Commodore 128

Commodore 128
Evan-Amos · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Name	Commodore 128
Developer	Commodore Business Machines
Release	1985
Discontinued	1988
Type	Home computer
Cpu	MOS Technology 8502
Memory	128 KB RAM (expandable)
Os	Commodore BASIC 7.0, Commodore DOS (via 1571)
Predecessor	Commodore 64
Successor	Commodore 264 series

Commodore 128 The Commodore 128 was a high-end Commodore Business Machines home computer released in 1985 that sought to bridge the market between the Commodore 64, the IBM PC, and various Apple models by offering multiple operating modes, enhanced memory, and improved peripheral support. Designed under the oversight of engineers associated with MOS Technology, the system targeted users of software for education and business markets while maintaining compatibility with a large existing install base of game and productivity titles. It competed in a market alongside platforms from Atari, Inc., Tandy Corporation, and Sinclair Research.

History

The machine was developed by Commodore during the mid-1980s amid corporate leadership including figures linked to Jack Tramiel and internal groups that managed projects at MOS Technology and the Commodore design labs. Announced as a successor and companion to the Commodore 64, development intersected with contemporaneous efforts from IBM and Apple Computer as well as regulatory and market pressures after events such as the early 1980s video game crash. Commodore leveraged relationships with peripheral partners like Commodore Business Machines distributors and software houses that served platforms including the Atari 8-bit family and Amiga. The product launch followed prototypes and revisions that referenced technologies from MOS 6502 lineage and initiatives promoted at trade shows such as the Consumer Electronics Show.

Hardware

The system used a MOS-derived CPU, the 8502, related to the MOS Technology 6502 family that powered other systems including the Apple II series and projects by Rockwell International. Video output was handled by the VIC-II-compatible circuitry and an additional VDC chip, technologies also present in other Commodore designs and echoed in graphics discussions involving Texas Instruments and Intel components. Memory architecture included 128 KB of RAM, bank-switching methods shared conceptually with devices from Motorola and expansion possibilities through cartridge and peripheral ports used by manufacturers such as Commodore Business Machines and third parties like Epyx and Creative Micro Designs. The keyboard and case styling reflected industrial design trends that paralleled products from Commodore International and contemporaneous desktop systems from Tandy Corporation.

Operating Modes and Software

The machine supported multiple built-in operating modes exposed through Commodore BASIC 7.0, an evolution of interpreters whose heritage traced to languages and implementations by groups linked to Microsoft and earlier BASIC dialects used on systems like the TRS-80 and Apple II. Modes included a native enhanced mode for business and development software, a Commodore 64-emulation mode to run existing game and utility titles from the large Commodore 64 library, and a CP/M-compatible mode that leveraged disk drives like the 1571 to access software from vendors that supplied titles for CP/M on platforms such as the Kaypro and Osborne Computer Corporation. The system supported disk operating procedures compatible with Commodore disk drives and workflows similar to those used by office applications from publishers and developers who previously targeted IBM PC and Apple users.

Compatibility and Peripherals

Compatibility with the Commodore 64 ecosystem was a core design goal, enabling users to run an extensive catalog of software from publishers including Electronic Arts, Ocean Software, and Broderbund. Peripherals such as the 1571 floppy drive, printers from Epson, modems supplied by companies like U.S. Robotics, and joysticks from vendors in the arcade-to-home accessory market were integrable via Commodore-standard ports also found on earlier machines like the Commodore VIC-20. Expansion options invited third-party hardware from firms like Creative Micro Designs and interface designers who had supplied enhancements to platforms including the Atari 8-bit family and Apple II.

Reception and Legacy

At release the machine was noted in press coverage alongside reviews referencing competitors such as Atari Corporation and manufacturers of personal computers in the enterprise market like IBM; commentators from computing magazines compared its features to contemporaries including the Apple IIe and the expanding IBM PC compatible landscape. Commercially, it achieved modest success relative to the Commodore 64 but influenced later designs at Commodore and third-party development, while collectors and preservationists from communities involved with retrocomputing and museums focusing on computing history continue to study its hardware and software. The platform's role in sustaining a large regional and international software ecosystem affected companies and developers that transitioned to later projects including the Amiga line and various microcomputer initiatives.

Category:Home computers Category:Commodore computers Category:1985 introductions