Commodore 64 Story & Review (C64); RE:Collections | Nostalgia Nerd
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2024
- The Commodore 64, otherwise known as the C64, C-64 or CBM64... What can I say about this machine that hasn't already said. It's an amazing piece of kit which has stood the test of time admirably. In this video, I'll give you the background story of the beast, as well as my personal views, a hardware rundown, my software picks (along with some terrible gameplay) and tell you what's been happening in more recent times for the 30+ year old Commodore machine. Sit back, relax, and grab your joysticks *ahem*.
Accompanying article available at www.nostalgianerd.com/the-comm...
Content Sources:
Images either owned by myself, public domain or sourced from www.wikipedia.org/ under a CC licence and pixabay.com/p-28741/?no_redirect
ZZap magazine excerpts, obtained with permission, courtesy of www.zzap64.co.uk/ where you can find many other Zzap scans and information.
TOD Clock information available at www.atarimagazines.com/compute...
Other scans sourced from own magazines or archive.org/details/zzap64-ma...
BG Music (in order):
www.jamendo.com/en/track/2635...
www.jamendo.com/en/track/1173...
www.jamendo.com/en/track/9454...
www.jamendo.com/en/track/2635...
www.jamendo.com/en/artist/351...
www.jamendo.com/en/artist/350....
www.jamendo.com/en/track/2293...
Additional Sound Effect: soundbible.com/1966-Thought.html
Thanks to www.google.co.uk search, Lemon 64 www.lemon64.com/games/votes_li... and Audacity audacity.sourceforge.net/ for making production and research easier
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As a Commodore fanatic from the USA, your remark about the best games coming from the UK is spot on. We were painfully aware of that fact back in the day, especially in the underground BBS scene whose most prized members were typically folks with overseas connections who could import the good stuff that we couldn't otherwise get followed by the programming geniuses who could modify the games to work on our NTSC machines if needed. It also goes without saying most of my favorite C64 games musics were also written by folks from the UK, such as the incomparable Rob Hubbard. We turned out some classics over here as well, but we will forever live in the shadow cast by the juggernauts of the UK software industry.
+aphexteknol I'm in the USA and my feelings about UK software were mostly the opposite. For starters, most PAL software that showed up on local BBSs was NOT fixed for NTSC systems and was typically full of horrible graphical glitches, slowdown and outright crashes. Before I knew what PAL and NTSC were, I used to think that the cracking groups were full of incompetent morons because so many of the games that I downloaded were so screwed up that they were unplayable.
Even when the games worked properly, it often seemed like they cut corners on the games just for the sake of fitting the entire game into memory at once rather than making each level the best that it could be.
That's not to say that I disliked all UK/European games. I loved Elite, Commando, Buggy Boy, etc. But a lot of my favorite games at the time (Archon 1 & 2, Destroyer, Skyfox II, Leaderboard, Hacker, etc) came from American companies.
+lurkerrekrul I can totally understand, I had alot of software that wasn't perfect either running on my NTSC machines as well back then. I have PAL machines now too however so I have the best of both worlds in the present day. I got a bit of a late start on the 64 anyways, everyone else was already playing NES for a couple years by the time I inherited my first 64 from my uncle so my experience was a little skewed to begin with. One thing I do have to admit is that my very favorite games are many of the early arcade ports, and most of those were all NTSC titles anyways. The contrast between the experiences of C64 fans here at home and in the UK is a very interesting one any way you look at it...
+aphexteknol I forget what year it was, but I got my C64 fairly early, like 83 or 84. I mostly went Atari 2600 > C64 > Amiga 500 > Windows 98. It really wasn't until I got the Amiga that I learned about the differences between PAL and NTSC, mostly thanks to the fact that the later version of the Agnus chip could switch between them.
Even on the Amiga, a lot of software didn't work properly, if at all, in NTSC. One of the most spectacular glitches was with Robocop II. It looked like someone sliced the screen into quarters and then swapped them horizontally and vertically, plus it flickered like crazy.
I once thought about getting a PAL C64, but at the time, C64s were still fairly expensive, so that never came to pass. Now I mostly use emulation. My original C64 and 1541 are buried in the closet. I do have a C64 and 1541 that I can use, but it still has the original power supply and I'm not sure how much I can trust it.
There are a few exceptions where the American version is better (The US version of Street fighter comes to mind) but for the most part, the best versions are always PAL format.
Plus the US version of Bionic Commando also didn't have the awesome Tim Follin music. The music in that version was generic as fuck. And don't get me started on the gameplay. Thank God for emulation, so I can now play those games.
can see you dancing to the load music in the reflection on the television screen.. hehehehe
Of course, having been a C64 nerd over here in the US in the late 80's this brings back many memories. One of the things that I absolutely loved about the C64 was having a copy party with friends in my town. That was always fun. I really couldn't afford to buy new software myself so yes I had a large collection of cracked software. The only real cost of operation was buying a new 10 unit box of Floppy Disks at a nearby store from time to time. About the time I started wanting some new games everyone got together at a friend's house in the neighborhood and it was copy city! Fun times and lots of great games that I played including many of the popular PAL games some of which definitely made it across the pond and had been NTSC "fixed". Anyway, fun times long gone although I still have a C64 with 1080 monitor, 1541-II disk drive, Oceanic OC-118 disk drive, datasette, and a joystick. I also have the XM cable for transfering disk images downloaded from the internet on to floppy diskette. The Epyx Fastload cartridge is a must. I wonder how many times I enjoyed replaying One Man and his Droid just to hear the amazing sound track. 100's of others of course.
Amazing stuff, I'm from Argentina and here we have the Drean Commodore 64c, which is basically the same 64c but an argentine company called Drean converted to the PAL-N format we used to have, so we can finally see colors in our tvs and sold it bundled with GEOS. I still have mine even it doesn't work properly, but it was the machine that made me the gamer I am today. Cheers for the video!
mate ive got to say simply a massive FUKING huge thanks!, for all your videos I absolutely love them they're not just a walk down memory lane they're really genuinely double interesting because they go into those technical things we all used to be obsessed about nice one mate for putting the time in it it's appreciated out here nice one
Naming the German model "64D" would have made even more sense considering "Deutschland" is the German word for, well, "Germany". I'm sure someone has said that before me :)
+prolinea4 That's an incredibly good point, and one which passed me by. Still, American's don't usually recognise other languages do they?
+Nostalgia Nerd Surely they must have been in contact with German representatives, marketing or someone like that while developing it, though.
I guess English trumps common sense. Maybe they anticipated the 64 to go on for another 10 years and wanted to release a 64D in 1996 XD
@@Nostalgianerd wow!! Your telling me english isnt the only language on the planet.mind BLOWN!!!
If you sneeze near an American, they will probably say "Gesundheit"
So there's that...
You got me at "Yoink!"
Insta-subbed!
Haha, welcome on board. :D
Nooo the little girl's Commodore sixty-four! So cute :D
1:30 Sovereign house. Once upon a time in a drunken stupor, I don’t quite know how but managed to fined my way inside and got lost and couldn’t find my way out again. But the heating was still on but it’s been empty for years. I feel asleep and once awake I found the way out. But I remember not liking the feeling I felt inside there, it felt very haunting.
in Poland Pirate market in 80-90 was huge. It's crazy for me to see so much of original C64 stuff :)
this was a very entertaining and informative video dude, keep up the good work as this episode brought tears of nostalgia into my eyes.
+Terry The 2D Maniac :D
6:24 Omg Trapdoor, Jet Set Willy and Skool Daze were my childhood
I remember my sister getting braces back in 1986. My parents bought me a c64 with 1541 floppy drive instead of braces. Best choice I ever made. My c64 still works today and I retro game on it all the time. My collection of about 700 games still work. All the good memories this machine gave to me. The c64 will always be my favorite gaming memory, cause my parents bought it for me. They are passed now, but the c64 they bought for me is still running strong.
The C64 was my first ever computer, I have some great memories of playing this and the ZX Spectrum that my brother got
Subscribed! Glad to discover this channel. I loved my C64 for so many years! I was in a local User group with weekly meetings. I was one of two people who wrote, and published our newsletter on a C64 and dot matrix printer. Thanks for the memories!
haha can see you dancing in the reflection as you are showing us the loading screens
Yeah man! How can you not dance to SID music?!?
c64 rocks
I had a C64 and a C64C for many years and never played any of the games you featured. Some of my favorites would have to be Archon 2, Pitstop 2, Jumpman, Wizard, Castles of Doctor Creep, M.U.L.E, Impossible Mission, Raid over Bungling Bay, Raid Over Moscow, Master of the Lamps, Gunship, Skyfox, Turbo Out Run, Maniac Mansion. Man, I could keep going on...So many awesome games.
14:35 that dance in the "black mirror", rofl!
The C64C is probably the only vintage computer that still looks good today on our desk. Nice color, modern fonts, timeless design. I got 2
Best c64 video I've seen. Thank you from the states!
+bizzarrogeorge Kind works. Thanks!
My dad bought our 64 back in 1984 upgrading from a Spectrum. We had a 1541 because of the the painfully long cassette loading times but in all fairness it was a bit crap. The disc drive was essential to get hold of pirate and US games
@@trevorlack630 Crap compared to what? It gave good value for the money. That's why it was so popular.
Hey man, your videos are wonderful and informative. They're not condensed or roundabout at all, actually nice to sit and watch. I show all my geeky friends your channel. Hope you get more recognition!
Now this was a marvellously good quality video of yours! Probably the most comprehensive review of the C64, done with a passion. The topic is much exploited on the internet beside/behind retro consoles, I still learned a few tidbits here I wasn't aware of thus far.
Back in 1982 it wasn't obvious that the C64 would be the world's best selling computer, because of the initial high price. It was still £300 when I got interested in home computers. I got an Acorn Electron instead (couldn't afford the C64). Commodore really blew it with the follow up computers (which was just as surprising).
Back in 82 i could throw a pig skin a quarter of a mile. I’m dead serious.
Great video as always and I really appreciate the little sketch you did there!
Really great video. I can tell you put a lot of work into it. Deserves more views!
Oh so many memories! Thanks for this vid...
Very amusing! Can't believe I've only just seen this. And thumbs up for bothering to film the street urchin scene. 👍😂🕹️
These are some of my favorite videos. I love the history lesson and high production value.
I think I've seen this video in the past. Nevermind, today it gave me entertainment and relax during supper. :) Thank you for that. And I just brotherly love you for the outro. :)
Maan this was a great journey :-) Thanks for all of this info. I owned a C64 back in the days as well. If i had known how successful the SID-Chip will become - round about 20 years later - i had never sold it :-( Getting one today with the chip still inside is quite hard. And Elektrons SID-Station is at an extremely high price tag already ... its like trying to get a Roland 303 - an original. Commodore sure did not knew what legacy they build back in those days.
subbz2k :D It was one thing they got absolutely right. I remember upgrading to an Atari ST and thinking "shit, what's happened to the sound?!"
I've seen many but your nostalgia channel gets it right, thx!
That SID .. still unsurpassed in many ways and the soundtrack of my childhood.. it weren’t nessecarely about the graphics nor the the games themselves.. often the brilliant soundtracks would keep me well entertained for hours
Thanks for this. Missing a few details I would have included. But no less wonderful to behold. Made me very happy to watch.
Great video! I loved my C64 and used it for so much more than playing games. I taught myself to program using the COMOL language that obviated the use of all those pokes for video/audio.. Through high school and college I did all my word processing on the 64. I don't know how you Brits dealt with the cassette drive! Moving from the cassette to the 1541 was like going from dial-up to broadband. I'm still bummed Commodore was managed into the ground.
Finally got around to watching this one. Great video, mate! When you loaded up Haunted House, I recognized the game purely by SID tune! Great trip down nostalgia lane! You need a new second spring in that 64C spacebar.
Real nice video. Did not know about a lot of those Commodore 64 variants. Some great looking computers. I recall the Plus4 and Commodore 16 and remember how bizarre it was to see those in the shops. No idea what Commodore were thinking! For me the C64 was the computer I learned programming on back in the day so I have a lot to thank my mother for in that regard as I've earned my living from it for the last 25+ years!
I loved it back then when I could go into my local newsagents and they had a big rack of budget games starting from 99p.
But even better was I could take my twin deck ghetto blaster and copy games from people, of course that often took hours and hours because if you tried using high speed dubbing the games often failed to copy.
i know im asking randomly but does anybody know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account??
I somehow lost my password. I would appreciate any tricks you can give me
Absolutely outstanding reviews on all the micros of the past, in my secondary school days my classmates were split into commodore 64 owners (me) and spectrum type people. If you had a C64 you felt very superior to the spectrum side of the classroom. I loved my C64 and I loved the fact that my cousin had one too with a disk drive and would copy many many many games onto a cassette for me. The mid eighties were a very happy time for me. Time ⌚ machine please.
I'm always impressed when other people promote the Commodore 64. There are many people I've met who have never heard of the company. So thanks for doing justice for the machine that changed my life.
Man, that loading music is awesome! Using my dad’s old ZX Spectrum 128k +2, a many years ago, (mind you I was about 6 and it was still the mid 2000’s.) I figured out a method of getting decent quality analogue audio from the cassettes, and now that I think of it I’m sure I could find a way of using that for loading music. I originally worked out how it could be used for in-game voice acting without needing to use digitised samples, that was my original intention, but ingame music would be possible too without any modification.
The problem you’d have would be being able to hear the music over the loading sound, you’d need 2 separate sound channels, but I’m sure it’d still be possible on the Spectrum, definitely with some minor modification.
Totally lost it when you took the C64 to the park :D
+Simon Barnett It's been downhill ever since if I'm totally honest
Lovely, lovely video! Very interesting to listen too. I'll be buying myself a C64-c in less than a month, from my local retro shop, all boxed, tested, comes with a tape deck, and 1 game, RGB cables from the online store I use, and lastly 6 months warranty! :D
I loved that my old Atari joysticks got some play on the C64.
This is my favorite 8 bit computer, and there is a myriad of programs and games available for it, even today. Plus, you can create your own programs and games as well. Long live the Commodore !!!
It's not quite my favourite, but it's up there.
To me, it's a tossup between this and the Atari 800 for being my favorite 8-bit computer, although the Spectrum comes in a close third
@@scottbreon9448 The C64 had more sprites but with display list interrupts one could slice an Atari 800 sprite into smaller sprites, give each one a different color, and a different horizontal position. The SID chip had 3 16 bit channels while the Atari only had 2. However the Atari could split the sound channels into 4 channels. It's sound chip also did sound effects. I'll take the Atari over the C64.
bjbell52 no way sorry
After watching this, I was overwhelmed by nostalgia for the C-64's rounded key caps.
I saw you dancing in the screen reflection omg Hahahaha during the game loading music
I owned a C64 C with the disk drive in the UK! I wasn't a rich kid but I managed to get a C64 with the disk drive and games for a low price. Not many disk based games were available but I managed to find a cartridge that plugged into the back of the C64 which would snapshot the C64 memory to disk. You could then load from tape and snapshot to disk. Loading up games in 6 seconds in the 80s would amaze people. I also bought GEOS and a mouse which gave the C64 a GUI interface, it was like owning an apple at the time. For a while that machine was my life.
That ending was pure gold!!
I had a C16 and I must say it’s much improved Basic v3.5 and built in machine language monitor sparked my programming interests for a lifetime.
Outstanding video, so much nostalgia. Thank you!!!!
having the experiences of the games, programing, and other stuff then sharing with your fellow computer users was half the fun and was how alot of us interested in other interests made friends.
Totally agree with your comment about being more impressed with hearing the load music, over things out today. I'm still blown away by the ingenuity used in both hardware design, programming, and game designs from yesteryear, vs anything out there today. There is no mystery, or magic to how things work now.
A racing game today, as an example, is easy. Make 3d models, and have them race around. Trying to figure out how something like Outrun 2019, or even Space Harrier actually worked, is just mind boggling.
Thank you for your videos.
I was about 9 when we got our C64. (1985) in USA. We did use a cassette drive at first and started with the games "Forbidden Forest" and "Zaxxon."
Anyone remember the Mastertronic brand of games in the UK? They made it affordable for me as a young teenager to get hold of what were actually really good games. Just £1.99. Happy memories.
I have plenty of Commodore software and some Sinclair software somewhere around my home. I have 2 Commodore 64's, 1 floppy drive, 1 joystick, and a 64k modem for the machine. The machines both work just fine although I have not used them in some time. Someone purchased the rights to use the name and sold a different version of the machine, but it never made any advancement in the U.S. I still have some magazines from the late 1980's and early 1990's which had programs in them for various computers and Commodore programs was among those programs in them. I also had a Commodore +4 which I ended up giving to a friend whom I worked with and he and his wife loved it.
takes me back to the good days ...thanks!
Really enjoy your video's!
Started watching with the CD32,which is the most in depth review I've ever watched of that great little machine (I got myself into debt at the time to get one),to the Speccy and the '64....really good stuff..
You have another sub !
*videos
apostrophes don't belong in plural words...smh
@@scottbreon9448 Shut up. Besides, it's a 4 years old comment...smh
@@mortenera2294 And if your mother wasn't a moron, she would have had an abortion
Some of the team that designed the C64, including Robert Yannes (designer of the SID chip) went on to form the synthesizer company Ensoniq. The Ensoniq ESQ-1, released in 1985, was a digital synthesizer that used wave table lookup for oscillator waveforms and utilizes analogue low-pass filters and other components to create a truly unique sound. It's sort of a spiritual successor to the SID, as it's similar to how he had hoped the SID would have been used.
I finally acquired one a few years ago and it's one of the most interesting synths I've ever had the pleasure of using.
Superb video. Thanks. :) Never owned a C64 but a friend let me have his C16 back in the day (1986 I think) when he upgraded to the C64.
I can't recall a single instance that I've seen anyone use a c64 with a datasette in the 80s in Germany. It was floppies all the way.
I used a datacette with my c128 because it was all I could afford. I didn't play much games and there weren't much in the USA.
Took me months to save up $280 for a 1571 drive.
Cassettes were for us schoolkids swapping games, but by '84 they were pretty much finished.
My dad used both
Great review! really enjoyed this.
OMG I found a game on your video that I couldn't remember the name of. I recognized the music though and looked it up. After reading the description I'm like YUP!!! That's it alright. Quake Minus One. THANK YOU!!!!! I've been looking for years.
Ah, the shot of Jarrold's for some Norfolk love.
And sovereign house in Anglia square at 1:30
I'm enjoying your channel and the things you cover, subscribed :)
Them feels. Just watched it, and it brought back fond memories. My first foray into computing was an ex-raf Vic 20, followed up by the C64 a few years later. Most frustrating was the James Bond game. Never loaded right, and when it did you died really quickly and had to reload.
I remember Bond on the Speccy, don't think I ever had a chance to play it on the c64..... Now there is time!
i have been binge watching this channel recently..only fair that i subscribe!!
Informative vid. Nice job
I never had a tape drive for the C64; we bought a 1541 floppy drive at the time of our original C64 purchase (a C64c), and almost all of our C64 software was floppy-based. I remember 1 cartridge game I played on the C64 (Telengard from Avalon Hill), but that was it.
I love how Peter says 'muvverboard'
Thanks for posting . Many thanks from the Philippines!!
64C was my favorite, plus instead of a tape drive, the 1541 floppy drive was included. The 64 came with a tape drive in my area. I got GEOS from a Commodore focused magazine I subscribed to. As a kid my wrist did not notice it was a less ergomatic machine.
Ahhh such fond memories, especially Hunchback and Cabal!
Love the videos. My mate had the c16 after I had bought the c64. Still have mine. It is a goodjob there is no backup battery . Nowadays these things are leaking and messing up older computers that have them.
As an American when you said you used tape based software I went holy shit like in Star Trek sweet
Awesome, thank you for sharing, it brought back fun memories! How about a video on the RPG style games? Arcade type games were fun to fire up and play, but spending hours over weeks playing Questron I & II, Phantasy I & II, and Gemstone Warrior was my gateway into RPG games.
In Germany, the disk drive was sold for about the same price as the C64. But there were some games that were disk-exclusive, plus commercial disk magazines. I used tapes for a year or so and then upgraded to a disk drive - I could then finally use those GEOS disks that came bundled with my C64G ;)
What was the ending song you used? That reminded me of an Amiga MOD. I don't see it on your list of BG music.
Games! Games! Games! This machine had so much more. We used to get a magazine that had type-in software. A word processor, a spreadsheet, and games! You could teach yourself BASIC with the built-in language, you could get 2 versions of Pascal, FORTRAN, and C to learn the basics of other computing languages. Also, the memory description in the video was incomplete. The hard programmed code (ROM) overlayed a full 64K of RAM which you could access "underneath" the hard code with a simple machine code switch. Hence, I created a "smart" "dumb terminal" for accessing my school's mainframe. The hardware design prevented streaming data to the disk drive, so the terminal program had to have a "buffer" to temporarily hold data. Using the memory switch, my buffer was 48K - about 25 to 30% more than the largest buffer provided by commercial terminal programs for the C64. Many other features than merely playing games.
great review m8 :) plus recognise my local city norwich in your video!
Nostalgia Nerd *clearly playing a clone of centipede* - "It's like space invaders on steroids!"
Thanks for the excellent video! I spent many an hour as a child playing games on my C64 before I ever got an NES. :D
My son and I say "Yoink" whenever it's appropriate! Thanks!
at 14:37 i can see you dancing (to the loading music) in the reflection of your monitor. i rewatched it 5 times and laughed harder each time. great video. ...and thanks for the laugh. edit: ahh, i just noticed someone pointed that out years before i did.
Outro is fantastic mate :)
That otro hit me in my feels with such 80s nostalgia.....:D
Being born in '81 I didn't see too many C64s in the wild during their original run, but to me it seemed like everyone had a disk drive in Germany. The first time I saw a tape drive was when I got my own C64 in the late 90s. Still haven't used it once.
I started off with a tape deck then moved to the disk where I played strategy and RPGs of which there were MANY. I guess the disk drive was cheaper in Aus, I certainly wasn’t rich. Great video.
Best c64 video I've seen. Thank you from the Slovakia
Here in Germany everyone that had a C-64 also had a floppy drive. There were tape games and I remember that I got Trivial Pursuit on a tape for my birthday. Bought a tape drive for it (they were indeed very cheap) and was amazed how long it took for it to load :D LOAD "*",8,1 ftw!
Ahh I remembered I visit my schoolbuddy at his home. He has the German style c64, sawing him load a game from cassette for the first time in my life. It was Ninja Spirit. I was amazed by the sound, music and graphics! We were 10 year olds... I was playing with transformers.
This is an excellent video. We needed a different point of view on retrogaming: all channels of this sort appear to be mainly Sega/Nintendo oriented, which I couldn't care less about (except for AVGN, who is fun). Apparently Sinclair and Commodore machines were stronger here in Europe than in the US. It's them (and Pc stuff from the 90's) I'm particularly interested in. Subscribed. I'll be checking out your channel regularly. Cheers.
Tonio Miklo I agree. I don't like mainstream. Niche, UK or failed systems all the way ;)
Sinclair was pure eurotrash, Timex had no success with their us version, but C64 did very decently for a bit, albeit almost universally with floppies not cassette garbage.
Thank You! Thanks to this video I have found game of my childhood: Bomborino. I have searched it for ages on c64 longplays without results.
Excellent! Glad to be of service :D
I was looking for a spot to hook up my C64 again, and it sat on my lap your entire video.
I had a disc drive for my 64, but I came to it in the early 90s when people were selling stuff cheap to buy Amigas. Night and day difference between that and the older tape loading. The evolution of impatience is pretty funny actually - Tape -> Floppy -> Hard drive -> Faster hard drive -> SSD -> M2 SSD. Still impatient when loading.
Interesting Lore of the C64!!! ...just watching to see what the competition is up to, lol. (I owned it's 1986 competitor, the Atari 130XE ---very nice ST and XE design cosmetics, thanks Jack!--- with disk drive, printer, modem & composite monitor.
its still emulated perfectly today and the games on it are still fun to play today
Loove this! Ohh, the nostalgia! Bittersweet.
I can only watch your video dreaming that I had a commodore again with all the games I loved.
In Canada my Vic 20 had a cassette drive, a "Datassette", but my C64 which I got in 1984 came with the 1541 disk drive.
i played through Turrican 2 on my Amiga 500+ the other day. it's been over 20 years since i played it and it still feels like such a good game. the level design is impressive and expansive with multiple routes and hidden secrets. the weapons, power-ups and changes in gameplay keep it feeling fresh from level to level. to think that it was programmed by one guy is just unbelievable. if it came out today i'd give it a 8/10 easily...please play it if you haven't. Same goes for Apidya...great shmup!
Watching this again and pondering what could have been done to keep Commodore or Atari from tanking and handing the market to IBM and it's clones. I came up with a few ideas if I were to wake up in 1981 tomorrow:
1) Modify the C64 specs so the machine came with the following from the factory:
1a) 80 columns mode built into the vic II. Very handy for word processing
1b) Fix the slow load from disk. Yes break compatibility with the vic-1541 if need be.
1c) A second fire button on the joystick.
As the c64 aged instead of the plus4 line and the 128, just cost reduce the c64 to as few chips as possible similar to the 1 chip nes clones we see today and roll in GEOS on boot much like the Atari ST with TOS. This would have kept the 64 relevant for quite a while longer than it was.