Is Commodore 64 For Real?
It was during the 1980s that a personal computer called the Commodore 64 was produced. During that time it was popularly available especially due to its very low costs and it gradually became a personal computer that was best sold model for more reasons than one. It was available with video chips, RAM amounting to 64 KB, a separate sound system and a 1 MHz 6510 CPU as well. Into the ROM was built in the interpreter for BASIC programming as well as the operating system which allowed users to use the C64 out of the box straight away. The C64 was designed in such a way that it could be connected to the display of television as it was not available with a monitor.
If at all needed, a separate monitor could be purchased too. The PC was designed explicitly at an extremely low budget and marketed to the retail stores directly instead of the vendors selling electronic items. The cost of the C64 was just $595 originally which was very affordable as compared to the rest of the computers available in the market. However, even after having reduced the price, the sale of this computer kept dropping in the initial few years. But the upside was that many of the competitors including Texas Instruments and Timex were driven out of the marketplace for computers due to the C64's low cost.
Stores were able to make a profit margin that was extremely low but money was also made by sales of joysticks, printers as well as disk drives. During the time the C64 was introduced, the eight sprites that were programmable and the colors that totaled to sixteen in a band spectrum were considered quite advanced. Three channels helped the sound system of the C64 which had different wave lengths, with a built in ring modulation as well. The only problem was with the upgrading challenge.
C64 was such that it was not possible to get it upgraded just like the other computers even though it had processing as well as memory power that was adequate enough as compared to the rest of the computers that were in the market. Many other related models were later introduced as the C64 headed towards becoming an obsolete computer. The Commodore Games System designed for video gaming, specifically the 128 KB memory and the 80 line display of the Commodore 128a and the SX 64, became a part of the version that enjoyed portability with a built in floppy as well as the sleek monitor. This is why many other related models introduced after the C64 gradually became obsolete in their own market time.
By the year 1994, the C64 was no more available and none of the related models proved to be commercially successful. It was during this period that the Commodore lost business. However due to the Amega series which came to the market as an advanced system later in the 1980s, some of the best Commodore 64 pieces were sold. Plugging in of C64 was possible within television sets without any modifications or hardware of any special kind. All of this made it a seventeen million unit best seller during its time.