Commodore C64 - A History In Pictures

The Commodore C64 is one of the most successful home computers of all time, selling over 15 million units worldwide. However, what most people may not be aware of is just how many C64 variants there have been. In this feature, we'll bring you details and photos of as many of these as we can, adding more over time.

Commodore C64GS (1990) This was Commodore's attempt to take on the console market head on. The C64GS was a modified C64 without any of the expansion ports and no keyboard. Basically, it became a cartridge only games console with two joystick ports. Inside it was virtually identical to the original C64 with just one or two minor changes with some of the ROMs to allow for the cartridge only system and for the enhanced joystick ports which could now work with two independent fire buttons. It was released primarily for the UK market at a seemingly bargain price of £99.99, and came complete with a joystick, and a cartridge containing four games - International Soccer, Klax, Fiendish Freddy's Big Top Of Fun, and Flimbo's Quest. Despite its age, International Soccer remained a classic game and was worthy of inclusion in the pack, as was the excellent System 3 platform game, Flimbo's Quest. Klax was one of those puzzle games that you either loved or hated, while Fiendish Freddy was probably only included to showcase the advantages of instant loading cartridges over tape and disk. With it's launch, it prompted a resurgance in interest amongst C64 publishers to look at the cartridge market once again as a way of both combatting piracy and developing games that would not have been possible on any other format. Ocean embraced the console and very quickly released most of their current games on cartridge and other companies such as Psygnosis took an increased interest in the C64 once again, releasing a stunning conversion of their Amiga hit, Shadow Of The Beast. However, the C64GS wasn't without its problems. By the time it was released, the Amiga had been on the market for some five years and it was technically inferior to the Megadrive and SNES. There were also only a handful of games released for the platform despite the interest, and many gamers were reluctant to part with their money until they saw a range of games to choose from. I can remember when a representative from Ocean visited a local games store to do a promotional event regarding the C64GS and their games and they were giving away all sorts of goodies to anyone buying any cartridges that day... I was the only person to show any interest and as a thankyou for buying an Ocean cartridge game, I walked home with an Ocean t-shirt for my trouble! That wasn't the only problem though. Because of it's poor profile, it didn't sell particularly well and from it's original RRP the price steadily dropped - a surefire sign of a dying games console so early in its life. From £99.99, it dropped within a couple of months to just £69.99, then to around £30 and in some stores to as little as £10 and surprisingly, consumers still weren't interested. Commodore were left with egg on their faces (to go with the chicken head logo!) and ended up recalling all of the unsold units... These machines were then dismantled and converted back into normal C64s and resold. As you can see from the second photo, the internal workings of a C64GS were almost identical to the original C64 and even all the expansion ports were still there, they were just hidden in the new "biscuit" casing. The only real difference was one or two chips which were replaced, and the cartridge port than had been rotated, but this was easily changed. It gave Commodore a cost-effective solution to re-use parts without having to spend too much money so at least they didn't lose much on the C64GS fiasco. As a result of this, there are very few C64GS consoles in existance today. Most have long since died or were thrown out years ago and to find one in working order is rare, let alone finding one still in it's original packaging. The one I had was in perfect condition, boxed and was in mint condition (see the top photo) and the only reason I parted with mine was because it was going to a C64 organisation (Commodore Scene) who were going to treat it with the care and respect that such a rare item deserves. What was such a pity for the C64GS was that at the time there were so few existing C64 owners who were aware that C64GS games could run on ANY C64. Most games had the option of using the spacebar or another key to substitute for the missing second fire button, and gamers would have found some superb titles if they had given them a try. If more people had known about this then I'm sure game sales would have been much higher and would have resulted in a flood of cartridge games and possibly even and extended life for the console itself. Again though, as with so many of Commodore's experimental machines, it was this lack of awareness that lead to its ultimate downfall. This is certainly one of the true collectors items in terms of the Commdore C64. It's a rare machine to find at the best of times and if you ever see one at a car boot sale or being advertised in a local paper then grab it while you can. If you ever find one still boxed and in mint condition, get your cheque book ready as I doubt that you'll ever come across another one of these again on your travels. It has to be said that the C64GS really was a great machine and when I finally sold mine it was with a great deal of reluctance. There were some great games available for it with Shadow Of The Beast being far superior to the Amiga original, and it really showed just what the C64 was capable of. If only a few more publishers had released games on cartridge, it could have been a very different story altogether. Simon Plumbe

Commodore SX-64 Coming soon