Commodore Plus/4

[Harrison]

I've always been a little confused by the Plus/4. What exactly is it?

I know the Vic20 came first and then the C64. But where does the Plus/4 fit in?

I remember it was released after the C64 and had some built in business software in roms. And I seem to remember it had a faster CPU and other advancements compared to the C64, but other than that I don't know much about it.

Was it compatible with C64 software?

Also what was the other C64 off shoot that Commodore released around that time? Was it the C16? or was it something else?

EDIT: I was just reading about it on Wikipedia and it seems that it did have a much faster CPU (about 75%) and had access to much more of the systems 64K for basic compared to the C64. It also had a more powerful Basic 3.5 rom than the C64. However it used the TED chip which was an all in one video, sound and I/O chip. And this lacked the sprite capabilities of the C64's Vic-II chip, and didn't have the advanced sound capabilities of the C64's SID chip for sound. So it wasn't compatible with C64 software. Quite mad!

Imagine if Commodore had created the Plus/4 the correct way. Include the faster CPU that was still compatible with the C64 one, the better basic with access to more system ram, but also include the VIC-II and SID chips. Now that would have been a brilliant machine.

Typical missed opportunity from Commodore.

[Buleste]

Try here. It should explain everything.

[sarek2k]

Wow i owned one of these for 7 days (i ended up getting my money back from comet), i thought it was a pile of shit (in comparison to the c64) the guy in the shop gave me a load of sales patter saying this machine was gonna replace the c64 cause it was more efficient with memory etc. He never told me it was more akin to a vic20 than a c64 lol

am i glad i took it back

the 10 games pack i got with it was pretty crap bar one game treasure island or summat it was quite good fun but the rest where shite.

[Demon Cleaner]

I never owned one, but I own a C116. But as usual, Commodore made the mistake that it is not software compatible with the VC20 nor the C64. It also only had 16KB of RAM, which was also a big step backwards. Also it had, like the ZX Spectrum, a gum keyboard, which wasn't the future for sure, as everybody else at that time tried to build "real" keyboards. But it had Basic 3.5.

Commodore wanted to release 2 new models in 1984, the C264 and the C364, but they never got released under that name. Instead the C264 was named Plus/4, and 2 "smaller" models were released, the C16 and the C116. The C364 should have been the bigger brother of the C264, but it was never sold.

There was also a C232, which was nothing else than a C264 with only half the memory and without the inbuilt software.

[Harrison]

You have to wonder why they bothered to go backwards by releasing a machine with only 16K of ram, when the C64 was already so popular. Obviously they were looking to release a machine that was aimed more at the budget market place where other makers such as Sinclair were doing well with systems like the Spectrum 48K.

Even madder that it wasn't compatible with any existing software.

I can see some good reasons behind some of the ideas. Creating the TED chip to integrate the graphics, audio and I/O into one would have saved a lot of build costs, but not making the parts of that chip compatible with the existing VIC-II and SID chips in the C64 were in reality the main reasons for the system failing.

If they had developed the TED chip to be 100% compatible with the existing C64 chips, imagine the enthusiasm it would have achieved and the increase in sales. They would have been able to release an updated C64 that would have been more than just the cosmetic update that was later to be the C64C. It would have meant a C64 with a newer basic 3.5, a faster completely compatible CPU, and the same video and audio capabilities. This would have created a faster machine which was nearly 100% backwardly compatible with the existing C64 software, but with the ability to use more system ram for newer games.

A real missed opportunity there. The story of Commodore!