#commodore 65

It sits in the pile with the rest of history's pre-production computers that never made it. It's been awhile since I went on a Commodore 65 rant...

The successor to the C64 is the C128, arguably the pinnacle of 8-bit computers. It has 3 modes: native C128 mode with 2MHz 8502, backwards compatible C64 mode, and CP/M mode using a 4MHz Z80. Dual video output in 40-column mode with sprites plus a second output in 80-column mode. Feature-rich BASIC, built in ROM monitor, numpad, 128K of RAM, and of course a SID chip. For 1985, it was one of the last hurrahs of 8-bit computing that wasn't meant to be a budget/bargain bin option.

For the Amiga was taking center stage at Commodore -- the 16-bit age is here! And its initial market performance wasn't great, they were having a hard time selling its advanced capabilities. The Amiga platform took time to really build up momentum square in the face of the rising dominance of the IBM PC compatible. And the Amiga lost (don't tell the hardcore Amiga fanboys, they're still in denial).

However, before Commodore went bankrupt in '94, someone planned and designed another successor to the C64. It was supposed to be backwards compatible with C64, while also evolving on that lineage, moving to a CSG 4510 R3 at 3.54MHz (a fancy CMOS 6502 variant based on a subprocessor out of an Amiga serial port card). 128K of RAM (again) supposedly expandable to 1MB, 256X more colors, higher resolution, integrated 3½" floppy not unlike the 1581. Bitplane modes, DAT modes, Blitter modes -- all stuff that at one time was a big deal for rapid graphics operations, but nothing that an Amiga couldn't already do (if you're a C65 expert who isn't mad at me yet, feel free to correct me here).

The problem is that nobody wanted this.

Sure, Apple had released the IIgs in 1986, but that had both the backwards compatibility of an Apple II and a 16-bit 65C816 processor -- not some half-baked 6502 on gas station pills. Plus, by the time the C65 was in heavy development it was 1991. Way too late for the rapidly evolving landscape of the consumer computer market. It would be cancelled later that same year.

I realize that Commodore was also still selling the C64 well into 1994 when they closed up shop, but that was more of a desperation measure to keep cash flowing, even if it was way behind the curve by that point (remember, when the C64 was new it was a powerful, affordable machine for 1982). It was free money on an established product that was cheap to make, whereas the C65 would have been this new and expensive machine to produce and sell that would have been obsolete from the first day it hit store shelves. Never mind the dismal state of Commodore's marketing team post-Tramiel.

Internally, the guy working on the C65 was someone off in the corner who didn't work well with others while 3rd generation Amiga development was underway. The other engineers didn't have much faith in the idea.

The C65 has acquired a hype of "the machine that totally would have saved Commodore, guise!!!!1!11!!!111" -- saved nothing. If you want better what-if's from Commodore, you need to look to the C900 series UNIX machine, or the CLCD. Unlike those machines which only have a handful of surviving examples (like 3 or 4 CLCDs?), the C65 had several hundred, possibly as many as 2000 pre-production units made and sent out to software development houses. However many got out there, no software appears to have surfaced, and only a handful of complete examples of a C65 have entered the hands of collectors. Meaning if you have one, it's probably buggy and you have no software to run on it. Thus, what experience are you recapturing? Vaporware?

The myth of the C65 and what could have been persists nonetheless. I'm aware of 3 modern projects that have tried to take the throne from the Commodore 64, doing many things that sound similar to the Commodore 65.

The Foenix Retro Systems F256K:

The 8-Bit Guy's Commander X16

The MEGA65 (not my picture)

The last of which is an incredibly faithful open-source visual copy of the C65, where as the other projects are one-off's by dedicated individuals (and when referring to the X16, I don't mean David Murray as he's not the one doing the major design work).

I don't mean to belittle the effort people have put forth into such complicated projects, it's just not what I would have built. In 2019, I had the opportunity to meet the 8-Bit Guy and see the early X16 prototype. I didn't really see the appeal, and neither did David see the appeal of my homebrew, the Cactus.

Mega65, the recreation of the what-if machine: the Commodore 65. I may not like the C65, but I respect what these guys have done to replicate it.

Commodorians Part 4

This was one of the three mega exhibits for the 40th anniversary of the big three appliance computers launched in 1977.   Anthony Becker, Jeffrey Brace, Chris Fala, Todd George (captain), & Bill Winters combined their skills, collection, and love for Commodore equipment to showcase the PET-2001′s family tree.

Commodore launched the Amiga line in 1985, and with it a whole new breed of computer geek was born.  A powerhouse multimedia computer that was outclassing the graphics and sound capabilities of any competing home computers, the Amiga series was sold until the company’s demise in 1994.

Anthony Becker & Bill Winters brought their sizable Amiga collection, spanning the full series starting with the Amiga 1000.  The real sales powerhouses were the Amiga 2000 and its less expensive, less expandable counterpart, the Amiga 500.  The 1200, 3000, 4000, and CD32 rounded out the bunch, showing what was happening in the final days at Commodore.  The CD32 in particular has some amazing games and demos to show the kind of graphics it could produce.

If I asked what machine was considered the heir to the Commodore 64′s throne, what would your answer be?  The C128, with full backwards compatibility and features bursting out of the seams?  The Amiga 500, filling a similar niche as an inexpensive, graphically capable gaming machine?  There was a different heir apparent in the works that never saw full production...

The real gem of this display was the prototype machine from 1990/91: the Commodore 65.  8-bit development was passe, everyone else was focusing on new Amiga machines to fill out the various market niches.  Then some guy in who didn’t really work well with anyone else was working on the Commodore 65. 

It included an internal 1581 3½ floppy drive, a keyboard not all that dissimilar from the C128′s, 128K of RAM stock, expandable to 8MB, 4096 possible colors, a 320x200 256 color mode, and a 1280x400 16 color mode.  It used the CSG 4510 processor, running at 3.54MHz.  This machine never left the prototype stage, but a handful of Commodore 65′s have made their way to collectors over the years.  No software exists for the machine, so it doesn’t have anything to show off besides some disks of unfinished demos, and a rainbow boot screen.

Speaking of the 1581, the exhibit had an impressive drive tower.  Stacked drives included the 1571, 1541-II, 1581, aftermarket Blue Chip drive, and CMD FD-4000.  Commodore fans seem to like making drive towers, and I completely understand this fascination.