Many hours were lost typing software in Commodore BASIC that was saved on a cassette tape using the Commodore 1530 Datasette drive on the majority of Commodore 64 users' TV-connected computers.
The Commodore 64 was primarily used as a gaming console, even though it was a capable personal computer for productivity software like word processing and spreadsheets. Two Atari-compatible joystick ports were incorporated into the C64.
1984 was the explosive year. Games such as Bruce Lee, Boulder Dash, Summer Games and Pitstop II came along in quick succession, showing the visual and tonal variety of C64 titles.
It is difficult now to sum up the impact of seeing the ultra-smooth character animation in spy game Impossible Mission or hearing the synthesized voice in Ghostbusters.
The wonderful book Commodore 64: A Visual Compendium, an intelligently curated selection of C64 screenshots and imagery, contains a quote from graphic artist Paul Docherty that really captures the era: “Painting in pixels was never more magical for me than when I was sitting in a darkened room with just a joystick hooked up to the C64 and the cathode ray tube glowing in front of me.”
Best-selling Commodore 64 computer turns 40
By Shella Artillero - - 5 Mins Read
A year after the VIC-20 was debuted, Commodore released the Commodore 64, which effectively revolutionized computing more than 40 years ago.
At that time, programmers were still getting to grips with the machine. Offering twice the memory of most rivals, its hardware could also handle seamless scrolling allowing natural movement around larger game maps, and eight multicolor sprites on screen simultaneously.
It could play sound files, had sprite-based graphics, had a massive 64 kilobytes (KB) of memory, and cost less than Apple. It cost $595, which is equivalent to around $2000 in today's money. Atari, Apple, Radio Shack, and Texas Instruments all offered computers with comparable features.
A MOS 6510 CPU, capable of a scorching 1 MHz, was at its core. In the United States, the Commodore 64 mainly competed with the Atari 800 computer line, the TI-99/4A, the Apple II series, and to a lesser extent, the IBM PC. It competed in the UK against the BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum.
Many hours were lost typing software in Commodore BASIC that was saved on a cassette tape using the Commodore 1530 Datasette drive on the majority of Commodore 64 users' TV-connected computers.
The Commodore 64 was primarily used as a gaming console, even though it was a capable personal computer for productivity software like word processing and spreadsheets. Two Atari-compatible joystick ports were incorporated into the C64.
1984 was the explosive year. Games such as Bruce Lee, Boulder Dash, Summer Games and Pitstop II came along in quick succession, showing the visual and tonal variety of C64 titles.
It is difficult now to sum up the impact of seeing the ultra-smooth character animation in spy game Impossible Mission or hearing the synthesized voice in Ghostbusters.
The wonderful book Commodore 64: A Visual Compendium, an intelligently curated selection of C64 screenshots and imagery, contains a quote from graphic artist Paul Docherty that really captures the era: “Painting in pixels was never more magical for me than when I was sitting in a darkened room with just a joystick hooked up to the C64 and the cathode ray tube glowing in front of me.”
Many hours were lost typing software in Commodore BASIC that was saved on a cassette tape using the Commodore 1530 Datasette drive on the majority of Commodore 64 users' TV-connected computers.
The Commodore 64 was primarily used as a gaming console, even though it was a capable personal computer for productivity software like word processing and spreadsheets. Two Atari-compatible joystick ports were incorporated into the C64.
1984 was the explosive year. Games such as Bruce Lee, Boulder Dash, Summer Games and Pitstop II came along in quick succession, showing the visual and tonal variety of C64 titles.
It is difficult now to sum up the impact of seeing the ultra-smooth character animation in spy game Impossible Mission or hearing the synthesized voice in Ghostbusters.
The wonderful book Commodore 64: A Visual Compendium, an intelligently curated selection of C64 screenshots and imagery, contains a quote from graphic artist Paul Docherty that really captures the era: “Painting in pixels was never more magical for me than when I was sitting in a darkened room with just a joystick hooked up to the C64 and the cathode ray tube glowing in front of me.”