Editing Commodore 65 (section)

== History ==
In September 1989 ''[[Compute!'s Gazette]]'' noted that "Sales of the [[Commodore 64|64]] have diminished rapidly, [[Nintendo Entertainment System|Nintendo]] has eaten big holes in the market, and the life of the old warhorse computer should somehow be extended." Noting that Apple had developed the [[IIGS]] to extend the life of its [[Apple II]] line, the magazine asked "Will [[Commodore Business Machines|Commodore]] take the same tack?", then continued:<ref name="elko198909">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-09-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_75_1989_Sep#page/n5/mode/2up | title=Editor's Notes | work=Compute's Gazette | date=September 1989 | access-date=4 March 2015 | author=Elko, Lance | page=4}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The latest rumor says ''Yes''. We've heard reports from several sources of a new machine from Commodore—A 64GS, if you will. This machine is reportedly driven by a GE802, a version of the 65816 microprocessor (which is a 16-bit version of the 6502 chip), and runs at 4&nbsp;MHz (by comparison, the 64 runs at 1&nbsp;MHz; the Amiga, at slightly over 7&nbsp;MHz). It comes with 128K of RAM and is expandable to one megabyte. Fully expanded, it supports 256 colors. Maximum resolution is a stunning 640 X 400 pixels. We've also heard that it has a 64 mode so that 64 owners can purchase a much more powerful machine and still use their software library. The 64GS reportedly comes with a built-in 3 1/2-inch disk drive and will support the 1581. But, our sources say, it does not support the 1541 or the 1571 drive (uh, excuse me, please pass the bologna). All we've heard about sound in the new machine is that it's "enhanced" and features stereo output. The final tidbit is that the 64GS will retail in the $300-$350 range when it debuts in November.|author=|title=|source=}}

The ''Gazette'' added, "Our sources also report that there is a great deal of infighting at Commodore as to whether the machine should be released. The sales staff wants to get the machine out the door, while the naysaying engineers have dubbed it 'son of [[Commodore Plus/4|Plus/4]].'"{{r|elko198909}} While the next issue reported that "the latest rumor is that such a machine will never see the light of day",<ref name="elko198910">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-10-computegazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_76_1989_Oct#page/n3/mode/2up | title=Editor's Notes | work=Compute's Gazette | date=October 1989 | access-date=4 March 2015 | author=Elko, Lance | page=2}}</ref> Fred Bowen and others at Commodore in 1990–1991 developed the Commodore 65 (C65) as a successor to the C64. In the end of 1990 the decision to create the C65 was taken.<ref name="oc_c65">{{cite web|title=OLD-COMPUTERS.COM museum ~ Commodore C65|url=http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=273|access-date=2013-06-20|publisher=old-computers.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010092053/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=273|archive-date=2010-10-10|url-status=dead}}</ref> The project was cancelled by Commodore's chairman [[Irving Gould]] in 1991.

When Commodore International was liquidated in 1994, a number of [[prototype]]s were sold on the open market, and thus a few people actually own a Commodore 65. Estimates as to the actual number of machines found on the open market range from 50 to 2000 units.<ref name="fg65">{{cite web|title=Secret Weapons of Commodore: The Commodore 65 |url=http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/65.html |date=2007-07-01|access-date=2013-02-26|publisher=floodgap.com}}</ref> As the C65 project was cancelled, the final [[8-bit computing|8-bit]] offering from CBM remained the triple-mode, 1–2&nbsp;[[Megahertz|MHz]], 128&nbsp;[[kilobyte|KB]] (expandable), C64-compatible [[Commodore 128]] of 1985.