3 ms·

$299 is about half the price, not corrected for inflation, of the original, which started at $595 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64 https://en.wikiped

$299 is about half the price, not corrected for inflation, of the original, which started at $595 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64). I think that’s impressive, given the (likely) way lower production run.

georgemcbay 1y ago
While this is true (and the price for the new device is still extremely reasonable) by 1983 you could buy a C64 for $199 (in the US anyway). This price reduction was the difference maker in allowing my family to (barely) afford to buy me a C64 in late 1983 (and this is what I learned to code on, first in MS BASIC, then in 6510 assembler).
- nosianu 1y ago
  In East Germany, the GDR, you could buy C64 and C128 from private sellers advertising in the classified ads section of the major electronics magazine in the GDR. They usually received those devices from relatives in West Germany. The price for a C64 was thousands of East German Marks, at least half a year of salaries (the salary spread was low, so that's engineers or workers or managers). An Amiga cost 25,000 Marks towards the end of the GDR, which was about two years of salaries (income was from below 1,000 Marks to ca. 1,500 for high earners, much more than that was unusual). This put 16 bit computing at home or school out of the hands of almost everyone, unless they had generous relatives in the West who sent them one. Even at work, the 8-bit PCs were still much more common (e.g. PC 1715 - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_1715 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_1715), with a CP/M clone OS. But at least they were all available. Our own CAOS (Cassette Aided Operating System- https://www.mpm-kc85.de/html/CAOS_42.htm https://www.mpm-kc85.de/html/CAOS_42.htm) 8 bit systems based on Z80 clone CPUs, KC-85 (1/2/3/4) where not too shabby, for work and serious stuff at least the later -3 and even more so the -4 lines were superior to the C64, easier to program, and much more usable screen (https://www.mpm-kc85.de/ https://www.mpm-kc85.de/). The state was pretty hands-off. My own school's physics teacher started a computer club in the 1980s and he spent thousands of public school money on exclusively Western computers, from ZX spectrum (the very first one) to Atari 800 XL, C64, C128, with both cassette and disk drives. That must have cost a lot. Still surprises me that nobody asked him to buy East German, especially since in the 8-bit range our own systems would have been perfectly fine for the purpose.
  - rzzzt 1y ago
    Wasn't the GDR subject to CoCom restrictions?
    - nosianu 1y ago
      I don't know which exactly, but everyone in the East was restricted. I can only report my observations. Those systems I mentioned were mostly private imports through gifts, not regular imports on a business level. Not sure if something like an Amiga would have been a problem though anyway? I don't think any of the 8-bit systems should have been a problem in any case, no?
kwanbix 1y ago
Why not adjust for inflation? The original $595 in 1983 would be about $1,997.57 today. Similarly, $199 in 1983 would equal around $647.30 in 2025 dollars.
- Someone 1y ago
  Adjusting for inflation over such long time periods in electronics is, IMO, not useful because of the wildly different cost curves of labor and capital. You expect average prices to go up, but electronics to get cheaper over time. Adjusting for performance would be even more ludicrous. The computing power of about any modern smartphone would have cost billions, if not trillions, in 1983. Even this device is much faster than the original (48MHz in Turbo mode). That would make that $2k about $100k, the price of 50 Commodore 64s at launch.

georgemcbay 1y ago

While this is true (and the price for the new device is still extremely reasonable) by 1983 you could buy a C64 for $199 (in the US anyway). This price reduction was the difference maker in allowing my family to (barely) afford to buy me a C64 in late 1983 (and this is what I learned to code on, first in MS BASIC, then in 6510 assembler).

nosianu 1y ago
In East Germany, the GDR, you could buy C64 and C128 from private sellers advertising in the classified ads section of the major electronics magazine in the GDR. They usually received those devices from relatives in West Germany. The price for a C64 was thousands of East German Marks, at least half a year of salaries (the salary spread was low, so that's engineers or workers or managers). An Amiga cost 25,000 Marks towards the end of the GDR, which was about two years of salaries (income was from below 1,000 Marks to ca. 1,500 for high earners, much more than that was unusual). This put 16 bit computing at home or school out of the hands of almost everyone, unless they had generous relatives in the West who sent them one. Even at work, the 8-bit PCs were still much more common (e.g. PC 1715 - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_1715 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_1715), with a CP/M clone OS. But at least they were all available. Our own CAOS (Cassette Aided Operating System- https://www.mpm-kc85.de/html/CAOS_42.htm https://www.mpm-kc85.de/html/CAOS_42.htm) 8 bit systems based on Z80 clone CPUs, KC-85 (1/2/3/4) where not too shabby, for work and serious stuff at least the later -3 and even more so the -4 lines were superior to the C64, easier to program, and much more usable screen (https://www.mpm-kc85.de/ https://www.mpm-kc85.de/). The state was pretty hands-off. My own school's physics teacher started a computer club in the 1980s and he spent thousands of public school money on exclusively Western computers, from ZX spectrum (the very first one) to Atari 800 XL, C64, C128, with both cassette and disk drives. That must have cost a lot. Still surprises me that nobody asked him to buy East German, especially since in the 8-bit range our own systems would have been perfectly fine for the purpose.
- rzzzt 1y ago
  Wasn't the GDR subject to CoCom restrictions?
  - nosianu 1y ago
    I don't know which exactly, but everyone in the East was restricted. I can only report my observations. Those systems I mentioned were mostly private imports through gifts, not regular imports on a business level. Not sure if something like an Amiga would have been a problem though anyway? I don't think any of the 8-bit systems should have been a problem in any case, no?

kwanbix 1y ago

Why not adjust for inflation? The original $595 in 1983 would be about $1,997.57 today. Similarly, $199 in 1983 would equal around $647.30 in 2025 dollars.

Someone 1y ago
Adjusting for inflation over such long time periods in electronics is, IMO, not useful because of the wildly different cost curves of labor and capital. You expect average prices to go up, but electronics to get cheaper over time. Adjusting for performance would be even more ludicrous. The computing power of about any modern smartphone would have cost billions, if not trillions, in 1983. Even this device is much faster than the original (48MHz in Turbo mode). That would make that $2k about $100k, the price of 50 Commodore 64s at launch.