Thirty years ago this month, computing history was made when the Commodore 64 went on international release, more than six months after its unveiling at the Consumer Electronics Show of January 1982.

The C64 may have been ugly and bulky in appearance, but it offered superior graphics and sound to rivals machines such as the Apple II, and came with a cheaper price tag and larger software library.

Gallery - Commodore 64 and its greatest games:

Gaming: Commodore 64 turns 30: Gallery

More than 10,000 commercial software titles were released for the C64 during its life cycle, including office applications, programming tools, and of course, games. Virtually every video game studio of the 8-bit era supported the platform, so it played host to its fair share of classics.





This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

With a library so unfathomably vast, it's difficult to draw up a definitive list of the home computer's greatest games, but the likes of Elite, Chuckie Egg, Boulder Dash, Bruce Lee and International Karate + are a handful that spring to mind.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

A great rivalry developed between the C64 camp and the ZX Spectrum fraternity as the years rolled by, and the debate over which was the superior machine dominated every playground. The Commodore machine was capable of handling more colours, and its SID chip gave it the edge sonically, but the argument was never cut and dry.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

In actual fact, C64 developers were often guilty of sacrificing detail and clarity for colourful visuals, plus the ZX Spectrum had a faster processor under the hood - not that we're trying to dig up this age-old debate.

> ZX Spectrum vs Commodore 64: Gaming's Greatest Rivalry

The C64's sold between 12.5 and 17 million units during its life cycle, making it the bestselling single home computer model of all time. Its legacy endures today thanks to the efforts of hobbyist programmers and the volume of emulators in circulation, so there's no excuse not to revisit it during its milestone year.

> Retro Corner: 'Elite'

> Retro Corner: 'International Karate +'



What are your fond memories of the Commodore 64? Share them in the comments below!

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io