Commodore 64 Quiz: The Best-Selling Home Computer

Jack Tramiel wanted computers for the masses, not the classes, and this Commodore 64 quiz shows how one machine brought that idea into millions of homes. Play 10 interactive questions on the 1982 launch, 64 kilobytes of memory, the SID sound chip, BASIC, the Datasette, the slow 1541 drive and Commodore's 1994 bankruptcy.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Launch
In which year was the Commodore 64 launched?
Memory
What does the 64 in the name refer to?
Price
What was the C64's launch price in the US?
Record
Which record does Guinness give the Commodore 64?
Sound
What was the C64's famous sound chip called?
Founder
Which Commodore founder pushed for computers for the masses, not the classes?
Storage
What was the Datasette?
Drive
Which floppy drive was famous for being slow?
Language
Which programming language appeared when the C64 was switched on?
End
When did Commodore International go bankrupt?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which year was the Commodore 64 launched?
Answer: 1982
It was shown at CES in January and went on sale later that year.
Q2: What does the 64 in the name refer to?
Answer: 64 kilobytes of RAM
That was a lot of memory for a home computer at the time.
Q3: What was the C64's launch price in the US?
Answer: 595 dollars
Price cuts later made it far cheaper than rivals.
Q4: Which record does Guinness give the Commodore 64?
Answer: Best-selling single computer model
Estimates range from about 12.5 to 17 million units.
Q5: What was the C64's famous sound chip called?
Answer: SID
Bob Yannes designed the SID, which gave the C64 its distinctive music.
Q6: Which Commodore founder pushed for computers for the masses, not the classes?
Answer: Jack Tramiel
Tramiel's aggressive pricing shook up the home computer market.
Q7: What was the Datasette?
Answer: A cassette tape drive
Many users loaded games from tape, which could take minutes.
Q8: Which floppy drive was famous for being slow?
Answer: The 1541
Fast loader cartridges became popular to speed it up.
Q9: Which programming language appeared when the C64 was switched on?
Answer: BASIC
Users typed commands like LOAD and RUN at the ready prompt.
Q10: When did Commodore International go bankrupt?
Answer: 1994
Competition from PCs and consoles hurt the company.

Commodore 64 Quiz – The Computer in Millions of Homes

The Commodore 64 launched in 1982 with 64 kilobytes of memory and a price of 595 dollars. Commodore founder Jack Tramiel wanted computers for the masses, not the classes, and price cuts made the C64 hugely popular.

Its SID sound chip, designed by Bob Yannes, gave it rich music, and its graphics supported colorful games. Users typed BASIC commands at the ready prompt and loaded software from the Datasette cassette drive or the slow 1541 floppy drive.

Guinness lists the C64 as the best-selling single computer model. A large community of game makers, musicians and demo coders grew around it. Commodore International went bankrupt in 1994, but the C64 remains a retro icon.

What This Quiz Teaches

Retro computing fans will enjoy these questions.

When the C64 launched
What made it special
Who led Commodore
How software was loaded
What happened to the company

Did You Know?

The demoscene pushed the C64 beyond its limits.
Popular games included Impossible Mission and The Last Ninja.
A retro C64 Mini was released in 2018.
SID music is still composed today.
The C64 used a MOS 6510 processor.