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January 3, 2012 By Chad Vander Veen
Thirty years ago the battle for the home computer market was just getting under way. There were a number of companies selling machines, each claiming their’s was designed for use at home. The idea that a work computer and home computer could be the same machine hadn’t yet reached acceptance. So at the time, consumers could choose from distinctly different home computers offered by companies like IBM, RadioShack, Apple, and Atari. And while fans remain of home computers like the Apple IIe and the Atari 800, no computer from that era has inspired more passionate devotees than the Commodore 64.
The Commodore 64 debuted at the 1982 Consumer Electronics Show, 30 years ago this month. The computer, as its name implies, boasted 64K RAM, a 1 MHz MOS 6510 processor, 16-color display capabilities, advanced audio processing and a host of ports and peripherals. The C64’s debut changed the home computer industry because of its $595 list price, which was possible thanks to Commodore’s purchase several years earlier of MOS Technology — which made many of the C64’s components. Comparable computers from Apple, Atari, Texas Instruments and others cost $1,000 or more. Commodore soon began selling the C64 at retailers like Kmart in addition to specialty computer stores. This allowed the company to lower the price further — to $400 — and even begin offering $100 trade-in credits for anyone who exchanged their current video game console or computer for a new C64. This resulted in a price war among home computers that would eventually claim a number of computer makers as well as spark the “North American video game crash” of the mid-1980s.
The C64 — like most other computers of the day — ran a version of BASIC. The C64’s load command – LOAD "*",8,1 – is fondly preserved today on T-shirts, coffee mugs and other souvenirs. The C64 was famed for its superior video and, even more so, it’s audio prowess. The C64’s three-channel sound synthesizing SID (Sound Interface Device) chip led to previously unheard of music in computer games and also made the C64 a hit with audio editors and the electronic music set.
But it was the C64’s video games that made it legendary. Software publishers took advantage of the C64’s capabilities and produced many games that put down the foundation for what exists today. Though ultimately some 10,000 software titles were written for the C64 — many of which were business products such as word processors and spreadsheets — the C64’s existence eventually came to be that of a video game machine. Most (male) thirtysomethings today no doubt recall games like Impossible Mission, Winter Games (especially the Hot Dog event), Pit Stop, Ultima, and A Bard’s Tale.
The C64 is also remembered for its numerous peripherals, such as the 1541 floppy drive, the 1530 tape drive, the VIC-II modem, the famous Commodore mouse, an external hard drive, a light pen, and even a music keyboard. Many of these peripherals took advantage of the C64’s numerous ports. Available ports included a cartridge expansion slot, RF output, composite video output, a serial bus, cassette tape, a modem port, and two controller ports (typically used for joysticks).
The Commodore 64 continued to sell until the company’s bankruptcy in 1994. In all, the Commodore 64 sold at least 17 million units, making it the bestselling personal computer of all time.
Do you have memories of the Commodore 64? If so, share them in the comments section below.
Photo Credits:
The original Commodore 64: Shane Doucette
The famous Commodore 64 load screen: Regorius
A Commodore 1541 floppy drive: Nathan Beach
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.govtech.com/news/Commodore-64-Turns-30.html
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Ahhh, the Commodore 64. That takes me back. It's funny the article mentions winter games - I remember playing the heck out of that one...summer games too!
Yes I remember the nights typing in the program from Compute Gazette magazine. I remember taking a Pascal course at UCF on a mainframe and I write and get them working on the C64 then type them in the mainframe for class projects.
Yes...I also had both winter & summer games...I cannot remember how many joysticks I broke playing the 100m dash...I know it was several.
I still have a couple in storage with boxes of hole-punched double-sided floppys. It was a very versatile little machine. With all that it could do, it got you thinking about how computers could eventually dominate modern society. Heck, the C64 could play "Daisy" (from 2001 Space Odyssey) through the 1541 floppy drive, or talk via the SAM speech synth. With its low price, expansion ports, graphics and sound capabilities, it was the first creative computer accessible by everyone. Happy 30th C64!
Oh, yes! In particular, I remember typing in the code for a pretty fair word processor, which I then used to type all of my papers for my MBA. I also bought a modem to connect to the school's mainframe to do analysis for my Statistics class. I typed in several more programs, but that one sticks out in my mind. Love that magazine!
I remember the ease at which you could write applications, sure they weren't a complex as todays but anyone could do it...
Yes, the Vic 20 and the C64 were my first computers. When I bought my first Gazette magazine, I knew that I wanted to be a game programmer :) (I changed my major the next semester.. The happiest day though was when purchased my Vic II modem and was then able to access all of the BBS's that had started to pop up. Yes, the Commodore computer forever changed my life.
I still have a working Commodore 64.
Absolutely! Loved programming on this thing as a kid. Remember "Sprites?" I created my first video game sitting up late at nights using the ol' 64!
I still have one, and two floppy drives, in the box!
Everyone should check out the new computers CommodoreUSA is making, http://commodoreusa.net.
Winter and Summer Games were great! As were My two favorite games were Ghostbusters (great audio!) and Alice in Wonderland. I still occasionally play both on a C64 emulator.
Yes the C64 and CompuServe....that takes me back, thanks for the article.
Does anyone remember the TRS 80 with the cassete recorder
One of the drivers of C64/VIC-20 sales was the cartridge that turned it into a front end for ham radio operation. You still see them for sale at ham swap meets.
Experimented with programming surveying software on the C64, but the radians to degrees conversion wasn't the best. Still have an SX-64 portable in the closet. Learned a lot!
I still remember paying Pirates!, F19 STealth Fighter, Apache 64, and M1 Scout Platoon. I wish they were still in business!
Ah yes, 200 Baud modem...high speed! Worth mentioning is the game "Temple of Apshai" (sp?) which was one of the, if not the original computer RPG, taking Dungeons and Dragons digital.
MY FIRST BUSINESSS COMPUTING EXPERIENCE. USED DBASE 64 AND MAILMERGE TO COLLECT NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS AND MAILMERGE TO PULL THE DBASE INFO INTO ADDRESS ENVELOPES AND WRITE PERSONALIZED SOLICITATION LETTERS. ALSO USED IT FOR PRODUCTION TRACKING. GREAT MACHINE, CONTRIBUTED IN A HUGE WAY TO INCREASING BUSINESS. STILL HAVE THE WORKING MACHINE WITH THREE DISK DRIVES AND PRINTER. ( REMEWMBER DOT MATRIX)
I typed in Speedscript from Compute's Gazette and used it at home, then home-brewed a BASIC program to translate text in Speedscript code and Commodore (nonstandard) ASCII and send it over my 300-baud modem to the Atex system at the daily newspaper where I worked as a copy editor. My wife worked there, too, and the Commodore enabled her to work from home some of the time, with her boss's permission. Just a couple months ago I took a pretty complete set of Compute and Gazette issues from 1984-87, plus Macworld and other mags, to a used-book store. They gave me 50 cents for the five boxes.
I have two 64s, a 128, and peripherals in the attic, with boxes of 5-1/4 floppies containing hundreds of hours of BASIC work and fun reinventing the wheel.
The spreadsheet program VisiCalc also made the Commodore very useful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisiCalc
Ahh, I coded a tank battle game, that was pretty good too. The C64 really helped me lay a solid foundation of computer fundamentals, and being able to afford one for the house was one of the best things that ever happened in my primary education. Thank goodness for my parents, who knew nothing about computers, but were willing to take their 10-year-old son's advice on which machine to buy! This computer got me all the way to college in the early 90's when I finally built a PC clone on which to work.
The first computer I ever used was a Radio Shack "Trash-80" with a cassette recorder in my 9th grade homeroom class back in 1981. I think the only game it played was a primitive version of "Space Invaders," but the teacher could hardly drag us kids away from it!
Used the c64 to learn dbase word processing and mail mergingwhich I then napplied to my business. Fantastic machine for its day. Even used it to practice instrument flying and shooting approaches for my Instrument ticket.