The Commodore 64 wasn’t just a computer—it was many, depending on who you asked and when you asked. Launched in 1982 and officially discontinued in 1994, it outlived most of its peers by adapting to the needs of different users. That’s the focus of The Five Lives of the Commodore 64, a video from The MADE Oakland.
This talk explores how the C64 became a gaming console, a learning tool, a developer’s first workstation, a music machine, and later, a retro tech icon. Its SID chip earned cult status, its BASIC programming taught countless kids how to code, and its massive game library fueled endless hours of pixelated fun.
Even after production stopped, hobbyists and collectors kept pushing its limits. New games are still being made. Mods and hardware expansions keep rolling out. It’s not nostalgia — it’s continued relevance, driven by a community that never let it go.
Watch the full video from The MADE Forum to see how one machine kept reinventing itself—and why it still turns heads today.
