20 Fascinating Facts About Commodore 64

The Commodore 64, commonly known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer that was introduced by Commodore International in 1982. It is one of the best-selling personal computers of all time, with estimates ranging from 10 to 17 million units sold worldwide.

The Commodore 64 was notable for its affordability and versatility. It featured a MOS Technology 6510 microprocessor running at 1 MHz, 64 kilobytes of RAM, and a custom graphics and sound chip called the VIC-II and SID, respectively. The system had a built-in keyboard, and it was possible to connect it to a monitor or TV for display.

Commodore 64 Facts

The Commodore 64 was released in August 1982 and remained in production until April 1994.
It was designed by a team led by engineer Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore International.
The name “Commodore 64” derived from its 64 kilobytes of RAM.
The system featured a MOS Technology 6510 microprocessor running at 1 MHz.
It had a custom graphics chip called VIC-II, capable of displaying up to 16 colors and sprites.
The sound was generated by the SID (Sound Interface Device) chip, which provided three channels of sound synthesis.
The C64 had a built-in keyboard with a full set of keys, including function keys and a numeric keypad.
It had two joystick ports, allowing for multiplayer gaming.
The Commodore 64 used cassette tapes for storage in the early models, but later models had a built-in 5.25-inch floppy disk drive.
It had multiple expansion ports, including cartridge slots and user port, allowing for additional hardware and peripherals.
The C64 supported various graphic modes, including multicolor, high-resolution, and text modes.
It was capable of displaying resolutions of up to 320×200 pixels.
The system’s BASIC programming language, called Commodore BASIC V2, was built into the ROM.
The Commodore 64 was a major platform for gaming, with thousands of games released for the system.
It had a dedicated community of developers who created software, demos, and utility programs for the C64.
The C64 was known for its fast-loading games due to a custom disk drive controller.
It had a large software library covering various genres, including action, adventure, sports, and educational games.
The Commodore 64 sold between 10 and 17 million units worldwide, making it one of the best-selling home computers.
It faced competition from other 8-bit home computers like the Apple II, Atari 8-bit series, and ZX Spectrum.
The Commodore 64 holds a special place in the history of computing and is considered an iconic symbol of the early home computer era.