Commodore MAX Machine

The Commodore MAX Machine, also known as VC-10 in Germany and Ultimax in the US, was a home computer designed by Commodore International. It was released in 1982 as a predecessor to the popular Commodore 64, and although it was intended for the machine to be sold internationally, it is unlikely that it was ever actually sold outside of Japan.

The unit used a television set for a display, and came with a membrane keyboard and 2.5 KB of internal RAM. Software loaded from plug-in cartridges, and whilst it was possible to use a tape drive for storage, it lacked the user and serial ports required to connect a modem, disk drive or printer.

However, the unit suffered poor comparisons against the Commodore's own VIC-20, which was on the market for approximately the same amount of money. Although the MAX had better graphics and sound capability, the VIC-20 had a much larger software library, was more expandable and had a better keyboard - all of which made it more attractive to consumers.

As a result, the MAX never sold well and was discontinued in the same year that it was released.