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.
ROM: N/A
Resources:
Statistics, features, and Max Machine resources:
CPU: MOS Technology 6510
RAM: 4 kilobytes
Video: MOS 6566 "VIC-II"
Sound: MOS 6581 "SID"
Ports: 6526 CIA
Keyboard: Full-sized QWERTY "Contact-Pad"
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.
If you find anything in here you have questions or comments about, feel
free to leave me email right here.
To return to my home page, click here.
