> I really don't understand the love people have for the commodore 64. It wasn't especially advanced for it's time nor was it especially good. Finally it basically required the use of a horrible language like Basic to use. There's like zero reason to re-create it as a retro computer.
Happy to help you understand:
Like a lot of people, I owned a C64 and not an Amiga, which was very expensive and uncommon in my country.
Agreed the included Basic was horrible, but I also started my programming journey with it. One upside, unlike with current computers, is that the C64 had an "instant on" appliance feel to it -- you plugged it in, and it booted up almost instantly, greeting you with the READY prompt, ready to go at your command. Turning it off was likewise instant.
You could also write assembly with it.
The C64 had a vast library of games, many very good, and the SID music from those games was simply amazing. It still is. I still listen to C64 music from time to time, and I love it.
The demoscene around the C64 was amazing and -- get this -- it still exists!
Finally, though less importantly, the C64 was a massive success and sold lots of units, and helped kickstart an era in computing, so it has great historical importance.
Hopefully this helped you understand the widespread love for the C64.
I would add that the popularity of the original machine and the vast library of games built off of each other, and the result is a large community with love and nostalgia for the C64. That in turn perpetuates modern projects, newcomers to the scene, and new generations of community here for their own reasons.
"Retro" exists independently of "nostalgia:" it's a broad cultural category that encompasses fashion, technology, and new reasons to appreciate old things. I would recommend Commodore-adjacent stuff—VICE, TheC64, Ultimate 64 in a new case, MEGA65, refurbished machines with new accessories and adapters—to people with a variety of interests that have never seen an original Commodore.
Just the other day I ran into this video of a recent C64 demo. It just blew my mind (5:02 is my favorite part). THere were demos at the time I played on the C64, but this is just pushing the limits so far, it is pure art.
> One upside, unlike with current computers, is that the C64 had an "instant on" appliance feel to it -- you plugged it in, and it booted up almost instantly, greeting you with the READY prompt, ready to go at your command.
That's true of all the 1980s 8-bit home computers. Oric-1, BBC Micro, Enterprise 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, whatever. Turn on; beep or click; ready to go.
But with an Oric or a Spectrum or a CPC or other cheap home micros, you could do sounds and graphics in BASIC. Not on a C64.
> You could also write assembly with it.
Also not really fair or accurate.
All mainstream computers can be programmed in assembly. The C64 did nothing to help. It didn't have a machine-code monitor (like the Sharp MZ-80K did, say). It didn't have inline assembly in the BASIC (like the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron did, say).
Happy to help you understand:
Like a lot of people, I owned a C64 and not an Amiga, which was very expensive and uncommon in my country.
Agreed the included Basic was horrible, but I also started my programming journey with it. One upside, unlike with current computers, is that the C64 had an "instant on" appliance feel to it -- you plugged it in, and it booted up almost instantly, greeting you with the READY prompt, ready to go at your command. Turning it off was likewise instant.
You could also write assembly with it.
The C64 had a vast library of games, many very good, and the SID music from those games was simply amazing. It still is. I still listen to C64 music from time to time, and I love it.
The demoscene around the C64 was amazing and -- get this -- it still exists!
Finally, though less importantly, the C64 was a massive success and sold lots of units, and helped kickstart an era in computing, so it has great historical importance.
Hopefully this helped you understand the widespread love for the C64.