Commodore 64 GS

[TheMud]

Found this in the attic... Is that worth anything ?

Commodore 64 GS ... Works like a charm

[Iggy]

Weird. I never heard of that till ypu brought it up and I did a web search for it.
Without a keyboard its not much use to someone that wants to run C64 software.
But a collector might want it.

[Franko]

Never seen one of those myself but if you can find out any info on it I'm pretty sure it would be worth something to someone on eBay, especially on the UK site where unusual items like that can often fetch a pretty good price...

[TheMud]

It doesnt need a keyboard. Is a vintage console - Wondered that it still works :-O It's been in the attic for 10 years or so

[motrucker]

They used cartridges only, so they really were one of the first consoles. They were aimed at the UK. A few years back they weren't worth much. Now, I don't know - times change.

[ognix]

I don't know where you are, but in Europe it's a good collectors item: you can place it on evilBay if you like.  
I'm tempted too...  

BY!

[Nostalgiac]

collectors only really - they are basically just a C64 without the keyb. so anything these could do.... a plain C64 could do better :/

[psxphill]

They used cartridges only, so they really were one of the first consoles. They were aimed at the UK. A few years back they weren't worth much. Now, I don't know - times change.

It came out in 1990, so there had been a fair few consoles out by then (it came out the same time as the megadrive). Commodore ended up recycling alot of them into 64's because they were so unpopular.
 
While they are relatively rare, they aren't desirable at all. Even in the uk.

[Franko]

Hmm... as it's only just turned midnight here and with the various time zones all over the world I wonder where the original poster is from and remember today's date...

[tone007]

They're good for at least a couple hundred dollars, I've seen them go for more boxed.

[Ral-Clan]

They came later in the Commodore 64s life when Commodore was looking for something to compete with the NES, something simpler and cheaper than a full-fledged Commodore 64.  So they are really from the second generation of consoles, not the first which included Atari and Intellivision.  They are basically a Commodore 64 stripped down, only able to play cartridges.

That said, the are actually much rarer than real C64s and therefore go for higher prices than a regular C64 on eBay.  I don't know exactly how much more.  They weren't really rare, but they aren't common either.

[Argo]

What the duce?  Never heard of these.

Just what exactly were they?

[RobertB]

You have a treasure there.  For more information about the machine, go to Cameron Kaiser's site at

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

Near the bottom of the page, there is more about the 64GS.

FCUG celebrating 30 years,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
The Other Group of Amigoids
http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
http://www.sccaners.org

[fishy_fiz]

I remember these. C64 developers actually seemed keen on it at 1st. Potentially it gave the c64 a chance to have some more elaborate software due to the cartidge format. If it wasnt for this Shadow Of The Beast wouldnt have been ported to the c64. Sure, the c64 itself has a cartridge slot, but for whatever reason some developers seemed to think that a dedicated console would make c64 cartridge software more feasible.
Games like SOTB, Turbo Charge and Last Ninja 3 were released on cartridge because of the C64GS, so while its not something Id have bought in the day, there are now some nice collectables available because of it.

[dwaldrop]

The magazine "Retro Gamer" had a great article about the 64GS in issue 83 (late 2010).  

Some items of note :
- Commodore sold approx. 20,00 units out of 80,00 made.
- Leftover components were used in C64Cs.
- There is RUMOR of a C64CGS, a 64GS with a keyboard.  Reportedly sited in Ireland.
- There were 27 official released cartridges for the GS.
- The GS has additional ware in the ROM for drop-down menus, but using it would cause incompatibility with the original 64.