====== Commodore 64 Games System (1990?) ======
===== Features =====
* CPU: MOS Technology 8500 (the 6510/8500 being a modified 6502 with an integrated 8-bit I/O port) 0.985 MHz (PAL)
* RAM: 64 KiB (65,535 bytes)
* Color RAM: 0.5 KiB
* ROM: 20 KiB (7 KiB KERNAL, 4 KiB character generator providing two 2 KiB character sets)
* Video hardware: MOS Technology VIC-II MOS 8569 (PAL), 16 colors
* Text mode: 40x25; user-defined characters; smooth scrolling
* Bitmap modes: 320x200, 160x200 (multicolor)
* Sprites: 8 hardware sprites, 24x21 pixels
* Sound hardware: MOS Technology 8580 "SID", 3 voices, ADSR programmable.
* I/O ports: High-quality Y/C (S-Video) (8-pin DIN plug) used with some Commodore video monitors (DIN-to-phono plug converter delivered with monitor), Composite video (one-signal video output to monitor included in aforementioned 8-pin DIN plug, and separate integrated RF modulator antenna output, which also carries sound, to TV on an RCA socket), 2 x screwless DE9M game controller ports (Atari 2600 de facto standard, supporting one digital joystick each, Cartridge slot (slot for edge connector with 6510 CPU address/data bus lines and control signals, as well as GND and voltage pins; used for program modules)
===== History and Trivia =====
The Commodore 64 Games System (often abbreviated C64GS) was the cartridge-based game console version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer. It was released by Commodore in 1990 as a competitor in the booming console market. It was released in Europe only and it was a considerable commercial failure.
Support from games companies was limited, as many were unconvinced that the C64GS would be a success in the console market. Among the software house which supported the Commodore console, Ocean Software was probably the most supportive, offering a wide range of titles, some C64GS cartridge-based only.
The software bundled with the C64GS, a four-game cartridge containing "Fiendish Freddy's Big Top O'Fun", "International Soccer", "Flimbo's Quest" and "Klax", were likely the most well-known on the system. These games, with the exception of "International Soccer", were previously ordinary tape-based games, but their structure and control systems (no keyboard needed) made them well-suited to the new console. "International Soccer" was previously released in 1983 on cartridge for the original C64 computer.
On the other hand, Commodore never produced or published a single title for the C64GS beyond the bundled four-game cartridge. "International Soccer" was the only widely-available game for the C64GS but had actually been written for the C64.
The reasons of the commercial failure of the C64GS were multiple. First of all, the lack of good games for the system and the general lack of support by software houses never made the system valuable to console users. Additionally, its hardware (the same as the C64) was already obsolete in 1990, when the competitors were 16-bit machines like the Nintendo SNES and the Sega MegaDrive. Finally, it was sold at the same price as the Commodore 64, making the whole computer a better choice for any interested user.
== Hardware-based problems ==
The C64GS was plagued with hardware problems. First of all, the C64GS was not compatible with most of the cartridges already available for the ordinary C64: the lack of a keyboard for the C64GS made many of them impossible to be started. This meant that people often bought secondhand C64 software on cartridge only to find that the games were not compatible.
Even worse: the C64 version of "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was designed for the console, but it required the user to press a key to access the game, rendering it unplayable!!
To partially counter the lack of a keyboard, the basic control system for the C64GS was a joystick supplied by Cheetah called the Annihilator. This joystick was poorly built and had a short life, and was not widely available, making replacements difficult to come by.
//(info from Wikipedia)//
===== Links =====
* C64GS at Zimmers.net -- http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics/c64gs.html
Generated on Sun Jul 19 10:17:28 2009