There will be a number of major hardware announcements at CES 2025 this week – but in the long history of CES, these events also recall a bygone era of Commodore announcements at CES, most notably the announcement of the Commodore 128 at CES 1985. The Commodore 128 was the direct sequel to the C64, which ever only sold a few million copies compared to the C64’s massive estimated peak of 17 million pieces. By the time the Commodore 128 was released, it was the last 8-bit PC in the 16-bit era, thanks to the existence of the Intel 8086 processor.
Fortunately, 16-bit PCs did not exist entirely nullify the importance of the Commodore 128 when it was introduced in January 1985 at CES. The Intel 8086 processor was released in June 1978, so the 16-bit version had plenty of time to come to market – but considering that the original 8-bit C64 was launched in 1981, it certainly that could mean a still viable 8-bit Commodore 128, right?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question was a resounding “No”. The reason for this was actually straightforward – while other PCs and PC clones of the time were opening the door to up-to-date 16-bit and 32-bit software, the Commodore 128 was mostly an improved Commodore 64, with twice the RAM (128 KB from 64 KB) and a processor that can boost the frequency to 2 MHz instead of just 1 MHz. Actual support for the C128 in the form of up-to-date software or patches to take advantage of its faster speeds and increased RAM was quite limited compared to the prospering software support that the original C64D enjoyed, and the Commodore 128 was ultimately consigned to oblivion – although it was the 128D and 128DCR they still exist as simply better versions of the Commodore 64 for enthusiasts and collectors. Perhaps one bakery would appreciate one of these… retro gaming enthusiasts would certainly appreciate it, as Commodore 128 enhanced games receive improved graphics and feature support, including the addition of music to the classic Origin System RPG Ultima W.
Another often overlooked feature of the Commodore 128 is its dual graphics chips, which allowed it to be used with two monitors at a time when such a feature was extremely infrequent, he noted Heise.dereport from the 40th anniversary. While both graphics chips used were obviously quite restricted in resolution and color generation by today’s standards, the availability of such a feature in any affordable form in the 1980s was impressive.
Ultimately, the Commodore 128 and its models became something of a footnote in the legacy of the Commodore 64, as did most of its variants. But while the machine wasn’t considered particularly ambitious at a time when everyone was chasing 16-bit and 32-bit versions, the supposed pinnacle of 8-bit is impressive in the Commodore 64 version (still one of the most popular computers ever made) that Is simply better in every way, minus some requirements for manually switching compatibility modes.
