My 2nd computer ever was a Commodore 64C that my dad bought from K-mart, back in 1986. With the floppy drive, it came to $500. We hooked it up to an old color tv. It was the computer that everyone had, and I traded games with my friends, my teachers, and also my judo sensei. Impossible Mission, Maniac Mansion, Summer/Winter/California Games, Ghostbusters, Commando... just a few of the games I remember spending too much time playing.
The bulky brown home computing box of choice of the 1980's hits the three decade landmark this month, and is fondly remembered by many a tech fan (including this very Tech Digest writer) as their first experience with home computing.
A tame machine by today's standards, its 8-bit charms with a MOS Technology 6510 processor running at a 1MHz, 64k of memory and 16-colour graphics chip were as good as it got upon release in 1982.
For many, the machine was also their first taste of the delights of gaming at home, stuffing cassette tapes into the C64 rather than stuffing their pocket money into the local arcade machines. They took an age to load, but offered hours upon hours of fun. Anyone who has ever pulled off a split-kick double takedown in International Karate +, or ran through the legs of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters will sing the machine's praises.
Anyone looking to get into making chiptune music should definitely check out the C64 too. The likes of Rob Hubbard, David Whittaker and Martin Galway were doing trailblazing stuff with game soundtracks using the machines SID chip, the influence of which can be heard in music by the likes of Crystal Castles. Just check this selection of tracks if you need convincing.
Though getting off to a slow start after being revealed at the 1981 CES show,17 million units Commodore 64 units went on to be sold. Dominating the 1980s, the machine fell out of vogue by the 1990s as Nintendo, Sega and Amiga machines become increasingly popular, and by the middle of the decade Commodore had filed for bankruptcy. A Commodore 65 prototype was built, but never hit mass production.
While it's very easy to get your hands on a Commodore 64 emulator (there's even one as an app for Apple devices), and just as easy to pick up a retro machine from eBay, a new company called Commodore USA in 2012 began to produce a new machine called the Commodore 64x. A great gift for fans of the original machine, it completely keeps the bulky build of the computer, but adds modern specifications like dual-core, 1.8GHz Intel Atom D525 chip, an Nvidia Ion 2 GPU, Wi-Fi and a Blu-ray drive. Source
The only "games" I ever played on the C64 was Logo and Lunar Lander. :fuckthatshit:
SkinnyPupp
08-01-2012 06:21 PM
Most of my early gaming was done on my best friend's C64, along with my own Atari 2600
:tears:
Psykopathik
08-02-2012 08:46 AM
racing destruction set was awesome. I remember buying a 5.5" floppy and copying a bunch of games for myself, even though i didn't have a C64 even. hole punch the right side edge of the floppy, and instant 2X the capacity.
GLOW
08-02-2012 08:52 AM
i had like 3 shoe boxes full of games for my commadore 64. had a 'newer' one compared to what was used in elementary school.
Battletech, maniac mansion, zack mckrakkin & gauntlet were my most memorable games...
oh and 8bit strip poker? :lawl:
I had a Radio Shack TRS-80, quite similar. At the time, these two computers were amazing in that you could have an affordable computer attached to your TV
