I want to have one! (Warning: nostalgic mood)

It must be around 16 or 17 years ago that I got my first computer on which I actually wrote some code on: a Commodore 64 (previously I had a Sinclair ZX81, but I’ve never programmed on that little black box). I vividly remember the first computer code I ever saw, it was a demo program written in Basic that was shown in a welcome demo:
10 INPUT “Number”, number
20 FOR i = 1 TO number
30 PRINT i * number
40 NEXT i

I guess these few lines are my programming roots, thanks to the incredible support I got from my father I managed to write all sorts of programs and games on this hideous brown box. Times have changed: now I have a Commodore 64 emulator running on my Pocket PC (which has around 5000 times more memory!). But of course nothing beats playing games in front of a television, so I was very delighted when I read following press announcement:

Tulip Computers N.V. (Tulip Computers) today announced that the company, together with Ironstone Partners Ltd (Ironstone), has developed a Commodore 64 (C64) mini game console with the powerful name C64 Direct-to-TV. This entertainment system for videogames is based upon the world famous Commodore 64 home PC, the most famous and well known home computer for videogames and will be brought to the market by Tulip Computers. With a simple and straightfoward to use connection to the TV, users of the C64 Direct-to-TV can play 30 popular C64 games. This will be the first of a whole series of entertainment products of which Tulip Computers will launch on the market using the Commodore name and label. (read more)

Nothing special you think? Wait, and take a look at the “case”:

Yep, it’s INSIDE a joystick! It comes with 30 games (including the legendary California Games) and it will only cost around 30 Euros. I really want to have one… :-) So what are your programming roots?

7 Comments

  • I learned programming on C64 too and want to share this two great memories that come to mind when I read this.



    1) I remember myself buy magazines that contained pages full with lines of Basic, that I typed over evening after evening, just to see what it does. I did this with the C64 on my knees with my TV about 50 cm above my head. And nobody heard of RSI back then.



    2) There was this dutch radio program on sunday evening called Hobbyscoop (if I remember correctly) that broadcasted programs on air that you could record on tape and run from your C64 (which I never got to work, of course, not even after changing the head of the tapedriver with a screwdriver). Great thing was, sunday was the day I visited my grandmother and I was usely in the car around that time, actually listening to this broadcast, going on for ten minutes. Great memories.



    Thanks for getting me in this nostalgic mood ;-).

  • This was/is really a nice machine and it's still the best selling home computer, 30 million C64 has been sold, amazing!!! (comes from Guiness book of records 2003)

  • POKE 53280, 0

    POKE 53281, 0

    POKE 646, 6



    That was the only way to go. ;-)



    It worked on 1 freaking MHz and you could still use interrupts to gain full control over the electron beam drawing the picture on TV. Loved it to death!!

  • Damn, this is just great! So many great memories...

    I had a C64 when I was about 12 years old, when I had my first code-encounter. ;-)

    Some day, I got hold of these printed pages of the game "galgje" (I don't know the english name) and I typed it over (more then 4 hours) on my C64 but it didn't work :-(. I will never forget that! ;-)



    That joystick is mine!

  • I want one too! my first machine was a vic 20 with a rom cartrige that plugged in the back, jupiter lander. Great game though.. and then C64. Never thought about it before, but I guess my first programming was on the C64.



    *crosses fingers* for Last Ninja 2, Ghostbusters, spyhunter, Wizball, Stunt Car racer... so many..

  • That's an awesome find, I've got to get one. I can set it on top of my XBox.



    I got into programming on the Commodore VIC-20 (4K of RAM with about 2K usable). I quickly ran out of space and my parents got me a C-64. During that time it dropped from $495 to $225 with a $100 rebate. I also run a C64 emulator on my PC but I haven't tried one on my pocketpc. I wrote a program that managed and scored cross-country (running) races. I have a picture of myself with a commodore 64 in the middle of a golf course next to a finish line.



    My dad even helped me solder switches onto pins 8 & 9 of the cartridge port. Ah, those were the days. I'm trying to think of my favorite game back then... there were so many!



  • Hello, i'm looking into selling my Commodore C64. I had it since I was a child, even at that age I was a neat freak. The Complete set (printer, disk drive, 5.5" floppys, games, software), was keep in a plastic bag-inside a box. I recently returned home from the military, I was going thru my old stuff; when I found it. Here's a picture of everything. I'm not sure what it's worth, let me know how much you're willing to pay.....if you still want one. I don't have cassette games only 5.5" floppy. And I dont have the data cable for the printer. Everything else works and is complete.

    You can contact me at chicago200160639@yahoo.com

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