Commodore 64: Best Selling Computer Model of All Time

The technology-driven classrooms of today are a stark contrast to the learning environments of the 1980s. Students are currently taught interactive lessons on Smart Boards, use Google for much of their research, and take standardized tests in computer labs equipped with the latest hardware and software. But long before the Internet and technology played a major role in delivering curriculum to masses, some students were extremely lucky to have one computer available to the entire class. If a class was fortunate enough to have a computer in the classroom, chances are high it was a Commodore 64.

The Commodore 64 is billed as the first single-board microcomputer in history in addition to a laundry list of other innovations, which include being the first computer user-friendly enough to be used by the average person who knew nothing about software and circuitry. If users did not want to learn the minimal code required to run programs from the floppy drive, they could purchase cartridges which could plug into the back of the machine and run software automatically. Everyday people now had sophisticated technology at their fingertips, and there was no turning back.

From 1982 to 1992, the Commodore 64 was an affordable, reliable, and versatile machine that enhanced multiple areas of life from education to entertainment. It is understandably hard to appreciate the Commodore 64 now that nearly everyone owns a personal computer, many of which are portable enough to carry around in a jacket pocket. But the idea that everyone should own their own computer owes a lot to the early innovators of the Commodore 64.

Guinness Book of World Records

With a timeline that began in 1982 and ended a decade later, Commodore 64 computers had a lengthy production run which practically guaranteed it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Commodore did have worthy competition in the Atari 8-bit and Apple II systems; however, through the combination of an aggressive marketing strategy and the undeniable quality of the machine when factoring in its inexpensive cost, the Commodore won the market war for personal computers at a time when the concept of owning a personal computer was in its infancy. While the citation does not appear to be on the Guinness World Records website, multiple sources including PCWorld have claimed the Commodore 64 was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling computer model of all time.

Bankruptcy

Despite the positive impacts and accolades of the Commodore 64, the machine and the company were not without problems. What started out at a pet project of engineers met more and more obstacles as more outside people became involved. The majority of the original development team left in 1984, quickly followed by founder and CEO Jack Traimel. The Commodore 64 did enjoy a decade long production run, but was unable to continue the innovation which made the company successful. Commodore went bankrupt in 1994 and its assets were liquidated.

Charles Winterable, Commodore’s original Worldwide Engineering Director, summed it up as follows:

“If you let Marketing get involved with Product Definition, you’ll never get it done quickly, and you squander the ability to make something unique. When you get many people involved in a project, all you end up doing is justifying yourself. The freedom that allowed us to do the C-64 project will probably never exist again.”

In other words, the death of Commodore was an inside job, and its killer was named Corporate Bureaucracy.

Bottom Line

The Commodore 64 was one of the very first successful personal computers, and according to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the best-selling computer model of all time.