The Commodore 64 era

When we look today at Commodore 64 characteristics, 1MHz clock doesn’t seems impresive, 320×200 16 colors graphics isn’t

Commodore 64

something that you can see today, but this machine was manufactured for almost 12 years (from August 1982 to April 1994) and sold in 30 milion units.

At the time when was introduced, Commodore 64 graphic and sound capabilities were superior over the most of home and personal computers, rivaled only by some of them. SID (Sound Interface Device) chip with 3 separate synthesized channels and many options for combining them, stays at nowadays for unique sound device with specific and recognisable sounds. For those interested in this topic, there is a plenty of SID music, available for free download. Only to mention, in 1982. many computer models had only a beeper.

VIC II (Video Interface Chip) was a another chip which makes C-64 superior in 1982. - in the time when monochrome display and text-mode-only was a common.

CPU is MOS Technology 6510 at for that time not-too-much-impresive 1MHz. 64K of RAM and 20K of ROM. Not too much, but with SID and VIC II enough for No.1 place.There are many other technical characteristics and built-in capabilities, but we will talk about them at other occasion.

A lot of games, utilities, demos and other

software, developed for Commodore 64 make this machine doubtless very popular. For developers fighting with limited hardware resources was very challenging, and for users new achievements was surprise (Wow, I don’t know that my computer can do that!). Everybody waits for new version of game to see what is now possible, with the same hardware!!!

This wasn’t time of struggling with compatibility, this was a time of struggling with resources. Greatest optimizations, greatest results. When someone buys a game, the question isn’t “will it work on my machine?” but how to play better. Do I have enough memory? Of course, everybody does. It’s only 64K, but it’s enough.

To be honorest, games of that era, with that resources, for nowadays aren’t something special, maybe we would say that they are silly: Pffff, “two pixels” chassing each other, who cares? Sprite? No 3D?

C64 Welcome Screen

Of course, there was one extra dimension - the imagination. A ship drawn with lines? Everybody knows that is a ship and it is a ship! Character in games represented with sprites 24×21 pixels? Of course, enough for good fun.

Era of 16-bit computers comes quickly. Computers became faster, louder and with more colors, but c64 remains prime choice. Price and software base are probably prime factors for that. After 16-bit there are 32-bit computers and difference in performances are drastical. As it be, at april 1994. last c64 was manufactured - world was deep in 32-bit era. World popularity of internet has to come, www, 3D, audio, video… Machine with “only” 64K, datassete with 300b or 1200b transfer rate or 2×180k discette, has’n place in that world.

Many enthusiasts continue to maintain c64 scene. Many games are published after 1994. Many demos are published after 1994. Many musics are published after 1994. Many tools are published after 1994. Of course there are hardware developed after 1994. like ethernet adapters, hard-drive or flash interfaces. But time of c64 is gone. Gone forever.

Sometimes it is compared with Ford Model-T for bringing a new technology to middle-class households via creative mass-production.

Sometimes it’s compared with ZX Spectrum, but one is for sure… C-64 is a computer that makes our days better.