For decades, the Commodore MAX Machine has been labeled as the precursor to the Commodore 64. Wikipedia and various online sources have long supported this idea, but a closer look at historical documents and firsthand accounts tells a different story. In a recent episode of Commodore History, Dave set out to investigate whether the MAX actually came before the C64.
Dave has been piecing together the MAX Machine’s history for six months, yet gaps in the story remain. With no guarantee of ever finding all the answers, he decided to share one key discovery: the timeline of the MAX’s release compared to the C64.
According to Wikipedia, the MAX was sold “beginning in early 1982” and was “a predecessor to the popular Commodore 64.” This claim is widely accepted, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Commodore’s 1982 annual report states that C64 shipments began in July 1982, while the MAX was scheduled for winter 1982. If that timeline is accurate, the C64 came first.
Perhaps the annual report was outdated, and production delays changed the order of release. Newspaper ads from July 28, 1982, still listed the C64 as “coming soon,” but by August, retailers had it in stock. Meanwhile, a trade publication article dated November 22, 1982, quoted Commodore’s product marketing manager, Michael Tomczyk, saying the MAX had yet to be shipped. A mid-1982 Commodore brochure listed the MAX as “available Christmas 1982,” while a December update pushed availability to “early 1983.”
The MAX was first released in Japan, leading some to believe it may have launched there earlier. However, typed meeting notes from Tomczyk’s phone conversation with Commodore Japan’s Tony Tokai confirm the MAX had only been selling in Japan since the end of November 1982. The C64 hit store shelves in August. The MAX didn’t reach consumers until late November. That means the C64 was available first.
Even if the MAX wasn’t released first, was it at least developed before the C64? Dave posed this question in the Commodore International Historical Society Facebook group. Engineer John Feagans responded, recalling Jack Tramiel’s directive to create a cost-reduced C64. This confirms that the C64 concept came first, its development began first, and it was the first to reach the market. The MAX was an offshoot, not a predecessor.
Despite decades of misinformation, the evidence is clear: the Commodore 64 came first in every sense. The MAX Machine wasn’t a stepping stone to the C64—it was a cost-cutting alternative that arrived later and never expanded beyond Japan.
