Commodore 64 Games System Review - C64GS | Nostalgia Nerd

[@electronash]

What was amazing about this is that it was released in 1990, and would have clearly been much cheaper to produce than the already very old C64 (minus the keyboard etc.) What they really should have done is release a cart-only Amiga 500+ / 600 system with some new exclusive games. That would have been able to compete much better with the Genesis / SNES around that time, have a good library of OCS/ECS games, and still fairly cheap to produce. It also would have filled the gap for a while until the release of CD32 and A1200 in 1992/1993. Hell, it would have even been a fair bit cheaper to produce than the CDTV in 1990, which never did too well (partly due to the older tech, and the relatively high price of £500 upwards.)

[@TheSuperPlayer707]

Wow, that would have been a increible concept. Now you made me dream about an Amiga GS with Turrican as its flagship title.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

They could have beaten sega to market as well, with a butload of titles on launch. Things would have looked a lot different back then.

[@joezar33]

It was 1990. This console looked like Atari 7800 8bit graphics yikes.. wonder why they didn't go along with the time "16bit" ?

[@thesteelrodent1796]

Amiga already had an enormous library of games on floppy at this time, while C64 at least had some games on cartridge. Making an Amiga to use cartridges would not have gone down well for all the same reasons it made no sense to make a keyboard-less C64. To do cartridges means designing the cartridge system, and ensuring people don't try to use cartridges not made for the system - remember the Amiga has nothing in common with the C64 - and that would've made it much more expensive to develop than just repackaging the C64

[@hpbifta]

A small note, the Cheetah Annihilator joystick which came with the GS was a two button stick not a one button, use it on a C64 or C64C etc it's a single button stick, use it on a C64GS it's a two button stick. The base button acts as the second button, though it only emulates a press of the space bar if I remember right. (My best mate had one and used to borrow my cartridges.) test it on Robocop 2, I think that was one of the few games which used this feature.

[@jecucejecuce]

glad you told us you didnt smash that thing, i was sitting here getting pissed. now im just angry at the shipping guys

[@Nostalgianerd]

+jecuce Hahahah. I'd never smash something so beautiful

[@jesuszamora6949]

+jecuce I've heard so many stories about MyHermes. Why do people still use them? No other alternatives in the UK?

[@jecucejecuce]

MyHermes ? idk what that is

[@jecucejecuce]

oh nvm i googled it. idk about UK :) im in sweden

[@Nostalgianerd]

***** Cheap and easy I guess. I actually use them for sending stuff, but I package like it's about to go through WW3

[@DOSv622]

The Commodore MAX was not VIC-20 technology. The MAX was basically a C64 with only 2KB of RAM and a membrane keyboard. It has the C64’s SID, VIC II and 6510 CPU.

[@timg2727]

I'm consistently amazed that you don't have more subscribers. Your videos are top-notch. Nice job!

[@chriswathen9612]

Gonna go out on a limb here - I loved the Cheetah Annihilator joystick! My C64C came with one bundled in 1992. Obviously it broke very quickly like all the others did, Commodore replaced it under warranty with 'Cheetah Exterminator' (similar design in a black case but without the trigger button or sculpted stick) which I hated. I got my dad to phone them and ask for another Annihilator and the response was that it was discontinued (but for some reason they sent another Exterminator!). This led to me writing an impassioned letter when they finally found another Annihilator for me...which broke like the first one, but by then it was out of warranty. When it came to replacing it again (going out on more of a limb here) I also hated the much raved about Zip Stick and was taken out to find a joystick I did like. Don't remember what model I got but it was a beautiful red micro switched joystick with a trigger button like the Annihilator and auto fire which still works perfectly to this day.

[@andrew-dunai]

I like how the keyboard pin header is just casually not there, despite the holes being in place. :D

[@philipbain]

Sorry to get all adenoidy, but the C64 didnt have a 6502 CPU, it used a 6510 CPU which was a derivative of the 6502 that had some I/O stuff added!

[@TobyDeshane]

Thrilled that you added the bit about the actual source of the machine's damage. I spent half the video horrified. Now it makes sense. ;D Great stuff, as always.

[@andrewmondt771]

Another great vid! It's such a shame that Commodore was managed into the ground. The Pet had more power than the competing Apple][. The Amiga was so much more powerful than the contemporary Mac. If they hadn't done stupid products like this they could have transitioned the 64 users to the Amiga. I wish I was on my Amiga Air laptop and cPhone.

[@Adamsnadler214]

Andrew Mondt was the pet able to handle graphics

[@vytah]

Nope, PET was text-mode only with two non-redefinable character sets and monochrome output. For comparison, Apple II supported 6 colours in hi-res bitmap mode and 15 colours in lo-res, being miles ahead of PET.

[@TheSuperPlayer707]

I always think that what would have happened if commodore had acted as an direct competitor to Apple. The actuality could be very different, and things like the CDTV and the CD32 could have never existed.

[@TheSuperPlayer707]

PS. now thanks to you I want a cPhone LMAO

[@akira808state4]

The Commodore 64 GS was essentially a Commodore 64C with the cartridge port on the top, but all the ports were actually inside. Unfortunately, the joystick wasn’t designed very well and were prone to breakdowns. Making matters worse, certain games did require a keyboard which the system lacked. With the price of the system a little high, you could still get a Commodore 64C for much less. The CPU was a MOS 6510 which gave the Commodore 64 bank switching ability. Sadly, this system couldn’t complete with the likes of Nintendo and Sega. Commodore went bankrupt on April 29, 1994. A sad end for a company that made the world’s best selling home computer.

[@martyslackjaw]

I've only just noticed you use a Sword of Omens to point out the gubbins. Brilliant.

[@Halbared]

Nice video. I had a C64. Looking back, it's a wonder Commodore, Atari and Sega lasted as log as they did with their hardware decisions.

[@Larry]

How many kidneys did you have sell to buy this dude? :D I can remember Woolworths in Hastings selling them off for £15 each. But I went and bought a Catwoman poster instead >.>

[@Nostalgianerd]

+Larry Bundy Jr Woah Mr. Bundy Jr. An honour.... To be honest, I think you made the right decision with the Catwoman poster XD As for this little beast, I've just sold it again on ebay... I needed the kidney back

[@Larry]

Nostalgia Nerd Lol, no worries dude I just subbed to you too! Well I hope you managed to get a solid gold kidney from the inflating prices it goes for online! I've been after a CDTV for years too, they were around £50 when I first started bidding, now they're going for £150 >.>

[@Nostalgianerd]

+Larry Bundy Jr subbed as well?? *explodes*... I got a little more than I paid for it, to be honest as it does nothing better than a c64, it probably would have just collected dust. Yeah, CDTVs are an expensive beast. But definitely a necessity. I mean an Amiga that looks like a VCR..... can you get any more 90s??

[@Larry]

+Nostalgia Nerd You can mod them to work as a C64, but the things are so rare, that it's just easier/wiser to get a normal C64 for £30 off eBay. The odd thing about the CDTV is half of that case is empty too!

[@Nostalgianerd]

+Larry Bundy Jr the bigger the case, the better the product. 90s logic, right? XD

[@e5frog]

Not 6502 it's a 6510, pointing to the 64 legged PLA++ creature when saying it's a VIC-II is already pointed out. There's no RGB out, just chroma+luma or the combination of them: composite apart from RF. S-video is also chroma+luma but these machines have a stronger chroma signal which may or may not cause problems if hooked directly to s-video input.

[@GeoNeilUK]

Between this (the most pointless device ever released) the Amstrad GX4000 and the Atari XE, Atari were the only ones who did this right. Yes, it was a console, but it was fully compatible with the computer it was based on and you could get a keyboard for it (or more accurately, you could buy the Deluxe Pack that came with the keyboard) I actually wanted an XE growing up just for that USP.

[@MetalSonicodraco7342]

Both Amstrad and Commodore do full fails. Atari literally maked another version of their computer but marketed as a console.

[@akkudakkupl]

You were talking about VIC II but shown the Sharp PLA+color RAM on the board :D

[@markmeric8580]

Hey dude, what's with the negativity regarding International Soccer? It was an incredible game for its time and remains exceedingly playable today, especially the two-player mode. In addition, it remains unmatched by any similar games developed for the ZX and CPC machines. A modicum of respect, at the very least, is entirely appropriate :)

[@blackterminal]

If you glue that broken one back together it would still sell well I imagine.

[@aschraub9897]

I actually recognized that BG music in the beginning from a Krelez chiptune playlist its so good!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Similar to what Commodore 64 and Amstrad, Atari got in on it with a console version of it's 8-Bit computer line as well. I forget the name of it right now but it's out there. That one did have an expansion keyboard for those games that require it.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@EberKlaushartinger Yep, that's it! Thank goodness they gave it a keyboard expansion.

[@97channel]

Strangely enough I reckon the C64 GS could have actually found a market. Namely, a British market. Firstly, they needed to find a way of cutting the retail price in half. They sold for £100 in 1990, and that was not a tempting offer. Now, with a £50 price tag, what would it need to be to start shifting these things off the shelf? I reckon it needed to ditch the cartridges and replace it with a stylish on board turbo cassette drive. Yup, I did say that. The C64 GS was trading as a stripped down C64, so it needed to strip away the weakest aspects and retain the strongest. Floppy disks were a good aspect of the C64, but the uptake had been poor in the UK and the all-round costs involved would have burdened the GS far too much. And cartridge uptake on the C64 was barely existent at all. But cassettes were extremely cheap and extremely popular for being so. Every man and his dog had a massive stash of C64 tapes knocking around the house, so offer a cheap machine with a fast loading speed and I'm confident there would have been a fair few people willing to take one. In addition, it would have been compulsory to slip in a miniature keyboard just to make the thing usable. Just a little device, similar to a TV remote would have sufficed for this particular system. And maybe, build cost permitting, expansion ports to add cartridge and disks as an option, for those wanting a setup equal to that of a... erm... C64. Bottom line is, this wasn't ever going to be a SNES killer. It could only command a budget system market. And its biggest rival would be an actual C64, which a vast amount of people already owned and were readily available on the second hand market for decent prices, usually with a mega ton of games thrown in for good measure. In short, Commodore could never have had the entire cake with this system, but a nice little slice could have been quite appetizing.

[@bojankotur4613]

They could have sold the keyboard as an add-on, like the Sega Dreamcast, for example.

[@YAORG]

Had that exact Joystick-model bundled with my C64G. That was a ready to use bundle, including a matching 1541 and a multi game cartridge from C=UK,which I got around 1994.

[@TheGuruMeditation]

Great job on the video. Lots of great info and entertaining stories. Can't believe the Terminator 2 one! Jeeze!

[@Nostalgianerd]

The Guru Meditation Thanks! I know, right? You can't make it up

[@billant2]

It would be fun to pop the GS's rom into a regular C64, and see if it would work, course you would loose the keyboard function. xD

[@madcommodore]

The GS was totally dumb, I mean the motherboard still has tape/disk/keyboard ports underneath the case BUT it was the big software houses who railroaded the not too bright marketing people at Commodore into making a cartridge based C64 with no tape/disk ports otherwise they said they would no longer release any C64 games on tape or disk either. Secondly the Commodore MAX is basically a 5k Commodore 64 (has the same VIC II and SID chips and the same architecture almost). Finally Commodore actually stopped producing in house software around 1986 and the last game they did was an Amiga 1000 game (mind something or other) so of course there hadn't been ANY Commodore branded software for either C64 or Amiga lines for years before the C64GS was launched, which as I said was the idea of the greedy software houses who said too much piracy was losing them millions. I think you need to redo this video with the correct facts ;)

[@wadmodderschalton5763]

Someone try to make a keyboard controller for the C64GS.

[@SendyTheEndless]

The moment Commodore jumped the shark :( We all knew it, we just didn't want to admit it at the time.

[@atomiswave2]

You need a keyboard hack for this. You had me going with the hammer trick.

[@MichaelShulski]

Between this and the cd32, Commodore deserved to fail after burning so many consumers. Sega did the same thing with their mega/genesis cd. I was furious when I got one and they stopped making games about a year or so later. Maybe Nintendo is going down the same road with the Switch. Who knows. It's alot less likely really.

[@daishi5571]

I don't think Commodore burned anyone with the CD32, it was a reasonably decent system (certainly not "next gen") but software was coming fast for it even if it was only minor (if any) upgraded Amiga computer software. Now had you said the CDTV I would agree it was a resounding failure.

[@captaincorleone7088]

@@daishi5571 They certainly burned the CD32 owner who wrote into Amiga Format and asked David Pleasance why an RGB port had been omitted (only the French model had RGB enabled) to which he of course received a predictably bullshit answer from Pleasance that was revealing of the insane philosophy at Commodore and why they went bust.

[@daishi5571]

@@captaincorleone7088 what issue of AF? I would like to read it.

[@captaincorleone7088]

@@daishi5571 I'll look for the issue number and get back to you. This was decades ago but that letter and the response were unforgettable.

[@daishi5571]

@@captaincorleone7088 Thank you, I did take a look to see if I could find something but without knowing what i'm looking at I may skip over it.

[@SelfIndulgentGamer]

just stumbled across you rather interesting channel. I remember the day my dad bought the cgs and well we had already a c64. good move dad. unfortunately we never could have predicted the ridiculous price they are going for these days. and had long ago practically given the dam thing away years ago. but I still have a 64 though :)

[@ProtosMerkabah]

I no longer live in the UK, and have only heard of this company twice, but HOW DOES MY HERMES STILL STAY IN BUSINESS???

[@trip2themoon]

Because they are ridiculously cheap. I often buy Ensure drinks by the case and because it's quite a heavy package the average postage is about £15. Hermes will deliver the same package for £8. I used to deliver for Fedex/Business Post and got a decent wage for it, Hermes must pay their couriers shit money and that's why they treat your parcels like crap.

[@captaincorleone7088]

Good video but the C64 never had an RGB out. It was always composite video. Interestingly, the port to connect a disk drive has been removed but it looks like you'd only need to solder a new DIN connect onto the motherboard because the tracks and sockets are still present...

[@RichardTroupe]

It would be interesting to see an Amiga CD32 review sometime. I have one myself but due to buying a new house and renovating it, I haven't had a chance to build up a considerable library for it yet.

[@Nostalgianerd]

Richard Troupe No problem. Here you go ;) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJiul4mdm9mLbcU

[@michaelmcdonald2348]

I remember having a dead C64 and without the knowledge to repair it, I converted a C64GS and fitted it into the C64 case. I can't remember exactly what I did but it would have been changing out a ROM and replacing the cartridge port with the C64 one, which was the hardest part using nothing but a cheap solder sucker

[@iamdarkyoshi]

I was literally just listening to lukhash before watching this, the background music at the start took me off guard lol

[@joemorris1072]

So if some hobbyist with a soldering iron and some hardware at their disposal decides to be bored one day, perhaps they could come up with a C64 system that has a "tower" ... the "tower" being the GS itself and a seperate keyboard, holes drilled out for the cassette datacorder, and "Simon's Basic" plugged into the GS. :)

[@Nostalgianerd]

+joe morris Sounds like a solid plan to me

[@joemorris1072]

Me too, 'specially if Simon's Basic or even a machine code monitor/assembler cartridge can over-ride the basic-in-rom lock-out. It would be a first to my knowledge if anyone went ahead and did it.

[@mark12358]

it would be a waste of time to chop a keyboard from a C64 and try to link to a C64GS :) get a C64 without chopping and losing anything, yup.

[@medes5597]

Mark D people do mod C64GS into normal Commodore 64s. You can find KZbin videos of it and even buy kits to make it easier.

[@trip2themoon]

I don't remember that system at all. I know a couple of people who got the GX4000 for Christmas when I got my Master System. I have 22 of the original 24 Mean Machines magazines and I don't think they ever mentioned it. They did review GX4000 for a short time. At least Amstrad had the good grace to add a second fire button to their console and new technology. The 64GS begs the question: Why not just buy the C64 computer? But at least the GX had a few games tailored to it.

[@BaneMcDeath]

Oh you sneaky bugger. Glad you put the bit in about NOT smashing it.

[@eddiehimself]

They would have been more successful I think if they'd allowed access to the tape and expansion ports, as well as a way of controlling the tape games using something such as a keyboard. Then they would have had a... C64.

[@dreamkatcha]

At least in Amstrad's defence, when they released the GX4000 they didn't already have a much more advanced system on the market. What was Commodore's excuse? Why not shove the A500 in a shoe box and call that a games console instead?

[@Nostalgianerd]

dreamkatcha That would have been an idea 1000X times better. Their high end "Games Console" offering was the Amiga 600..... Which was really just a smaller Amiga 500... Makes you wonder why the went bust!! XD I think they wanted to appeal to the cheaper markets, but the Master System was still cheaper than than the GS, and had a shed load of decent games. Go figure.

[@dreamkatcha]

True, the 600 didn't offer any sort of advancement over the 500, but it was the first Amiga in my family that was all mine, mine, mine (I had to share the 500 with a ham-fisted older brother who would spend eons bashing away at the most infuriatingly obstinate games imaginable. I couldn't get near half the time). Commodore didn't put that on the poster funnily enough. Maybe the GS had a lot to do with Commodore wanting to claim their share of each and every market whether it moved the technology on or not. It could have been that they thought people who were tied to the brand through blind loyalty would buy anything with their stamp on it assuming an option was available rather than going to a competitor. Kids aren't the most objective consumers after all. Once you've led the Speccy army into battle, you aren't likely to buy an Amstrad even if it's far superior. Once people were invested in the cheapy model there may have been a later transition up the hierarchy. This would of course entail Commodore playing the long game, which is something they weren't really known for. Who knows? I always wanted a SNES or a Megadrive, but after the A600 it was actually the CD32 I was realistically thinking of buying because I believed in the community and the brand and had absorbed the magazine hype. That said, I didn't actually own one until this year. I think the fact that a couple of cartridge console games would set you back the same price you paid for the system played its part too.

[@gabrieleriva651]

Nostalgia Nerd Don't make too fun of the Amiga 600, it has the hard disk slot and can be expanded to unbelievably heights. #Amiga600DefenseForce #Amiga600bestamiga

[@PartyDude_19]

That is an awesome idea

[@TheSuperPlayer707]

That's a really interesting concept. An Amiga GS with Turrican as its flagship game wouldld have been a smash hit back in 1990 and had been a serious competitor to the Mega Drive and the SNES. The A500 catalogue is considered as one of the best that it arrived to a domestic computer, and migrate that game library to a console it could have been great.

[@RoyBatty16]

Just found your channel - Great work! Had a soft spot for the GS, even though I never owned one! Maybe because it was doomed from the start, I’m not sure. I had a C64C around the same time and did have a few cart games, due to the GS hitting the shops. As for the bundled joysticks, the base fire button was independent to the others so you did have two fire buttons as such. Even though it was functionless 99% of the time, So they were even more useless! On occasion though the button did have a use - The one that comes to mind would be operating the tank controls in Battle Command.

[@Nostalgianerd]

+Aled Grav I definitely think there's something appealing about "doomed" machines. Not entirely sure what. But something

[@LuciferStarr]

"The tape games that required a keyboard..." - That'd be all of them. Can't start the tape loading without Shift-Run/Stop. I got a "Shop demonstrator" back when they wanted rid of it - Absolutely normal unmodified C64 in the GS case - the normal shielding above the cart socket effectively blocking the door from opening. It had a 4 game cart (minus case) inside (Flimbo's Quest, Fiendish Freddy's Big Top o' Fun, and 2 I don't remember) First thing I did - figure out Shift-Run/Stop on the keyboard header, connect a momentary switch to those points and open up the case to connect a tape drive. Worked fine. Later acquired a dead C64 and swapped the case over for full function.

[@Nostalgianerd]

+LuciferStarr You're right, but they could obviously have modified the ROM to circumvent that, especially as they had to modify it anyway.

[@dreamkatcha]

Wait, change of plan Vladimir, he didn't really do it. Call off the air strikes! What's that, you've already hit the big red button?

[@Kee-Lo]

There's an exhibition about Ocean Games at the Manchester Science Museum at the moment. I guess it'll be there all summer.

[@Nostalgianerd]

Kee Lo Oooh. Cool! I may have to check that out

[@mdmomenul3870]

Sexyp

[@DeisFortuna]

is it possible to hack a keyboard into a C64GS? (i.e by soldering connections in) or is the board completely lacking non-joystick based input ability on the board itself? Because if someone could re-enable all normal C64 functions on this thing and maybe hack it to take modern keyboards, I could see this actually being useful. (of course, you'd probably destroy a few dozen C64s or GS's trying to get the mod to work, but you win some, you lose some.

[@alynicholls3230]

it is possible there is a video on utube somewhere of an old vic 20 retro fitted with one of these boards, making a fully working c64, it also has an sd card adapter and a switchable c64/vic20 rom set(larger modern eprom). old commadore stuff is very hackable, you just have to be aware that c16 and plus4 are not interchangeable with vic20/c64/c128. c16 and plus4 periferals can be used on either c16 or plus4, but the stuff meant for vic20 c64 and c128 can only be used on those machines. c16 was built with different connectors to vic20/c64, when they made the plus4 it was based on the c16 so uses its periferals.

[@mightydegu]

Old comment, I know, but from what I understand, Commodore actually removed the motherboards from the unsold inventory (which was something like 90% of units manufactured) and put them into standard C64 cases for their final sell-out.

[@wadmodderschalton5763]

It's the Commodore 64 (11:06), but lower-budgeted (0:23), missing half the features (6:08), is downward compatible with a large number of C64 software (4:36), only supports joystick controllers (4:56), and lacks a keyboard (5:12) & expansion capabilities (7:41).

[@rtrgrl78]

I got the Batman movie cartridge for my Birthday back in the day for my Commodore 64. I thought it was cool, not to wait for loading times. I never new that game was available on cassette though until now.

[@pferreira1983]

Great video, very informative!

[@x3picknicker]

nice video,... thank you.. a little mistake,.. you don´t show at time 08:45 the VIC ,.. this is PLA and other in one Chip,.. the VIC-Chip ist left with 8565 Greetings..

[@asa-punkatsouthvinland7145]

Not that it would have overcome other issues, like the hardware's age, but if Comedore had foreseen the keyboard issuethey could have added a couple buttons or a circuit board to combine several keyboard keys into one button to get around the problem. But the added cost may have made things worse.

[@RUOK2000]

How did you get that opening spin shot? Great vid as always dude

[@KayoMichiels]

I wonder: i saw that the Keyboard solder points were present.. so if you where to solder a connector on it and swap the ROM chip, with that of a regular C64, you would have a working C64! (you ofcourse have to put it in a enclosure and with a keyboard support like the C64C)

[@Lawg202]

saying "games system/console" instead of "game system/console" should be a worldwide thing

[@alexxbaudwhyn7572]

The 64gs might have been a success had it been released 85-86 timeframe as the nes was taking off in north America. Even 86-88. But 1990!? Even Atari did the xegs in 87, and I scratched my head over that one when released, having an St since 85 already.

[@oddpodshow]

great review :)

[@Nostalgianerd]

Odd pod Thanks man, appreciated :)

[@Ivegotsomewater81]

6:20 Wow, an LJN game so bad that it wouldn’t even play. AVGN should review it.

[@discoHR]

08:20 What's the square thing next to the LED connector on the PCB? Haven't seen anything like that on any standard C64/128.

[@remisclassiccomputers341]

I think the joystick that you have there, that came with it, actually got two separate buttons.

[@MrSatan-it5ww]

Best console's reviews.....indeed.

[@PartyDude_19]

TBH I think this system should've released in a time frame of 1985-1987 So it could be a formidable opponent to the NES an Master System thus selling more

[@levicassidy9312]

oh....my.....god NNNNNOOOOOOO!!!!!! LJN!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVESSSSSS!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHH !!!!!

[@levicassidy9312]

"rocks back in forth in the corner" the horror.............the horror o.o

[@ArabKatib]

Nice review! : )

[@alynicholls3230]

while shite as a machine in its own right, they are very useful as a source of original components for vic20 c64 etc, that smashed one would be a great candidate for bringing a long dead c64 back to life.

[@MaximumRD]

Hah I am guessing your machine had a stunt double ;)

[@Nostalgianerd]

MaximumRD Nooooo, I don't know what you mean ;)

[@tremorist]

6:51 doin' the lord's work.

[@thedeadstig123]

I strangely want a commodore 64gs and then i watch this and see you smash one lol

[@commodorecave5581]

Oh Man.... you got me BIG time! I was SOOOOOOO going to trash you , unsubscribe and send you to hell x 100000. I couldn't believe what you did. So glad I watched till the end, really let me off the proverbial hook. 5 stars dude. You SOOO got me... You'da'mayen.

[@eyreland]

I am with Guru Larry on this, do an episode where you recycle this into a working C64 of some kind...

[@Nostalgianerd]

eyreland I sold it about a year ago.

[@Kaziklu]

is that Peter Wingfield at 0:41 ? I'm fairly sure that is Peter Wingfield. (Highlander the Series and SG1)

[@Applecompuser]

My first console was the Atari 2600. After I received the Atari Computer, I never looked back upon consoles.

[@aljr357]

If they had made a 16 bit games console we might be having the comadore 6 and ps4 Xbox one wars right now.

[@Nostalgianerd]

+allan fulton The dream....

[@PartyDude_19]

oh yeah

[@johneygd]

I first tout that you greatly did had fotoshopped that hamer smash on the c64gs but so you own 2 of these. Well how dumb could commodore to keep the expansion and printer port while covering them? Same thing nintendo did with the supergameboy,covering the link port. So what commodore just did was just recycling those remained motherboards from their c64 and put then into a c64gs case. Was there really no keyboard input to save it from it's doom?or was there a keyboard wich connects to the controller port as an alternative of a keyboard? I readed that there was a windowing feature to compensate for the lack of keyboard but no software used it.

[@Nostalgianerd]

+johneygd Yes, the BIOS had "Windowing" capability, but it wasn't used, mainly because the C64 didn't have it, and the games needed to run on both *facepalm*

[@KurisuYamato]

Wouldn't mind mind owning one of these for the sake of it - not like I could make good use of it here in the States, let alone if I was in the UK, but I do like the look of the thing.

[@lyndsaybrooks2422]

Thumbs up for having Lion-O's sword :D

[@basvanharen2904]

LOL glad you explained you didnt use the hammer for real😅

[@Eigengrau608]

Smashing this with a hammer has aged like fine wine.

[@peterparker6584]

that Terminator game that wouldn't work on the console. Did it work on the Commodore computer? Or was it unplayable on either machine? Did you pick one up. That was broken for the video or did you quite literally for whatever reason break the machine while filming the video ?

[@BriansManCave]

sounds like a bad idea for Commodore... The best part was that it was an actual computer. If I want a console that I would buy a console.

[@owenfitzgerald3219]

This was always pointless considering the Commodore 64 could play cartridges. I heard it being called a "Whale Egg", and that's not a bad description.

[@TEBLify]

Just noticed that they didn't add the pin headers for connecting the keyboard, but they still included the CIA used to control the ports that are hidden... Strange when everything else screams penny-pinching 😅

[@MaximumRD]

So was this the start of Commodore shipping with bad controllers? The CD32 default pad was crap as well!

[@Nostalgianerd]

MaximumRD haaa, you have a good point there!

[@buncho888]

+MaximumRD Not the first. I remember using a 'Commodore joystick' that was made by Commodore for the Vic=20. That triangular handled piece of crap was lucky to last a week, the metal contacts would split. Atari joysticks all the way :)

[@yesterdaysrose5446]

Back in the day, I was actually vaguely psyched about C64GS, because that *might* have actually inspired various cartridge releases of really-fucking-boring-to-load-even-from-floppy games and *holy shit* did Last Ninja 3 ever look like an amazing game. ...but contrary to all logic it was apparently never released on a cartridge. FFFFF I did end up owning one of Ocean's C64GS releases, Chase HQ 2. ...which is an okay game, not really earth-shattering.

[@JustJamie1983]

Such a bad time to release a console based on old tech.

[@RussMichaels]

certainly a strange decision. Commodore could have easily upgraded the C64 with a better CPU (like almost every other 6502 based home computer), better gfx, more sprites and it would be competed with the NES and Sega. Simply making better use of the C128 would have been a good start.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Looking at this and then the CD32, its obvious that Commodore wasn't able to learn from mistakes.

[@Ultrabox64]

How much is a boxed one worth? Still have mine. I remember one birthday I received Robocop , was so excited, didn’t work 😂 Gutted isn’t the word so returned it for Myth. Best game ever was Last Ninja Remix.. music was pretty epic too.. but impossible to complete with that piece of junk joystick. I think I ended up using my master system 2 controller with the C64

[@planesguineapigs1712]

I got one for £5 from a car boot sale, only to nick it's SID and 6502 to fix a faulty C64 I picked up

[@Hiraghm]

does the C64GS have the keyboard connector on it still? So basically, the C64GS is a C64c w/o the keyboard?

[@AndyMitchellUK26]

Yep. It had a modified boot rom that doesn't have access to Basic so you couldn't load any tape/disc games up anyway.

[@MartinTedder]

That power brick!

[@beer_modder5425]

Thanks bro :)

[@tommyhatcher3399]

I only have positive things to say about those old companies. None of them wanted to lose money. They all wanted to do the right thing. Their mistakes, they had their reasons. I'm sure they'd do things differently if given the chance.

[@meh78336]

I remember thinking at the time, what idiot thought a "console" that looked worse graphically than a NES and MS, was going to compete with a SNES and MD, why didn't they make an Amiga powered console instead.

[@philrod1]

+1 for LukHash background music. I recommend anyone fond of the SID chip (and by that I mean *everyone*) to check him out on KZbin :-)

[@MrFabjp]

Whats the name of the game at 2:04, spent hours playing it!!...

[@RalphBromleyMadmanRB]

Both Amstrad and Commodore really failed to see how overmatched they were, no wonder why both are non existent now

[@Oldskool4Life]

the first model c64 was better then the second model you're showing in the video. sound chip was way better. i owned 4 c64 when i was a kid. i had to as a former c64 scener ... lol

[@MaximumRD]

Hah a system I have never even seen in real life, though funny this might of been the original idea of turning a computer into a console. If it had been an upgrade, added better graphics, was well bundled with some killer titles and even lower priced it MIGHT of had a go.

[@Nostalgianerd]

MaximumRD Yeah, possibly. Although it would still have been competing with the Mega Drive AND the Master System/NES (which were both cheaper than the GS by a fair margin), at launch! I think they were clutching at some pretty short straws.

[@MaximumRD]

Nostalgia Nerd True enough.

[@Nostalgianerd]

MaximumRD Would defintely have had a better chance than the lack luster thing they released though XD

[@matze75]

Wurde glaube ich nur auf der Insel verkauft. Auf dem europäischen Festland glaube ich nicht. Der GS ist mir zwar auch bekannt.

[@TheSuperPlayer707]

Ok... Some people it cares about the hammer smash in the 64GS because is a collection piece but, I think that worth it because that useless "console" deserved it.

[@AppalachianMotors]

oh lol i thought you smashed it for a few seconds and was about to cry lol