The Commodore 64 personal computer released in August 1982 became the best selling single computer model of its era. The Commodore 64 is commonly referred to as the C64, other less common names include CBM 64/CBM64, C= 64. It is also affectionately nicknamed the "breadbin" due to its shape.
The C64, together with the Commodore PET and VIC-20 were pioneering forays into the emergent personal computer industry, in a time characterized by many varieties of mostly incompatible machines. Introduced by Commodore Business Machines in August 1982 at the low price of US $595, it offered 64 kilobytes of RAM, with sound and graphics performance that compared favorably with later IBM compatible computers of that time. During the Commodore 64's lifetime (between 1982 and 1993), total sales exceeded 22 million units. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Commodore 64 remains the best selling single computer model of all time.