from Microsoft BASIC-80) as the operating system upon boot, with Logo available on cartridge.1011

Graphic ability was limited to a semigraphic symbol display, with the equivalent resolution of 320 x 250 pixels in 8 colors.1213

It had some hardware compatibility with the Philips VG 8000, such as power supply connectors, cassette player interface and cartridges. 14

History

Aimed at schools,15 it was unsuccessful and production ended in 1986.16 300 000 units were sold in 1984 according to an internal Philips report, with 500 000 predicted for 1985.13 There are about forty games available for the system.17181920

As of 2022, enthusiasts remain active in developing new homebrew software and emulators for the system.212223242526

Peripherals

VG5216: 16KB RAM memory expansion with joystick and printer ports source ↗

Several peripherals were developed to support the VG5000μ operation:27

Specifications

  • Boot screen with VG5000 BASIC source ↗
    Zilog Z80A38 processor running at 4 MHz
  • RAM: 24KB, including 16KB of system memory (expandable to 48KB) and 8KB of dedicated memory for the video processor13
  • ROM: 18KB,13 including 16KB containing the VG5000 BASIC (derived from Microsoft BASIC-80)10 and 2KB of character bitmaps built into the video processor
  • Video processor: SGS Thomson EF9345P3938
  • Graphics: semigraphics based on 8 × 10 pixel characters (equivalent to 320 × 250 pixels) in 8 colors1213
  • Sound: 1 voice, 5 octave range
  • Keyboard: Built-in 63 keys AZERTY keyboard with BASIC keywords38
  • Ports: DIN5 cassette player connector (1200/2400 baud),338 DIN8 SCART connector338
  • Expansion: 2×25 pins bus connector338

List of video games

There are 33 commercial video games for Philips VG5000.4041

Title Release year Publisher
Backgammon 1984 Philips
Bris de Glace 1984 Philips
Citadelle 1984 Philips
Divertissements 1984 Philips
Football 1984 Philips
Glouton 1984 Philips
Hélicoptère 1984 Philips
La Carotte Malicieuse 1985 VIFI-Nathan
La Moto Infernale 1984 Philips
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 1 - La Pierre Philosophale 198? Elite Diffusion
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 2 - La Clef de l'Ile 198? Elite Diffusion
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 3 - La Porte du Jardin des Hesperides 198? Elite Diffusion
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 4 - La Porte des Gnomes 198? Elite Diffusion
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 5 - La Porte des Pieuvres 198? Elite Diffusion
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 6 - La Porte du Harpie 198? Elite Diffusion
La Pierre Philosophale Chapter 7 - La Porte du Gouffre 198? Elite Diffusion
L'abeille 1984 Philips
Le Fou Volant 1984 Philips
Le Labyrinthe et la Princesse 1985 Edisoft, Loriciels
Le monstre 1984 Philips
Mes Premiers Mots Croises Vol. 1 - Francais-Vocabulaire 1985 VIFI-Nathan
Mes Premiers Mots Croises Vol. 2 - Francais-Vocabulaire 1985 VIFI-Nathan
Micros Jeux Cocktails de Jeux 1985 VIFI-Nathan
Mission Omega 1984 Philips
Monkey Academy 1984 Philips
Objectif Delta 1984 Philips
Preterite Star 1985 Belin
Reversis 1984 Philips
Simulateur de Vol 1984 Philips
Staroc 1984 Philips
Tortues 1984 Philips
US Rallye 1984 Philips
Viking 1984 Philips
References

References

  1. Gondicas, Piechaud (1985). "Philips - L'ordinateur de crise VG 5000". Science & Vie Micro (13): 56. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06.
  2. Lilen, Henri (1984). "Le "VG 5000" PHILIPS, un familial français". Micro-Ordinateurs (27). Archived from the original on 2020-08-06.
  3. "Philips - VG5000". Doctsf Le Grand Livre de la TSF (in French). Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. "RADIOLA VG 5000". OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum.
  5. NECK, Fabien (2018). "Philips - VG 5000". system-cfg - Collection d ordinateurs anciens et de consoles de jeux.
  6. "Philips VG 5000". Le grenier informatique - Site sur la restauration et la collection des anciens ordinateurs. 2020-08-06. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  7. "Ordinateur : Le Radiola VG 5000μ". Association MO5.COM. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  8. "Ordinateur : Le Schneider VG 5000μ". Association MO5.COM. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  9. Osmose (2020-05-17). "À la découverte du Philips VG5000μ". Queen Meka (in French). Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  10. Hoagie (2022). "MadeInFrance 11 : Micros & crocos, the French home computer market in the '80s". Abandonware France (in French). Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  11. Éditions Atlas (1984). aBc informatique. p. 1229.
  12. "The VG5000μ page". vg5k.free.fr.
  13. "Philips VG5000". Silicium. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  14. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2021-11-03. Archived from the original on 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  15. "Le VG 5000". ABC Informatique. No. 62. March 1985. pp. 1229–1231.
  16. "PHILIPS VG 5000". OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum.
  17. "Listing of all Philips VG5000 games". The Video Games Museum.
  18. Turk182 (2022). "#Rétrogaming : tu te souviens… US Rallye sur VG5000". THM Magazine (in French). Retrieved 2022-12-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. "Philips VG5000". Universal Videogame List. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  20. "Liste de tous les jeux Philips VG5000". Le Musee des Jeux Video (in French). Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  21. "Votre VG5000 n'est pas fragile". VG5000 Bazar. 2023. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  22. "Articles avec le tag " VG5000 "". Triceraprog La programmation depuis le Crétacé. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  23. Coulom, Daniel (2022). "Emulateur VG5000 DCVG5K". DCVG5K - Emulateur pour Windows du VG5000μ Philips/Radiola/Schneider. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  24. HERVIER, Carl (2014). "My VG5000 :-)". vg5000.free.fr. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  25. max, Sergio (2022-08-24). "logiciels développés cette année 2017 :: Vg5000". Sergio max. (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-13.
  26. "Retro Programmers United for Obscure Systems - Philips VG5000 session". itch.io. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  27. "Materiel". La page des fans du VG5000µ. 2021-10-28. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  28. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  29. "The VG5000µ page". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  30. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  31. "The VG5000µ page". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  32. "The VG5000µ page". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  33. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  34. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  35. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  36. "La page des fans du VG5000µ". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  37. "The VG5000µ page". 2015-05-26. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  38. VG5000 Manuel de service (Service manual). Edition Service SA. 1984.
  39. Hervier, Carl; Vanlierde, Stéphane (2023). "La page des fans du VG5000μ". vg5k.free.fr.
  40. Arcadeitalia
  41. VG5K
External links