The Commodore C65 was a prototype 8-bit microcomputer that was developed by Commodore Computers in the late 1980s. It was intended to be a successor to the popular Commodore 64, but unfortunately, the company went bankrupt before it could be released. The C65 featured improved graphics, a faster processor, and more memory than its predecessor, making it a promising machine for its time. Despite never being released, the C65 remains an intriguing piece of computing history and has become a sought-after collector's item for vintage computer enthusiasts.
Was there a market for the Commodore C65?
Prototypes of the Commodore C65 were available in 1991, meaning that the consumer version of the computer may have been available for sale by Christmas 1992. The Commodore C65 was based around an improved version of the MOS 6502 microprocessor, internally named the CSG 65CE02, capable of executing software such as games and word processors up to 25% faster than the standard C64. This new processor was however limited to reading banks of 64KB or RAM at any one time. The larger 128KB of memory in the Commodore C65 needed to be accessed through an external memory management unit (MMU).
The Commodore C64 was a hugely successful machine with one of the largest range of popular games available on the market and very was well supported by third-party suppliers. The Commodore C128 was the immediate successor to the C64 and considered by many in recent times to be a market flop. This may be true when compared to the record breaking C64 sales figures but Commodore still managed to sell a very respectable 5.7 million C128s worldwide. To put this in perspective, the very successful Apple IIGS may have sold less than 1 million units (wayback). Commodore also knew that they could produce these machines at a ridiculously low price. The Commodore C65 should have been the Nintendo NES killer, but instead Nintendo and SEGA ultimately blew Commodore into the gamer's history books.
The Commodore C65 was developed to be the ideal low-end, first-time buyer machine. The great irony is that these machines are worth tens of thousands on the collector's market now. The C65 was to be compatible with the immense software library of the C64, have graphics performance comparable in an Atari ST, and be half the price of the Commodore Amiga 600. The C65 would have been ideal as a dedicated games machine, a second computer for the kids in the house, or for emerging markets like Eastern Europe or China.
The Commodore C65 was developed to be the ideal low-end, first-time microcomputer.
Commodore C65 in operation
There are very few video of a working Commodore C65 in operation. This video shows the general usage of a Commodore and runs a couple of demoscene demos from the early 1990s. We don't understand the fascination with scantily clad women in 8-bit pictures but as this is a period piece.
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It is very rare to see a Commodore C65 out in the wild. I have never personally seen a Commodore C65 close enough to touch. So you can share with me in amazement when I was reading a blog about the World of Commodore 2019 held in Canada. This machine is obviously not the same machine as the one shown in the YouTube video above. There for people to opening interact with was a Commodore C65, complete with a trap door expansion card. Amazingly, the owner Chiron Bramberger opened the case and allowed people to gawk and photograph the insides. If you are interesting in reading more about this particular event then I suggest you take a look at this blog post.