Successor to the VIC 20 home computer, the C64 quickly established itself in the rapidly expanding gaming market, selling 1m units in the year following its release, making it more popular than both the Atari 800 & the Apple II. This had much to do with the dedicated graphics & sound chips, a cartridge slot & 2 joystick ports as well as sprites, hardware scrolling & a programmable 3-channel sound generator.
Developers for the C64 included established 3rd party developers like Microprose, Electronic Arts & Origin as well as encouraging large numbers of amateur programmers. The powerful sound chip stimulated the 8-bit music scene, helping to establish game soundtrack production as a separate discipline. Commodore also launched Quantum Link (later AOL) in 1985 creating a small online community in the US.
- USA 1982 – games produced until
- Units sold: 20 million
- Number of games: 2,000
- Game storage: Tape / Cartridge / Disc
Loaned by The National Videogame Arcade, Nottingham
