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[Phediuk]

That's right, in August 1982, the Commodore 64, the best-selling computer of all time, was introduced. It was a ridiculously influential machine both in North America and Europe, dominating the American home gaming market from 1984 to 1987 and Europe from about 1986 to 1990, with retail game releases continuing to at least 1994. Countless industry veterans got their start on the C64. It was also the second gaming platform I ever played (following the Atari 2600), so it is, of course, quite nostalgic for me, and probably for many others here too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64

Over 10,000 games were commercially released for the C64. Here are some of the most notable:

Maniac Mansion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIr9D7RlDHY

Sid Meier's Pirates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ro-1dXuRBM

Impossible Mission

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivHFP3dJAkM

Winter Games

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j362vuW5pg

Ghostbusters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJNQxgKZPw

Fort Apocalypse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWiH7yReD1I

Last Ninja

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5o_f76jSaM

Great Giana Sisters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8teXm6723-g

Turrican

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQVi0k5nUTI

Paradroid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEam-zQgWcU

Bruce Lee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHzW7T-bwBc

Last Ninja

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5o_f76jSaM

Monty on the Run

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAyDCti2XAc

Project Firestart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhgf1c6cj3I

Creatures 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bIpXvt0wxo

International Karate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BOXR008V2I

Barbarian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14ORMf6SjTc

Jumpman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc1stgFZrQ4

Law of the West

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrMk9RyCWKI

Forbidden Forest

https://youtu.be/j86veyiIcS8

Space Taxi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEcxgPvmQqU

Wizball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK82X9VlE38

Archon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdfIfC9BHwQ

Raid Over Moscow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33CCXg8B4aM

Flimbo's Quest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiCxXMquPKs

Wasteland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHnu6I2NyMg

Uridium

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks5-Zq6XAN4

Nebulus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkt-p1-pENA

Kikstart 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP4yJDGHZBc

Cauldron 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCbuNyU1Rrw

Driller

https://youtu.be/8VfpQQ0ArYQ?t=52 (sorry, no good-quality videos without someone talking over it)

Leaderboard Golf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvSUvTMjSXM

Airborne Ranger

https://youtu.be/TOpSu1gUTmY?t=50

MULE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9l9kIvbOB8

Lode Runner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWwyhymcDxI

Elite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhTTpV5qFrs

Mayhem in Monsterland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsEkN_9gqOc

Pool of Radiance

https://youtu.be/jWn26Lm18gY?t=31

The C64 is also notable for effectively inventing long-form game music, beginning in 1985 with Rob Hubbard's various soundtracks from that year (he was absurdly prolific during this time.) Martin Galway soon refined the sound into the now-familiar arpeggiated "Euro chiptune" sound, and virtually all other composers of the era followed. Here are some notable composers and a sample for each:

Rob Hubbard, One Man and His Droid (1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CwsOOjNAo
Martin Galway, Comic Bakery (1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KqhBK6nfiY
Ben Daglish, Cobra (1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaf0C8b-9HU
Mark Cooksey, Ghosts n Goblins (1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph3do_-z3AY
David M. Hanlon, Druid 2 (1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C3hwd_qHak
David Whittaker, The Armageddon Man (1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqMhcblBdoc
Peter Clarke, Ocean Loader 3 (1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx8T3lOPAfw
Barry Leitch, Marauder (1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kqvy6HIqDG8
Chris Huelsbeck, R-Type (1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vmoj8xzqkk
Matt Gray, Last Ninja 2 (1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMJjqVB9JCM
Jeroen Tel, Cybernoid (1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYQ9zUWVG4o
Charles Deenen, Zamzara (1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhuPs2H5VMw
Wally Beben, Tetris (1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny743c32gPg (25-minute long track!)
Jonathan Dunn, Robocop (1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFgXGw_kXpc
Matthew Cannon, Batman: The Movie (1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je5pw0qxo-w
Reyn Ouwehand, Flimbo's Quest (1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM8DxE5nt4U
Steve Rowlands, Retrograde (1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b68n5FZ1ASg
Thomas Detert, Gordian Tomb (1990): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UofxvwE-HCU (35-minute long track!)
Tim Follin, Gauntlet 3 (1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHg14wwgtbY
Tammo Hinrichs, Turrican 3 (2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baYS_48EkBA


in other news, fuck i'm old.

 

[chronic_archaic]

When I was young - up until I turned 18, so about two years ago, I barely knew shit about the European computer industry and the games it created. Once I learned, it's like a whole new world of video games you never hear anyone outside Europe talk about. Everyone loves to talk about the NES, but the C64 and it's contemporaries are equally as important in the development of modern video games it's a shame how overlooked it is in America.

Recently, I've been tempted to compose using the SID chip. It's absolutely amazing for it's time.

 

[Fess]

The true King of gaming!
I still have most of my stuff left from my childhood as a C64 gamer, cassettes, diskettes, C64,C128, monitor, floppy drive, joysticks etc. I'll never get rid of any of it.

 

[dispensergoinup]

Thanks for this post! I loved the C64 when I was a kid, right after the VIC20. My dad sold all of them after the move though so I'm buying up C64 stuff I see on craigslist again.

Recently got a C64 and a 1541 drive so now I wanna get a monitor for it. The old ones like the 1802 or even a 1702.

Damn, brings back the memories.

Happy 35th, C64!

OH! Also just got Bard's Tale 2 from ebay.

 

[Luigiv]

Seems like my timing was appropriate on buying a C64 DTV. Now I just have to mod a disc drive port onto it to really experience the C64 library and find out what all the fuss is about.

 

[Sloane]

My first computer! Summer, Winter and World Games were amazing with friends, Giana Sisters was fun, and then there were all those games I didn't understand as a kid so I played them over and over again without seeing much more than a small part. Ghostbusters comes to mind, I really liked that one but never figured out how to kill the fucking Marshmallow Man. Good times.

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

When I was young - up until I turned 18, so about two years ago, I barely knew shit about the European computer industry and the games it created. Once I learned, it's like a whole new world of video games you never hear anyone outside Europe talk about. Everyone loves to talk about the NES, but the C64 and it's contemporaries are equally as important in the development of modern video games it's a shame how overlooked it is in America.

Recently, I've been tempted to compose using the SID chip. It's absolutely amazing for it's time.

I think that's because the NES saved the US video game market after the crash, so it's very, very popularised in the US, but the NES was never that big a deal in UK and, really, Europe. The crash never happened because of home computers so when the NES came out here, it was very much an "also ran" and Sega really did better here than Nintendo did (this also carries on to how Nintendo released games here, but that's another story) so the NES isn't put as some sort of mythical console that saved the world. Games were still here in abundance.

 

[useyourfist]

Loved the c64, so many good games.

Bubble bobble/rainbow island
Cops and robbers,
Dizzy,
Ghostbusters,
And some game with ants

Were the main ones I remember playing. Really need to get myself a mame device to complete cops and robbers as I never manged it when young.

 

[useyourfist]

My first computer! Summer, Winter and World Games were amazing with friends, Giana Sisters was fun, and then there were all those games I didn't understand as a kid so I played them over and over again without seeing much more than a small part. Ghostbusters comes to mind, I really liked that one but never figured out how to kill the fucking Marshmallow Man. Good times.

I remember having to try and run under him to get to the door when he jumped. Can't remember if that worked though.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

All I remember now about this thing is LOAD,8,1 and it's funny when I realize to this day I don't know what the ,8,1 is even for.

edit: the full command was actually LOAD "*",8,1

Oh well

 

[Krelian]

We got a C64 from my cousin when he didn't use it anymore. He had tons of games on floppies but most of them were pirated. It must've been extremely easy to copy C64 games.

I was never a big fan to be honest, but I had some fun trying out all the games we had. What I definitely never played is Mayhem in Monsterland. That looks really nice and somehow better than the usual C64 game.

 

[chronic_archaic]

I think that's because the NES saved the US video game market after the crash, so it's very, very popularised in the US, but the NES was never that big a deal in UK and, really, Europe. The crash never happened because of home computers so when the NES came out here, it was very much an "also ran" and Sega really did better here than Nintendo did (this also carries on to how Nintendo released games here, but that's another story) so the NES isn't put as some sort of mythical console that saved the world. Games were still here in abundance.

That's my issue - people over here often think games were dead everywhere, where that wasn't the case at all - they were thriving in Europe and Japan was just getting the Famicom, but even then PCs over there were really major and things like the PC98 and Sharp X68000 are often neglected by video game enthusiasts. For a lot of people it's all about NES in the 80s, where that couldn't be further from the truth on a global scale.

 

[kyser73]

OP is basically my childhood from 8-13.

Tunes like Wizball, Parallax, Delta (Rob Hubbard putting Philip Glass in an 8-bit schmup)...

IIRC my first C64 game as an owner was Dropzone, but the first game I played on it was either Spyhunter or Impossible Mission round a mate's house before school.

 

[brownfedora]

The C64 sucked ass. Don’t know why anyone would glorify it.

Solar Fox was pretty sweet though.

 

[Auto-Reply]

Load"$",8

list

load "post",8,1

run

Have not played a C64 game in decades, I don't even have my C64 anymore and if I did I probably wouldn't fire it up as I'm not that kind of retro-gamer.

But one of my favorite things about youtube/internet is that people put a lot of the music from that era online so I'm able to listen to my favorite tracks again. It was really weird when it first started, listening to the music after not having heard it for 15-20 years, was awsome. Since then I regulary return to it, every few days/weeks or months. People have 3 hour compilation-mixes on youtube which I have gone through a lot (same with Amiga music btw)

 

[Thing on a Spring]

My first and favourite system. Responsible for some of the best game music ever.

 

[kyser73]

Oscilloscope SID tunes

https://youtu.be/Zh8SIAZfDKs

 

[Schrödinger's cat]

I was bitterly disappointed when I was given a C64 instead of a ZX Spectrum for my 11th birthday. Of course, I saved and got a ZX Spectrum a year later.

But that 'accident' became something that changed my life and ultimately led me to programming and spending a healthy chunk of my career in the games industry.

The pioneering spirit of the machine lives on to this day, with games and demos still being produced and showing no signs of slowing down. I love it!

Armalyte remains my favourite shooter ever and showed such a blatant disregard for the limitation of the C64 that it was practically an insult to the technology.

It may not look like much by today's standards but this was incredible stuff back in the day.

The machine's music remains a constant source of entertainment and wonder to me. I love that SID-chip sound and still listen regularly to my favourite tunes courtesy of a SID-chip emulator on my phone.

Happy birthday C64!

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Ugh...I just wanted a NES. Or an Amiga at least.

I really didn't enjoy anything about my Commodore 64. 10 + minutes to load games from a cassette that sometimes never loaded...worse yet were those tapes with like 8 games on them and you had to load each one in sequence. We had a terrible joystick too - I don't know if they varied greatly in quality - that made playing practically everything really, really awkward.

I don't look back on it fondly, though I recognise it's history and status.

Yeh yeh, my tag. Whatever.

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

This thing was ubiquitous when I was a kid, but weirdly I have almost no nostalgia for it. The Amiga was way cooler - all those amazing soundtracks - and then the NES & SNES made me forget all about both.

There were some good memories - Epyx's stuff, in particular Jumpman Jr., super early rpgs like Pools of Radiance were impressive, but on the whole? Enh.

 

[Spectone]

All I remember now about this thing is LOAD,8,1 and it's funny when I realize to this day I don't know what the ,8,1 is even for.

edit: the full command was actually LOAD "*",8,1

Oh well

8 is the device id for the disk drive as opposed to the keyboard, printer, tape etc. The 1 means to load the data into memory where it was saved from. The * means load the first program on the disk.

 

[Fess]

Have anybody here played IO?

I loved this game! I even drew some kind of fanart a while ago. Extremely hard and I never finished it but it felt almost like an arcade shooter at the time from the awesome controls, precision, gameplay, presentation. Possibly the best C64 shooter ever!

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

I think that's because the NES saved the US video game market after the crash, so it's very, very popularised in the US, but the NES was never that big a deal in UK and, really, Europe. The crash never happened because of home computers so when the NES came out here, it was very much an "also ran" and Sega really did better here than Nintendo did (this also carries on to how Nintendo released games here, but that's another story) so the NES isn't put as some sort of mythical console that saved the world. Games were still here in abundance.

I think the NES' failure in the UK had more to do with Mattel bungling the release. They did a poor job with Europe in general. If it were just computers, the same logic would have had to have applied to Sega as well.

That said, I am sure the Euro computer scene had a lot to do with it too. The Amiga was wall to wall Euro releases with impressive visuals and sound

Spoiler

and shit gameplay.

I'm sure they were aesthetically well geared to that market.

 

[bishoptl]

SYS64738

 

[Dash Kappei]

Have anybody here played IO?

I loved this game! I even drew some kind of fanart a while ago. Extremely hard and I never finished it but it felt almost like an arcade shooter at the time from the awesome controls, precision, gameplay, presentation. Possibly the best C64 shooter ever!

Of course! It was to the C64 what Menace and Blood Money would be for the Amiga.
Remember the all Katakis' "fiasco"?

Anyway, loved, loved my C64.
There's a GREAT coffee-table book called C64 Visual Compendium.

 

[Freddo]

I had so much fun with the C64 my father bought back in 1984, and I was so sad when he later sold it and bought an Amiga 1000 three years later. I will soon return to C64 gaming for the first time in decades, I got a The 64 pre-ordered, and looking forward to it later this year.

 

[retroman]

Definitely one of my favourite systems. So many great memories of playing classics like International Karate, Bruce Lee, Last Ninja 2, Skool Daze, Buggy Boy, Impossible Mission, Ghosts 'N Goblins, Barbarian, Cauldron II, LED Storm, Street Hassle, CJ' Elephant Antics, Lazy Jones...the list goes on and on. And listening to lots of wonderful SID tunes of course.

Happy Anniversary C64!

 

[slider]

Thanks OP! So many memories of those games.

Druid was something I lusted after but we didn't have the money.

Space Harrier, Trailblazer, Barbarian (infamous for Maria Whittaker on the packaging)... And, of course, Elite and Nebulus. Good, no GREAT times.

Edit: I'm poring over every post. IO!!! Does anyone remember Salamander too? I'm really surprised how much of this is lodged at the back of my mind.

 

[Havoc2049]

My first computer was a Commodore 64c. I loved the updated styling of the 64c/128 line.

When I was young - up until I turned 18, so about two years ago, I barely knew shit about the European computer industry and the games it created. Once I learned, it's like a whole new world of video games you never hear anyone outside Europe talk about. Everyone loves to talk about the NES, but the C64 and it's contemporaries are equally as important in the development of modern video games it's a shame how overlooked it is in America.

That is not true at all. Computer gaming in the United States was huge back in the 80's on 8-bit computers made by Commodore, Atari, IBM, Texas Instruments and Apple. While the console and arcade markets crashed in 1984, the computer gaming market thrived. Most of the games in the OP are by American developers. American developers and publishers like Electronic Arts, Microprose, Access, Datasoft, SSI, Activision, Atari, Accolade, Origin, Infocom, Lucasfilm Games, Epyx and others made a ton of innovative great games back then.

 

[Fess]

I had so much fun with the C64 my father bought back in 1984, and I was so sad when he later sold it and bought an Amiga 1000 three years later. I will soon return to C64 gaming for the first time in decades, I got a The 64 pre-ordered, and looking forward to it later this year.

Same here regarding The 64. It's in production now and things seems to really come together now. Can't wait!

 

[Fess]

Thanks OP! So many memories of those games.

Druid was something I lusted after but we didn't have the money.

Space Harrier, Trailblazer, Barbarian (infamous for Maria Whittaker on the packaging)... And, of course, Elite and Nebulus. Good, no GREAT times.

Edit: I'm poring over every post. IO!!! Does anyone remember Salamander too? I'm really surprised how much of this is lodged at the back of my mind.

lol I remember the Maria Whittaker cover talk, there was an equally less clothed guy on the cover but no no no the girl was the only thing "wrong" there...

 

[BubbaMc]

The true King of gaming!
I still have most of my stuff left from my childhood as a C64 gamer, cassettes, diskettes, C64,C128, monitor, floppy drive, joysticks etc. I'll never get rid of any of it.

Which monitor do you have out of interest? The earliest C64 specific examples are worth quite a bit now

 

[1upsuper]

That is not true at all. Computer gaming in the United States was huge back in the 80's on 8-bit computers made by Commodore, Atari, IBM, Texas Instruments and Apple. While the console and arcade markets crashed in 1984, the computer gaming market thrived. Most of the games in the OP are by American developers. American developers and publishers like Electronic Arts, Microprose, Access, Datasoft, SSI, Activision, Atari, Accolade, Origin, Infocom, Lucasfilm Games, Epyx and others made a ton of innovative great games back then.

Yep. We're not talking the Amiga or the Spectrum or something. The C64 had a palpable presence in the US.

At any rate, happy birthday, Commodore 64!

 

[Hanmik]

SYS64738

reset?

yeah that would be nice... I loved the C64.. the best gaming machine ever.. I have played almost every game ever launched on that machine. Loved it.

 

[Thebonehead]

My first computer was a ZX81, 2nd a Dragon 32. The 3rd Computer and quite possibly joint favourite with the Amiga was the trust c64.

My dad bought it for his business so he got it in a business bundle with a 1541 disk drive and MPS-801 dot-matrix printer.

So many good games. Bounty Bob stikes back, Boulderdash 1,2,3 & Construction kit, Beach Head II, Dropzone, Parallax, Monty on the run, Blagger, Suicide Express.

You know i could just go on and on and on.......

 

[Thebonehead]

SYS64738

Or the paperclip method on two of the connections on the cartridge port which was good for hacking around as it didn't flush the ram.

 

[Triteon]

It wasn't the first computer I had, i got the Sega SC 3000 very young.

But the C64 was the computer I really grew up with. I remember the trading parties, learning to do rudimentary programming and when I got the disc expansion. Holy crap.

I during the 80's consoles came and went for me but the C64 was always there with killer music and some of the deepest games to play, at the time.

 

[Fess]

Which monitor do you have out of interest? The earliest C64 specific examples are worth quite a bit now

It's a Philips 8833, pretty much the same as the C1084, I used it for the Amiga too. Devilish magnetic field, you can feel how your hair gets pulled when you power it on XD

 

[Gen X]

So many memories. I wasn't allowed to use my C64 during the week after school (except Fridays) and I used to sneak it out and then pack it away before my Dad came home.

I got the base unit for Xmas 1986 and then saved up by washing neighbours cars to buy a disk drive 6 months later. I played it religiously until the end of 1989 then sold it all and bought a stereo system. Many school holidays spent playing games with friends as someone always knew someone else that had the latest pirate copies. For the record this was in Papua New Guinea and there was no piracy law. Even video shops rented out pirated movies.

 

[Menome]

The very first game I ever played at the age of 4 was Batman: The Movie on the Commodore 64. I still have that original unit (plus a back-up) and somewhere in the region of 400 games.

As it's a cassette-based unit, some of those tapes have degenerated over time so I have to rely on emulation to play a few things. That "The64" intrigues me though, I may have to see if I can find the money spare to pre-order one too.

 

[Stinkles]

Time to rage at kids:


"Oh, there was a ten minute initial load? And then the game loaded instantly? And the game was a sprawling open world RPG with realistic characters and 87 hours of new gameplay?"




Y'all never had to use azimuth head adjustment and PRAY that Impossible Mission would RUN after the fifth 18 minute load attempt, instead of crash back to the blue home screen.



Also, there was something sort of magical about the flashing square cursor on the BASIC screen. It felt coiled up, ready to go.

 

[Fess]

Time to rage at kids:


"Oh, there was a ten minute initial load? And then the game loaded instantly? And the game was a sprawling open world RPG with realistic characters and 87 hours of new gameplay?"




Y'all never had to use azimuth head adjustment and PRAY that Impossible Mission would RUN after the fifth 18 minute load attempt, instead of crash back to the blue home screen.



Also, there was something sort of magical about the flashing square cursor on the BASIC screen. It felt coiled up, ready to go.

Lol yup it's pretty amazing that there wasn't more complaining about the load times, but many games had nice loading art and awesome music so imo it wasn't all bad. The load music in Last Ninja 1/2 was so great that playing on cassette is by far the best way to do it to not miss any songs Modern games has worthless music in comparison.

 

[ScottSullivan]

I can appreciate the significance of the C64 as a gaming machine just from everything I've seen, but being born in 87, I don't really know too many of the specifics about it? I see others saying it was their first computer? Was it good for other things besides just games? I I imagine it had word processing and printer capatability for business use by that point?

 

[pswii60]

The C64 was my childhood. When so many other things made me sad, I'd go in my room and my C64 would save me. I had a HUGE game collection (mostly £1.99 budget releases and re-releases) and I spent a ton of time programming the thing from my huge collection of programming books too. I was literally obsessed with the C64, because it was amazing.

I can appreciate the significance of the C64 as a gaming machine just from everything I've seen, but being born in 87, I don't really know too many of the specifics about it? I see others saying it was their first computer? Was it good for other things besides just games? I I imagine it had word processing and printer capatability for business use by that point?

The beauty of it being a computer is that it was an open platform. I can't explain the joy back then, of typing in hundreds - maybe thousands - of lines of code and then watching the program you've typed in come to life. It also had the most incredible and influential sound chip of all time - the SID chip. So much music still emulates the SID chip today (you'll instantly recognise the synths) and it greatly influenced electronic music. And so I also spent tons of time using music software on the C64 too and had a MIDI keyboard hooked up to it.

I also remember having a lightgun too and several lightgun games, it even did that.I got this pack for my C64:

Also I had the SEUCK (Shoot 'Em Up Construction Kit) which let you make your own shoot 'em ups. And an Adventure Game Construction Kit too. Oh the memories.

 

[KennyLinder]

Always wanted one, but ended up with an Amstrad CPC 6128 instead.

 

[Stinkles]

I can appreciate the significance of the C64 as a gaming machine just from everything I've seen, but being born in 87, I don't really know too many of the specifics about it? I see others saying it was their first computer? Was it good for other things besides just games? I I imagine it had word processing and printer capatability for business use by that point?

Nobody used it for serious business - that was the Commodore PET (not more powerful, just more adopted by schools and businesses) - but as you note it had word processors and printers and disk drives and there was lots of productivity software,

 

[Stinkles]

Always wanted one, but ended up with an Amstrad CPC 6128 instead.

Did you ever read Amstrad Action, or use the tapes? That was my first job. As a staff writer. And I had to sometimes manually enter the code they printed in the back (little games and demos the user could literally type in and run)

 

[pottuvoi]

It's quite remarkable how diverse library of games c64 had.
Many were open sandbox games quite incredible when considering memory limitations.

 

[uomoartificiale]

I can appreciate the significance of the C64 as a gaming machine just from everything I've seen, but being born in 87, I don't really know too many of the specifics about it? I see others saying it was their first computer? Was it good for other things besides just games? I I imagine it had word processing and printer capatability for business use by that point?

My father bought a C128 (which literally could be booted as C64) for its job and used it as word processor. It was a weak but very popular PC due to its price, and "wizard" programmers pushed the system well beyond its intended capabilities.
The audio was amazing because it included analog processing after the digital generation: there are people still using the machine today to create music.
We had a quite nice setup because our unit had a floppy drive and a commodore monitor, but most people had the C64 hooked to a TV and used cassettes. Load times were huge.

Being italian, at the time I couldn't read english, so Leaderboard Gold and International Karate were my jam!.

 

[bjork]

I had to stay inside a lot as a kid, so the C64 kept me busy for a good number of years there. Pirates! was definitely my most played, and I think Hardball was probably second. Lots of good times with my dad in the evenings, challenging each others' scores on different sports games and stuff.

I remember a neighbor across the street, who was my gateway to game copying. We didn't consider it any different than ripping a tape for someone, which no one seemed to ever point out as being piracy. We had copies of Fast Hack 'Em, and when the game didn't copy, we would say it "has a bug in it." Quite different than today's bugs, heh.

Fun system that, if you had the right games at the right time, was definitely a classic. But I can understand the folks that didn't enjoy theirs, they could've just had subpar games or came to it late, I guess. I loved it, though.