Commodore MAX Machine

Also known as the "UltiMax" and the "VIC-10", the Max Machine is the original game console version of the Commodore 64. Software is loaded by cartridge through the Max's expansion/ cartridge port in the back. Very few game cartridges are known to exist for the machine, however, though a version of mini-BASIC was produced. It was apparantly a horrible failure in the Japanese marketplace, and never made it to Europe or the United States in any official capacity.

The Max Machine was produced by Commodore Japan and was released along with the C64 in Japan. Unlike the C64GS, however, the Max Machine was actually *designed* as a game console. The C64 and C128 are both capable of emulating the Max Machine, producing an identical memory and address-map configuration by adjusting the EXROM and GAME lines on the expansion port.

Statistics, features, and Max Machine resources:

Personal Note: I've been on the hunt for this little puppy since about 1995, when I first heard about it on the internet. It was acquired because a fan of these pages (and a great guy) named Ray Castaldo turned me on to another fellow in Japan (also a collector) named "tomi T" who had access to this machine from the seller. When it was all said and done, I had purchased all the YEN I could get my hands on locally, and the result was this beautiful specimen on my doorstep.