![]() ![]() But demand remained stubbornly strong for the 64 Kilobyte beast, with the 128 trailing behind. Similar to those used by Sega some 10 years later with the launch of the Mega drive, this was probably a big driver in the playground tribe warfare between Sinclair and Commodore owners throughout the 80’s – something which was again repeated in the 90s between Sega and Nintendo owners.Īmazingly Commodore made repeated bids to discontinue the machine as early as 1984, in order to promote more powerful machines such as the Commodore 128. Although this was becoming fairly common place in the UK, with the Speccy starting to appear in shops such as WH Smiths, there were still plenty of missed opportunities which Commodore seized on, and this was particularly key in the US, where the Sinclair machines hadn’t really been given the grounds to make the impact they deserved.Īnother key part of it’s success, despite the initial price tag, may be contributed to the aggressive marketing tactics, adopted by Commodore, which pitted the superiority of the machine against it’s rivals in a series of television commercials on both sides of the atlantic. Additionally, a large part of the machine’s success, apart from those impressive capabilities, was Commodore’s decision to sell the machine in popular retail outlets, such as department stores, book stores and discount merchants. As the 80’s careered on, the c64 became a very strong rival to the Speccy, and both machines held a similar market share by the time the decade was out.Īfter it’s launch, the very technology which veered it at the business market (and the fact it had an RF output), was the reason why it was so successful in the games market. This lead to the 64’s price being dropped to £229 by 1984. The machine landed in the UK in early 1983, although by then, the ZX Spectrum had obtained a strong foothold, with the 48k model retailing at only £175. Large scale production of the machine took place during the latter part of 1982, with the machine holding an entry price point of $595 or £399 (equivalent to about $1,500 in today’s money), even though it only cost $135 to manufacture each unit. Originally, it was aimed at the business market, with it’s superior technology and expansion options and this was clearly evident in the pricing. Everyone and their chimney sweep has owned, or at least knows of the Commodore 64. It held an amazing production lifespan of 12 years, only being discontinued in April 1994! Also known as the C64 or the CBM 64 (CBM standing for Commodore Business Machines), it is the biggest selling computer model of all history, with an upper estimate of 17 million units sold worldwide. Initially unveiled in January 1982 by Commodore International, the machine was designed in 2 days after Jack Tramiel realised the gap in the market Commodore could fill with their recently designed new video and sound chips – the Vic II and the SID – ready to launch at the Las Vegas CES. The Commodore 64 was the much awaited follow up to the Vic-20, which itself superseded the Commodore PET.
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