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The BEST 8 Bit Gaming Computer


8 Bit Gamming Computers  

142 members have voted

  1. 1. Pick the best...

    • Commodore 64
      80
    • ZX Spectrum
      18
    • Apple 2
      6
    • Atari 400
      35
    • Amstrad 664
      3

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I have to go with the Commodore 64 as my choice. I would be half tempted to vote it as the best gaming MACHINE of the 1980's period. That system managed to produce terrific original games and Awesome Arcade PORTS from the end of the Atari era, through the NES era and right on into the 16 Bit Sega and SNES eras.

 

Jack Tramiel might have been a lot of things but he was certainly NOT stupid. He understood something few others seemed to get at the time. Computers were cool and people liked having them, but withouta decent game library, computers of the 80's were just not powerful enough to offer up much in the way of anything to consumers.

 

The Commodore 64 was a powerful and versatile machine and I went through three of them all the way through to the end of the system's life time.

 

I am a PROUD C64 owner.

 

What is your opinion?

 

-Ray

Edited by pocketmego
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I loved my C64 - in fact that's one of the systems I would definately consider going back and buying again if I saw one at a flea/yard sale. Just curious, is it possible to hook up harddrives or some alternative storage to them at this point instead of the old floppy drives?

How about this? :cool:

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Gotta give the nod to the Commodore 64. The best sound and the best graphics capabilities right out of the box.

 

The Atari 8bits come in a very close second, but I still have to give the edge to the C-64's SID music and better sprite capabilities.

 

The Apple II ranks a distant third, which is a shame because it didn't have to. Take an Apple IIe, feed it an extended 80-column card, a Mockingbord and a game controller adapter, and you have a very decent game system (albeit still not quite as powerful as the Commodore or Atari). Sadly, I can't think of a single game that makes use of all three of these bits, or even one that makes use of two of them.

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And the TI-99 4/A should be on that list, too. While its library is nowhere as varied or exciting as either the A8 or C64, it had some pretty great games, and is still undervalued as a gaming computer. I'd say the same for the ADAM, but consider that to be a CV add-on, given the fact that it had very few dedicated commercial releases.

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Of all those, the only ones I have had any experiance with, is the C64, and the Apple II. And Just honestly, the Apple II was shit compared to the C64. Maybe I just played all the wrong games, but almost all were basic, and the few graphic ones would have been proud to call the 2600 daddy.

 

At least I have heard of all those computers, But two (I think) are forign, and I'll never see one probably, much less work up an oppinion about them.

Edited by Video
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Of all those, the only ones I have had any experiance with, is the C64, and the Apple II. And Just honestly, the Apple II was shit compared to the C64. Maybe I just played all the wrong games, but almost all were basic, and the few graphic ones would have been proud to call the 2600 daddy.

 

Agreed. I had an Apple //c, and I'm still fond of it, but I really think the Apple II's are overrated. They suck compared to the Commodores and Ataris. I'm not sure what they're good at, honestly. I guess they had slightly more memory at a critical moment in time when Visicalc came out. I really liked the IIGS though, and always wished I had one.

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Alot of people are probably gonna kill me for saying this. But I never really cared for the SID chip sound. Sure it was more technically superior, but there is something about that pokey sound that I still like to this day.

 

That being said I consider the C64 and Atari 8-bit to be like ying and yang. The atari had great arcade ports (probably something to do with the pokey), less sprites, and larger color pallette. Whereas the C64 had more sprites, better sound chip (even if I didn't like the sound), and less colors.

 

But where the C64 beats the Atari is it had a slightly longer lifespan so there are ALOT of titles that came out for it that never made it to the atari.

 

How about this? :cool:

Nice... makes it tempting to get the real thing.

Edited by Shannon
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Alot of people are probably gonna kill me for saying this. But I never really cared for the SID chip sound. Sure it was more technically superior, but there is something about that pokey sound that I still like to this day.

 

Same here. C64 fans endlessly rave about SID and how it's an analog synth on a chip but arcade games of the day used digital sound chips and don't sound like SID. They used pokeys, GI's PSG's or TI's sound chips. SID sounds odd, different but I never thought it sounded better.

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Why don't you just give it to the C64 right now and end the thread? No one in North America is even familiar with the ZX Spectrum or Amstrad 664.

 

Becasue Atariage is populated by people from all over the world and they deserve just as much of a say as people from North America.

 

Plus, both of those machines as well as the MSX were fine fine gamming machines.

 

-Ray

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Why don't you just give it to the C64 right now and end the thread? No one in North America is even familiar with the ZX Spectrum or Amstrad 664.

 

Becasue Atariage is populated by people from all over the world and they deserve just as much of a say as people from North America.

 

Plus, both of those machines as well as the MSX were fine fine gamming machines.

 

-Ray

 

I know, but it's dominated by North Americans and I can tell you right now most are going to say C64. Any discussion here about 8 bit computers/gaming quickly becomes all about the C64, a little bit about the A800 and nothing else. I'm not saying it's right, it's just that's how it is.

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Why don't you just give it to the C64 right now and end the thread? No one in North America is even familiar with the ZX Spectrum or Amstrad 664.

 

Becasue Atariage is populated by people from all over the world and they deserve just as much of a say as people from North America.

 

Plus, both of those machines as well as the MSX were fine fine gamming machines.

 

-Ray

 

I know, but it's dominated by North Americans and I can tell you right now most are going to say C64. Any discussion here about 8 bit computers/gaming quickly becomes all about the C64, a little bit about the A800 and nothing else. I'm not saying it's right, it's just that's how it is.

 

 

A valid point, and the C64 will probably win because it was pretty popular in Europe as well. But, the ZX Spectrum was certainly no push over, I saw it play a game of Street Fighter and even though it had black and white graphics (or color clash, or whatever made it look like that) the graphics were amazing and the game moved fast. It looked like a black and white version of the Street Fighter I played on my SNES and that is something I know my Commdore could NOT do.

 

 

For those unfamiliar with the Spectrum here is a video showing it's version of one of the more popular C64 games, Bruce Lee.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86SOveCkoeQ

 

-Ray

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Why don't you just give it to the C64 right now and end the thread? No one in North America is even familiar with the ZX Spectrum or Amstrad 664.

 

Becasue Atariage is populated by people from all over the world and they deserve just as much of a say as people from North America.

 

Plus, both of those machines as well as the MSX were fine fine gamming machines.

 

-Ray

 

I know, but it's dominated by North Americans and I can tell you right now most are going to say C64. Any discussion here about 8 bit computers/gaming quickly becomes all about the C64, a little bit about the A800 and nothing else. I'm not saying it's right, it's just that's how it is.

 

 

A valid point, and the C64 will probably win because it was pretty popular in Europe as well. But, the ZX Spectrum was certainly no push over, I saw it play a game of Street Fighter and even though it had black and white graphics (or color clash, or whatever made it look like that) the graphics were amazing and the game moved fast. It looked like a black and white version of the Street Fighter I played on my SNES and that is something I know my Commdore could NOT do.

 

 

For those unfamiliar with the Spectrum here is a video showing it's version of one of the more popular C64 games, Bruce Lee.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86SOveCkoeQ

 

-Ray

 

I hear ya. Some of those games they got to run on the Spectrum are as amazing a technical feat as any that people marvel at on the 2600. So far from what the original designers envisioned was possible. Believe me, I wish I could've gotten an MSX or Amstrad back in the day. I don't know why they didn't sell them here. I think the NA market could've supported more worthy players between the high-end Apples/PC and low-end junk like Aquarius. Everyone was scared of Commodore so they just left it to them to dominate.

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To vote on this subject you gotta have used all the mentioned computers for at least some time, used a lot of different games on all of the above, only then can you make up your mind. Otherwise you're just 'fanboying'.

 

I own and used a C-64 and Atari XL since 85, and an Apple ][ since 1989, all three are perfect gaming computers in their own right, with the Apple ][ having the biggest game software library of any 8-bit computer (EG May 1985):

SWScan00023.jpg

 

 

the C-64 the best written USA disc software, and the XL a good all-rounder, especially for cartridges, having the biggest cartridge software base on any computer.

Edited by thomasholzer
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