|  Grupo Sigma S.A. (Sigma) | | Name: | Grupo Sigma S.A. |
| Handle: | Sigma |
| Type: | Company |
| Active: | no |
| Address: | Holbein #157 |
| City: | Ciudad de México |
| Postal Code: | CP03810 |
| Country: |  Mexico |
| Notes: | |
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| | Taken From Wikipedia | In Mexico, the C16 was sold as a beginners' computer from early 1985 to 1992. Aurrerá supermarkets distributed them with Grupo Sigma S.A., a local distributor of Commodore USA. The computer was marketed as "Sigma-Commodore 16" (all other Commodore computers sold in Mexico had the same moniker). Basically, this model is the same as the American/European C16; as it doesn't have the "Ñ" key needed for writing the Spanish language, the only difference is the custom label.
Aurrerá Supermarket also sold software, peripherals and books about to how to program Commodore Computers. All these merchandise were displayed in special modules at electronics department called "El Universo de la Computación" (The Universe of the Computer Science). The success of Commodore in Mexico were in granted by the fact that Aurrerá Supermarket let any people test the machines in store, so people gather to play games and exchange programs in unofficial computer clubs.
At least four annual software writing contests were held sponsored by Aurrerá Supermarket, Grupo Sigma and Commodore between 1985 and 1989. These contest had entries for programming, custom hardware and computer graphics for the C16, C64, C128 and Amiga. Prizes included money, Commodore software and hardware and the right to have the software published by Grupo Sigma for the local market. The contest winners had limited sales restricted only to Mexico, so the resulting original software is almost impossible to find.
Grupo Sigma stopped supporting the brand in mid-1993, in favor of the growing (and more profitable) IBM PC compatible market. |
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| | Interview: Juan Carlos Ricalde | | In October 2021, Commodore Plus has published an interview with Juan Carlos Ricalde, former SIGMA employee, accompanied by various pictures of rare Sigma software boxes. read the whole interview HERE. |
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