CommodoreC 64GS

[kdmort]

I was just checking out eBay when i came across this (ebay auction number 110083111895) I have never seen this or heard of this before. Does anyone know anything about it? (check out the price)

Doug

[curtis]

If memory serves, the GS was a stripped down C64 designed solely for gaming. I was under the impression it was sold only in Japan and Europe.

Check out this URL for more info:

http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/ultimax.html

Curtis

[carlsson]

I think the GS was marketed in more countries that SWoC knows of, but yes it is rare. A few months ago there was a guy who had come across two NIB. I think the starting bid was somewhere around $500 each. Unboxed C64GS should make $100-150 on a decent day.

On this forum, I think Bo striked a great deal when he "stole" one from eBay UK last fall; someone who had put up a remarkably low Buy It Now price.

Perhaps the most interesting part is that Commodore took apart surplus C64:s, refitted them with all neccessary chips and issued one last edition, the C64G in a classic breadbox style at the end of its lifetime.

I remember my local Commodore dealer having a sale on leftover units. Some people claim it was 999 SEK ($150), some remember it as 499 SEK ($75) and some think it was only 99 SEK ($15). While I was a poor student at the time, if the store had sold them for $15 each, I certainly would've bought one even if I didn't know how rare they would become.

[wiskow]

Perhaps the most interesting part is that Commodore took apart surplus C64:s, refitted them with all neccessary chips and issued one last edition, the C64G in a classic breadbox style at the end of its lifetime.

It's my understanding that the C64g was a special model designed for the German market (hence the "g"... even though it probably should have been C64d for "Deutschland"). From what I've read, the new style of the C64c (or C64-II as it was called in Germany) was not well received, so they "repackaged" the C64c boards in old "breadbox" style cases.

You can read more here:
http://zimmers.net/cbmpics/c64-iis.html

-Andrew

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Cottonwood BBS
(951) 242-3593
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[carlsson]

SWoC mentions that the C64G was announced in February 1988 in Europe (perhaps Germany) but did not appear in North America until around December 1988. It also says that the Aldi model predated the C64G

Furthermore, SWoC writes that the C64GS was manufactured in about 80000 units, but less than 1/4 were sold. Probably the C64G style models were already in production, so GS boards were reused for this ongoing product rather than Commodore inventing a new retro 64 in 1991.

I wonder, if less than 20000 units were sold, how many may have survived? Is 10% a reasonable number, or should it be even lower? The machine is only about 15 years old.