Do You Remember the Commodore 64 Computer?
In the early 1980’s, the Commodore 64 computer was released. It went on to become the biggest selling computer of all time. Hosting 64 kilobytes of memory and high quality sound and graphics for that time period, everybody wanted one of these fantastic machines. These days the Commodore would be laughed at in comparison to the newer, advanced video game consoles. However, there are still many enthusiasts who love this old computer.
Commodore 64 Breadbox
Why the Commodore 64 Was So Popular
One of the main reasons why the Commodore 64 was so popular was because it didn’t need any modifications to work. It simply needed to be plugged into a television and that was it. It was also sold in ordinary retail stores rather than specialised computer stores. This is partly what led to 30 million sales. It was the most popular home computer even to be created.
There were around 10,000 software titles available throughout the computer’s lifetime too. These included not only games but also development tools and office applications. It was the consoles flexible hardware that made it more popular than its competitors at the time. One of the main competitors for the Commodore was the Atari in America. However this was much more expensive to purchase. The Commodore was affordable and it offered next generation graphics and sound quality.
The Sinclair Spectrum was another computer that the Commodore had to compete with in Europe. It seemed that the computer had a much more difficult time competing with the Spectrum due to the fact that the competitor was much more affordable. The Spectrum cost almost half of what the Commodore was selling for. It cost £399 when it was first introduced, whereas the Spectrum cost just £175. Despite the cost difference however, the Commodore did still manage to regain its popularity and the Spectrum was discontinued in 1990.
Commodore 64c
The Graphics chip enabled 16 colours and it had scrolling capabilities. Many people don’t realise that the chip was actually capable of producing 120 different colours. It was just only officially supported for and engineered for 16 colours.
One thing that did baffle many owners of the Commodore 64 Computer was the fact that it said that it only had 38,911 bytes free when it booted up. The machine was supposed to come with 64,000 bytes. Half of this however was used internally for Basic Operating Systems.
On the whole, the Commodore 64 was definitely the best selling games console throughout the 80’s and the early 90’s. It can still be found today and many enthusiasts have one.
The Commodore 64 Today
These days you can still find the Commodore 64 computer for sale on the Internet. You may struggle to find it offline. You can also purchase Commodore games that can be played on modern games consoles. You can even find classic games and a Commodore 64 emulator application for the iPhone in the Apple's App store.
If you own a Commodore 64 Computer today, you can also tweet from it. As long as the console has an internet connection you can use the app “Breadbox 64” to send tweets from the console.
Commodore 64 Computer System
The Commodore 64 may have been discontinued in April 1994, but its popularity has never faded with those who remember it. It was the basis to many software applications that were created and it still remains as the best selling games console ever made. If you are a games console enthusiast then you should definitely look for the Commodore 64 computer online. You should be able to find it at an affordable price too. Online auction websites are a great place to start your search for a Commodore 64 computer.