Editing Jupiter Ace (section)

=== Sales ===
Sales of the machine were never very large; the reported number of Aces sold before Jupiter Cantab closed for business was around 5,000.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=What is an Ace |url=http://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/whatisanace.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617051445/http://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/whatisanace.html |archive-date=2012-06-17 |access-date=2008-09-24 |website=Jupiter Ace Resource Site}}</ref> As of the early 2000s, surviving machines are uncommon, often fetching high prices as collector's items.

Forth, while being structured and powerful, was considered difficult to learn, and a knowledge of BASIC acquired from familiarity with other home computers was of no practical help in learning it. A 1982 review stated that "The success of the Jupiter Ace will depend on the machine-buying public's acceptance of another microcomputer language."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bennett |first=Bill |date=November 1982 |title=Jupiter Ace Review |url=https://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/review_yc.html |work=Your Computer}}</ref>

Further, there was only a very limited range of published software{{snd}} either commercial programs or [[type-in program]]s printed in hobby magazines{{snd}} for the machine, and these were restricted by the base model's small amount of RAM.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Jupiter Ace Software Index |url=http://jupiter-ace.co.uk/software_index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523052049/http://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/software_index.html |archive-date=2007-05-23 |access-date=2014-10-05 |website=Jupiter Ace Resource Site}}</ref>

Attempts to promote the Ace in the educational market also failed; doubts over whether Forth would be relevant for exam syllabuses, and the lack of support for Forth from teaching staff were key issues.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Laine |first=Joe |date=November 11, 1982 |title=Ace Goes Back To School |url=https://www.jupiter-ace.co.uk/letters_PCWeekly821111.html |work=Popular Computing Weekly}}</ref> Pupils were more interested in learning the widely used BASIC than a language used by only one (uncommon) machine with a peculiar [[postfix notation|RPN]] syntax.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Tony |date=September 21, 2012 |title=The Jupiter Ace: 40 years on |url=https://www.theregister.com/2012/09/21/jupiter_cantab_jupiter_ace_is_30_years_old?page=5 |work=The Register}}</ref>

Finally, the [[tile engine|tile]]-based graphics compared poorly to the [[pixel]]-based graphics of other machines{{snd}} which were also colour rather than the Ace's monochrome. This restricted sales largely to a niche market of technical programming enthusiasts.