The Commodore MAX Machine, also known as Ultimax in the United States and Canada and VC-10 in Germany, is a
home computer designed and sold by
Commodore International
Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mac ...
in Japan, beginning in early 1982, a predecessor to the popular
Commodore 64. The Commodore 64 manual mentions the machine by name, suggesting that Commodore intended to sell the machine internationally; however, it is unclear whether the machine was ever actually sold outside Japan. When it was officially presented, in Tokyo, for the first time, it was named Commodore VICKEY. It is considered a rarity.
Software was loaded from plug-in cartridges and the unit had a membrane keyboard and 2 KB of RAM internally and 0.5 KB of color RAM (1024 × 4 bits). It used a television set for a display. It used the same chipset and
6510 CPU as the Commodore 64, the same
SID sound chip, and compatible ROM cartridge architecture so that MAX cartridges will work in the C-64. The MAX compatibility mode in C-64 was later frequently used for "freezer" cartridges (such as the
Action Replay
Action Replay is the brand name of a cheating device (such as cheat cartridges) created by Datel. The Action Replay is available for many gaming systems including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStat ...
), as a convenient way to take control of the currently running program.
It was possible to use a tape drive for storage, but it lacked the serial and user ports necessary to connect a disk drive, printer, or modem.
It was intended to sell for around US$200. Although the MAX had better graphics and sound capability, Commodore's own
VIC-20
The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the ...
, which sold for around the same amount, was much more expandable, had a much larger software library, and had a better keyboard—all of which made it more attractive to consumers.
Unlike the C-64, the MAX never sold well and was quickly discontinued.
See also
*
Commodore 64 Games System
The Commodore 64 Games System (often abbreviated C64GS) is the cartridge-based home video game console version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer. It was released in December 1990 by Commodore into a booming console market dominated by ...
References
External links
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tp://ftp.zimmers.net/pub/cbm/c64/html/ultimax.html The UltiMax machine (a.k.a. VIC-10)br>
The MAX Machine, the odd one out
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commodore Max Machine
6502-based home computers
Commodore 64
Products introduced in 1982