A new
C64 Software
Library on the Internet Archive offers the chance to play tens of thousands
of Commodore 64 games via emulation in their latest herculean effort to preserve
gaming history (thanks
[H]ardOCP. They include a
little
history lesson on the C64 and its historical success. Here's a bit:
Part of the Commodore 64's success was its sale in regular retail stores
instead of only electronics or computer hobbyist specialty stores. Commodore
produced many of its parts in-house to control costs, including custom
integrated circuit chips from MOS Technology. It has been compared to the Ford
Model T automobile for its role in bringing a new technology to middle-class
households via creative and affordable mass-production. Approximately 10,000
commercial software titles have been made for the Commodore 64 including
development tools, office productivity applications, and video games. C64
emulators allow anyone with a modern computer, or a compatible video game
console, to run these programs today. The C64 is also credited with popularizing
the computer demoscene and is still used today by some computer hobbyists.
In 2011, 17 years after it was taken off the market, research showed that brand
recognition for the model was still at 87%.