December 31, 2024, 9:04 am | Read time: 6 minutes
In 1982, Commodore introduced the C64, the first computer suitable for mass use at home. It revolutionized life as we knew it until then. We are still feeling the effects today.
Our life without computers? Unimaginable! In the early days, however, computers looked more like flashing fridges with buttons and cables. The first large calculating machines took up entire rooms. Back then, computers were mostly used in research or at universities. For a long time, pocket calculators were considered a technical marvel for home use. Until a company in the USA had the brilliant idea of bringing computers into people’s living rooms. The company in question was Commodore. Commodore presented the C64 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 1982. At that time, no one had any idea that the most successful home computer of all time had seen the light of day.
Overview
Jack Tramiel Invented the C64
The forefather of the C64 has a name: Jack Tramiel. This man had the vision of making computers suitable for the masses and making their possibilities usable for many. However, the C64 was originally intended to be a game console. First and foremost, Jack Tramiel recognized the potential of the new generation of computer chips. The CPU 6510 chip introduced in 1980 was particularly suitable for programming computer games.
Atari already had a game console suitable for the masses at the time. Commodore, on the other hand, was celebrating its first successes with the VIC-20 computer at the time, although the forerunner of the C64 had a number of technical shortcomings. Jack Tramiel, therefore, changed his ambitions. Instead, he pursued the idea of bringing a computer onto the market with 64 kilobytes of RAM – hence the name C64 – as well as more colors and sound for less than 1000 US dollars.
This Is How Little a C64 Cost
The development of the first C64 lasted until 1982, and US technology journalists were enthusiastic. Back then, there were already small computers for the home, for example, from Apple or Atari. However, these cost a fortune. In addition, none of the competitors offered such a powerful overall package as the C64.
The entire secret of the new computer was contained in a light brown, rectangular box. Because of its rounded edges, its fans still call it the “bread box” today. The motherboard with all the components and connections was hidden under the keyboard. Commodore also fell well below the target price of less than 1000 US dollars. At its market launch in the USA, the C64 was available in stores for 600 US dollars. Computers had never been so cheap.
In Germany, the C64 only went on sale in January 1983, a year later. At that time, the introductory price was still 1495 Deutschmarks. However, numerous positive test reports in various technology magazines caused demand for the new home computer to soar. As a result, the price fell to just under 600 Deutschmarks over the course of the year. Suddenly, there were a lot of computers under the Christmas tree in 1983. The C64 became a bestseller, and not just in Germany.
Computer Games Made the “Bread Box” Socially Acceptable
This was not only due to the unbeatably low price. Many computer game manufacturers also subsequently published games for the C64. At the same time, a lively hacker scene developed. As a result, the games were distributed illegally in the school playground, for example, but at a rapid pace. Commodore boss Jack Tramiel’s original idea of developing an affordable and powerful games console had come true, at least among the younger generation.
For the first time, gaming was really fun on the C64. Despite the unimaginably low computer capacity for today, the game developers got the maximum out of the C64. As a result, young people were suddenly spending several hours on the computer, much to the annoyance of their parents. As the C64 could be connected to the television, in many cases, it was not even necessary to buy a monitor.
However, it was not possible without additional devices. To be able to load the games, a datasette had to be purchased for just under 200 Deutschmarks or a floppy disk drive for around 900 Deutschmarks. Many C64 owners chose the cheaper and slower Datasette. Here, the games and programs were loaded via a normal compact cassette.
This was much faster with the disk drive. Flexible 5 ¼-inch floppy disks were used as the medium. To give you an idea of how much data could fit on a floppy disk, each side has a storage capacity of 175 kilobytes. It would take ten such disks to store a single smartphone photo.
Programming as a Cult
However, the C64 was not only used as a gaming computer. The Commodore computer used the BASIC programming language as its operating system. Even without an IT degree, countless small programs were created in children’s rooms at home that made working with the C64 even more convenient.
Some of these small technical marvels were distributed free of charge. Many well-known programmers found their professional destinies through BASIC and the C64. Programming suddenly became a cult from the mid-1980s onward.
Many freelancers also used the C64 for their work. Laptops and the like did not yet exist. The inexpensive home computer could also be used to write texts or create tables. This was later followed by special music and painting programs for composing songs or creating digital works of art on the computer.
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Commodore Missed the Boat
The C64 appeared in slightly modified versions until 1994. Compatibility did not suffer as a result. All programs from the previous computer variants also ran on the new C64 generations. In 2018, the computer even came back as a new C64 Mini edition. However, Jack Tramiel was long gone by then. The forefather of the C64 had already left Commodore in 1984 in a dispute. He later switched to major competitor Atari.
Commodore then relied on the success of the C64 for a long time. Between 12 and 30 million units of the model were sold worldwide. There is no exact figure. In any case, the C64 is considered the most successful home computer.
Other Commodore computers followed, such as the C128 and the much more powerful Amiga. The latter was in direct competition with the Atari ST, of all things, where Jack Tramiel was now in charge. However, both computers had to leave the field at the beginning of the 1990s. In the meantime, the competition in the form of IBM was supplying much more modern and powerful home computers. Commodore filed for bankruptcy on April 29, 1994.
Nevertheless, the C64 remains unforgotten. To this day, a strong fan community on the Internet continues to cultivate the legend of the world’s first commercial home computer. C64 Games makes games from back then available free of charge on its website. There are also tools available that can be used to turn today’s computers back into a C64. Try it out for yourself.