As I sit here in front of a computer I feel like I have been starring at a monitor for my entire life. This is just a feeling however, a sensual overlap of technological generalization. I only bought this computer two and a half years ago and before my sophomore year of high school, my family didn’t even own a PC. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that I have always starred at a monitor, being that most of my generation has grown up surrounded by Dreamcasts, Pentium chips and flat screens. But there was an earlier time in life, when starring and interacting with a monitor was a new and exciting thing.

-In half-blurred childhood memories I recall my first experience with video games - The Commodore 64.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Commodore 64, it was a flat keyboard-like system which connected to a monitor using one video and just one audio RCA cable. The game software came in cartridges, which were inserted horizontally into side of the keyboard-like contraption. In this manner it sort of had the same design as the original ATARI 2600, except it had a keyboard component instead of knobs with buttons. I can remember with somewhat garbled clarity, going to the store with my dad and buying the system, the monitor, and some games. At the time it was displayed in electronic stores in much the same manner as an X-BOX or digital camera would be displayed today. At the time, I thought this was the best life and video games got. Staying up late and finishing a videogame was more important to me then, than a credit card bill is to me now. Operation Wolf was my favorite game. It was a shoot’em up military game where the screen panned horizontally as you attempted to kill bad guys. As far as I knew these were the best graphics the world would ever see. And once a game was loaded there wasn’t much to learn; a joystick and two buttons. Despite playing countless hours of the Commodore 64 during my childhood, I don’t know many details about the system or its popularity. Researching it on the Internet revealed some answers and specifics about this ancient video game platform.

Hard traceable statistics involving the Commodore 64 were hard to find, but many of the web sites seemed to repeat the same information. The Commodore 64 was an 8-bit video game system (1) with only 64K of Ram (2). It was a cheap and affordable system, which almost everyone could afford. By deduction, it is reasonable to assume that it sold for somewhere between $50 to $100, probably being closer to the first and not the second number (3). One site estimated that Commodore sold over 10 million Commodore 64 machines (4). While this number could not be accurately tracked down in accounting books, it is safe to say that the Commodore 64 sold quite well considering there were at least 200 games produced for it. One site devoted to the Commodore 64 proudly boasts that it was the most popular 8-bit system of the 1980’s (1). Commodore also produced non-entertainment software. The absence of the PC in many homes created a nice niche for the system to expand its capabilities. There was processing software, such as Easy Script. I remember having Easy Script at my house, probably bought by my dad in the hopes that the Commodore 64 would be an educational tool. This machine was multi-talented and it seemed to fill the need of both education and entertainment for the American family. Quickly, technology began to change. Soon my family had bought the Commodore 128 to keep up with the times. The Commodore 128 connected to the Commodore 64, but it used floppy disks for software instead cartridges. Eventually Commodore gave way to the PC fad and the Nintendo revolution. In my house the Nintendo literally replaced the Commodore 64. I unplugged the Commodore 64 from the monitor and switched in my 8-bit Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers. That’s about when Commodore products began to disappear. This early video gaming system was shoved aside by the increased competition of Nintendo, ATARI, and Sega. These systems were the next generation of machines. The computer market didn't show the Commodore 64 any love either, with 286’s and Macintosh’s invading into home, schools and businesses. Commodore 64’s were being put into closets, next to 8-Tracks and Beta VCR’s. The computer revolution moved so that fast the company could not keep up.

Today Commodore 64’s are doorstops and storage space eaters. People moved on to better and faster technology, riding much the same wave that has VHS players scared, and DVD Players smiling. Progress was moving too fast, and by the mid 1990’s Commodore 64s were no longer a sign of the times.

Unlike 8-tracks, Commodore 64’s still have living roots. This machine was such a big part of many people’s shared childhood. And even if the Commodore wasn't involved in a person’s childhood, it still represents a shared electronic foundation. This system was probably the first interaction with computer/video game systems for a large number of families. People are still attached. It is doubtful that there are many, if any, out there that still play or use their Commodore 64 system. However, the games live on! There is a cult following of Commodore 64 that exists in the form of WebPages and newsgroups. By easily searching the Internet, one can find Commodore 64 fans and groupies. They have set up sites where you can download the games and play them on your Commodore replacing PC. One such site is www.c64.com. There is a definite love and nostalgia associated with these sites. The creators of these sites try to keep the Commodore 64 alive through an assortment of images, sounds, and game cheats. The same type of feelings that make baby boomers pay hundreds of dollars for old tin 1960s Spiderman lunch boxes, are now posted all over the Internet in honor of Commodore 64 by a new generation. Many of the sites, are foreign in origin, which may go to show that Germans and the British played these archaic machines too.

The Commodore 64 is dead, and mostly forgotten. In writing this paper, I searched for books in the library on the Commodore 64 to complement the internet sites. There were no books in the library about or containing the words Commodore 64. Libraries are probably the wrong place to look for Commodore 64 literature. Apparently, there was a Commodore 64 magazine, "Your Commodore". Where there’s money to be made on nostalgia, there’s an internet site selling it. You can find online sites selling the old manuals (3) or some free links to magazine articles (5). Despite these sites most people still keep their old Commodore 64s in their closets. Even though it maybe next to the typewriter, the Commodore 64 still has a lot more value to me, then most forgotten closet items. The Commodore 64 is more than just an outdated typewrite to me. I could care less about an old word processor in storage, but the Commodore 64 represents simplistic good times that only kids know. My Commodore 64 still sits under that original monitor. I never turn it on and the original Nintendo is still plugged in. The most my Commodore 64 does for me now is remind me of fond memories spending time with my dad. I have moved on. But I still don’t put it in the closet. People inherently move toward bigger and better things. If you own a car, it’s not long before you want a better one. Children get board with toys fast and demand new ones. Part of living is learning and moving along with progress. The status quo is never good enough because there’s always something new and better just around the corner. The natural progression of life consists of growth, a peak, a recession, followed eventually by death. In the technological world a products life is even more accelerated. The Commodore 64 is dead and no one is really surprised. People are used to the quick evolution of technology. They accept change as a part of life. But it is nice to able to download Operation wolf and be seven one more time.