Re: Commodore: Why they never made a 64D?


<dunric@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1130578399.260937.30390@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Clockmeister wrote:
>> "Sam Gillett" <samgillettnospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:x%D8f.4341$ti.1698@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> >
>> > "Clockmeister" wrote ...
>> >>
>> >> "Sam Gillett" <samgillettnospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> >> news:5yx8f.524$iv3.122@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> >>>
>> >>> At that time, the 8-bit market was far from dead. Seems I remember
>> >>> hearing
>> >>> that C128 development was hampered by Commodore concentrating
>> >>> engineering
>> >>> resources on Amiga development.
>> >>>
>> >>> Anyway, both the C128 and the Amiga were brought to market, and both
>> >>> were
>> >>> successful.
>> >>> --
>> >>
>> >> The C128 wasn't a roaring success, as evidenced by the lack of
>> >> software
>> >> for
>> >> the native 128 mode.
>> >
>> > What lack of software? There were plenty of good productivity programs
>> > available for 128 mode, at least in this part of the world. Plenty of
>> > good
>> > communications software also, which could be downloaded from Q-Link,
>> > GEnie,
>> > or any of the thousands of Commodore BBSes scattered around the
>> > country.
>>
>> Plenty? Not a drop in the ocean compared to other productivity orientated
>> machines or even the C64 for that matter.
>>
>> > However, if like a speccy user, you equate games with software, there
>> > were
>> > not many for 128 mode. That was OK because 99.99% of C64 games would
>> > work
>> > in
>> > 64 mode.
>>
>> The C128 CPM mode was too slow to be useful, everyone who wanted to play
>> games already had a C64 and those who wanted a business machine couldn't
>> care less about C64 mode, and quality productivity software was thin on
>> the
>> ground. Given the cost of the C128, better options were available.
>>
>> >> They should have dropped the 8 bit line and concentrated on the Amiga,
>> >
>> > If you are really as anti-8-bit as evidenced by that remark, and
>> > another
>> > made
>> > in another post in this thread, what are you doing in an 8-bit
>> > newsgroup?
>>
>> I'm not anti-8-bit at all, I love the C64, VIC and other systems. I do
>> think
>> that the C128 was a johnny-come-lately on the scene that tried to be
>> everything but wasn't particularly very good at anything.
>>
>> The C128 represented the past where the Amiga was the way of the future.
>
> The Commodore 128 was everything everyone ever wanted in a Commodore
> 64. In no way, shape or form was it a "johnny-come-lately." It was the
> natural evolution of an improved 8-bit computer with C64 compatibility.
> Millions of C64 owners upgraded to the C128. That's not a typo.

It was evolutionary, not revolutionary like the Amiga was.

> The VIC-20 was a poor system by comparison. All it had was decent
> graphics (for the time) and so-so games on cartridge, disk and tape. It
> also came with only 1 joystick port, making two player games more
> difficult.

It wasn't brilliant but it was a sign of things to come.

> The Commodore 64 was a good machine, marketed very well and was a huge
> success because of it.

The C64 marketed itself. Word of mouth did more for the C64 then any kind of
marketing by C= IMO.

> The C-128 was an evolution of the long promised features of the
> Commodore 64, which was faster disk access, CP/M compatibility and a
> better BASIC. Everyone's wish list was accomodated with the Commodore
> 128.

It had so many flaws that made the enhancements almost a waste of time. CPM
was as good as dead and poorly implemented on the 128 anyway and the
usefulness of the faster disk access was somewhat negated by having to blank
the screen in 40 column mode. The 80 column mode wasn't anything to write
home about.

> That the C-128 was (and remains) one of the best 8-bit computers of
> all-time fails to escape most people's attention.

It escaped people's attention because it offered nothing new, it was just a
combination of old and/or existing technology.



.

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