The

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

amassed a large software library of nearly 10,000 commercial titles, covering genres from games to business applications.

Applications, utility, and business software

The Commodore 64’s slow 1541 disk drive limited its suitability as a business computer, yet it was used for tasks like graphics creation, desktop publishing, and word processing. '' Info 64'', the first magazine produced using desktop publishing tools, was created on and dedicated to the Commodore platform. Popular graphics software included KoalaPainter, known for its

graphics tablet A graphics tablet (also known as a digitizer, digital graphic tablet, pen tablet, drawing tablet, external drawing pad or digital art board) is a computer input device that enables a user to hand draw or paint images, animations and graphics, w ...

interface, and Doodle!, a widely used drawing program. Desktop publishing tools like

The Print Shop The Print Shop is a desktop publishing software package originally published in 1984 by Broderbund. It was unique in that it provided libraries of clip art and templates through a simple interface to build signs, posters and banners with househo ...

and "The Newsroom" enabled users to create signs, banners, and newsletters.

Light pen A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on the screen in a similar way to a to ...

s and

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

software were also available. Word processors such as

PaperClip A paper clip (or paperclip) is a tool used to hold sheets of paper together, usually made of steel wire bent to a looped shape (though some are covered in plastic). Most paper clips are variations of the ''Gem'' type introduced in the 1890s or ...

and Vizawrite were popular, alongside the

type-in program A type-in program or type-in listing was computer source code printed in a home computer magazine or book. It was meant to be entered via the keyboard by the reader and then saved to cassette tape or floppy disk. The result was a usable game, ut ...

SpeedScript SpeedScript is a word processor originally printed as a type-in MLX machine language listing in 1984-85 issues of ''Compute!'' and '' Compute!'s Gazette'' magazines. Approximately 5 KB in length, it provided many of the same features as ...

, published in '' Compute!'s Gazette''. Spreadsheet programs included Multiplan by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

and Calc Result, while Vizastar offered integrated software features. Office suites like

Mini Office II Mini Office II, published by Database Software in 1986, was an office suite available for several home computers, including the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit computers, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64. The software package could be purchased on cassette ta ...

and software from

Data Becker Data Becker GmbH & Co. KG was a German publisher of computer books and a company for software and computer accessories based in Düsseldorf. The company ceased operations in March 2014. History It was founded in Düsseldorf on January 7, 1981 ...

were also available. The GEOS operating system provided a graphical interface akin to the early

Apple Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

, with office applications and support for peripherals like printers and

light pen A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with a computer's cathode-ray tube (CRT) display. It allows the user to point to displayed objects or draw on the screen in a similar way to a to ...

s. It gained popularity for its affordability and capabilities. Music software included

Music Construction Set ''Will Harvey's Music Construction Set'' (''MCS'') is a music composition notation program designed by Will Harvey for the Apple II and published by Electronic Arts in 1983. Harvey wrote the original Apple II version in assembly language when h ...

and

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

cartridges, with the modern Prophet64 cartridge offering advanced sequencing and synthesis.

Games

By 1985, games comprised 60–70% of Commodore 64 software, driven by its advanced sound and graphics hardware. Over 23,000 unique game titles were released. Notable titles included ''

International Soccer ''International Soccer'', also known as ''International Football'', is a sports video game written by Andrew Spencer for the Commodore 64 and published by Commodore International in 1983. Originally only available on cartridge, CRL re-released th ...

'', ''

Impossible Mission ''Impossible Mission'' is a video game written for the Commodore 64 by Dennis Caswell and published by Epyx in 1984. The game features a variety of gameplay mechanics from platform and adventure games, and includes digitized speech. ''Impossib ...

'', and Epyx’s multievent series ('' Summer Games'', ''

Winter Games ''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...

'', ''

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

'', and ''

California Games ''California Games'' is a sports video game released by Epyx for the Apple II and Commodore 64 in 1987. Branching from their ''Summer Games (video game), Summer Games'' and ''Winter Games'' series, this game is a collection of outdoor sports pu ...

''). Other significant games were ''

Boulder Dash Boulder Dash may refer to: * ''Boulder Dash'' (video game), a 1984 video game * Boulder Dash (roller coaster), a wooden roller coaster See also * Balderdash (disambiguation) {{Disambig ...

'', '' The Sentinel'', and ''

Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (, from , to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful or wealthy people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ...

''. Budget games from

Mastertronic Mastertronic was originally a publisher and distributor of low-cost computer game software founded in 1983. Their first games were launched on April 2, 1984. At its peak the label was one of the largest software publishers in the UK, achieved ...

and

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

were popular on cassette. In 1993, ''

Mayhem in Monsterland ''Mayhem in Monsterland'' is a 1993 platform game for the Commodore 64. Its titular hero, "Mayhem", is a yellow triceratops blessed with the gift of speed. His goal is to return his world from sad to happy, ridding the world of monsters along ...

'' earned a 100% rating from ''

Commodore Format ''Commodore Format'' was a British magazine for users of the Commodore 64 home computer. It was published on the third Thursday of every month. All 61 issues were produced by Future plc. These came towards the end of the machine's commercial li ...

'' for its graphics and gameplay.

Type-ins, bulletin boards, and disk magazines

The Commodore 64 featured a large library of

s published in magazines like '' Compute!'s Gazette'', ''

Ahoy! ''Ahoy!'' was a computer magazine published between January 1984 and January 1989 in the US, covering on all Commodore color computers, primarily Commodore 64 and Amiga. History The first issue of ''Ahoy!'' was published in January 1984. The ...

'', and ''

RUN Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

''. Disk magazines like '' Loadstar'' provided ready-to-run programs. BBSs distributed

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

and

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

software via services like Q-Link and

CompuServe CompuServe, Inc. (CompuServe Information Service, Inc., also known by its initialism CIS or later CSi) was an American Internet company that provided the first major commercial online service provider, online service. It opened in 1969 as a times ...

Software cracking

Software piracy was prevalent, with

warez groups A warez group is a tightly organised group of people involved in creating and/or distributing warez such as movies, music or software ("warez") in The Scene. There are different types of these groups in the Scene: ''release groups'' and ''courier ...

Fairlight Fairlight may refer to: In places: * Fairlight, East Sussex, a village east of Hastings in southern England, UK * Fairlight, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Fairlight, Saskatchewan, Canada In other uses: * Fairlight (company), ...

distributing cracked software via BBSs and

sneakernet Sneakernet, also called sneaker net, is an informal term for the transfer of electronic information by physically moving media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical discs, USB flash drives or external hard drives between computers, rathe ...

s. Tools like Fast Hack'em bypassed copy protection.

BASIC

The Commodore 64 shipped with BASIC 2.0, limited in accessing advanced features, requiring

PEEK and POKE In computing, PEEK and POKE are commands used in some high-level programming languages for accessing the contents of a specific Memory cell (computing), memory cell referenced by its memory address. PEEK gets the byte located at the specified m ...

or extensions like

Simons' BASIC Simons' BASIC is an BASIC extension, extension to Commodore BASIC, BASIC 2.0 for the Commodore 64 home computer. Written by British people, British programmer David Simons in 1983, who was 16 years old at the time, it was distributed by Commodore I ...

. Commodore opted for BASIC 2.0 to reduce costs.

Music

The SID chip enabled music software like '' Kawasaki Synthesizer'' and

. Modern tools include GoatTracker.

Development tools

Development tools included assemblers like ''MIKRO'' and compilers for C and Pascal. Game creation kits like SEUCK and

GameMaker GameMaker (originally Animo, Game Maker (until 2011) and GameMaker Studio) is a series of cross-platform game engines created by Mark Overmars in 1999 and developed by YoYo Games since 2007. The latest iteration of ''GameMaker'' was released ...

were popular.

Modern-day development tools

Current tools include

CBM prg Studio CBM may refer to: Businesses and corporations * Cambrex Corporation (NYSE: CBM) * CBM (AM), a radio station in Montreal now known as CBME-FM * CBM-FM, a radio station in Montreal * CBM TV, a scrapped Freeview channel * Central Bank of Myanmar * Che ...

, Relaunch64, and assemblers like

Kick Assembler A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of att ...

and

cc65 cc65 is a cross development package for 6502 and 65C02 targets, including a macro assembler, a C cross compiler, linker, librarian and several other tools. Overview cc65 is based on a native C compiler that was originally adapted for the A ...

Retrocomputing efforts

Preservation efforts involve transferring software to modern media and developing emulators like

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

. The GameBase 64 project catalogs nearly 29,000 titles.

References

{{Commodore International