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That was dealer price, not retail price. A C64 system having the monitor and floppy drive retailed for $1,000. It was the highest-selling computer at the time (

That was dealer price, not retail price. A C64 system having the monitor and floppy drive retailed for $1,000. It was the highest-selling computer at the time (technically of all time) and yes, Jobs was obsessed with it. Jobs believed taking the C64 with its serial expansion bus, and adding in a mouse and a GUI would make a computer "for the rest of us." Also, that price you quoted is after the release of the Mac, which subdued C64 sales.

rasz 5y ago
https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog/0011 https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sea... https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog/1072 https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sea... http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1984_Mongomery_Ward_Christmas_Catalog/files/assets/basic-html/page-528.html http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1984_Mongomery_Ward_Christmas_...
- taylodl 5y ago
  The Mac was released in January of 1984. These are prices from Christmas of 1984 - several months after the Mac was released. The design of the Mac began in 1982, when the C64 was retailing for $595 and was seriously affecting Apple II sales. What these catalog prices reveal is the impact the Mac had on C64 sales in a very short period of time, which forced Commodore to respond with the Amiga. But that's a story for another day.
  - rasz 5y ago
    So to sum it all up I was correct in stating $199 price in 1984 and C64 did have expandability.
    - taylodl 5y ago
      Yeah, you just neglected to mention it was the arrival of the Mac that forced Commodore to slash their prices by over 66%. That "bottom feeder" you spoke of is the top-selling machine in history and was a major factor in Apple's pivot. Maybe it's just me but I think those facts are important in understanding the why's and wherefore's for how we got to where we are now.

rasz 5y ago

https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog/0011 https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sea... https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sears-Fall-Winter-Catalog/1072 https://christmas.musetechnical.com/ShowCatalogPage/1984-Sea... http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1984_Mongomery_Ward_Christmas_Catalog/files/assets/basic-html/page-528.html http://www.wishbookweb.com/FB/1984_Mongomery_Ward_Christmas_...

taylodl 5y ago
The Mac was released in January of 1984. These are prices from Christmas of 1984 - several months after the Mac was released. The design of the Mac began in 1982, when the C64 was retailing for $595 and was seriously affecting Apple II sales. What these catalog prices reveal is the impact the Mac had on C64 sales in a very short period of time, which forced Commodore to respond with the Amiga. But that's a story for another day.
- rasz 5y ago
  So to sum it all up I was correct in stating $199 price in 1984 and C64 did have expandability.
  - taylodl 5y ago
    Yeah, you just neglected to mention it was the arrival of the Mac that forced Commodore to slash their prices by over 66%. That "bottom feeder" you spoke of is the top-selling machine in history and was a major factor in Apple's pivot. Maybe it's just me but I think those facts are important in understanding the why's and wherefore's for how we got to where we are now.