Graphics
160×200
- Resolutions
- 160×200 · 320×200 · 640×200
- Colors on screen
- 16
- Palette
- 27 colors
Below: Spectrum 15 colors · Above: Atari 7800 25 colors
Amstrad CPC
Also known as CPC · Color Personal Computer · CPC 464 · CPC 664 · CPC 6128 · Schneider CPC
- Amstrad
- Home computer
1,838 Amstrad CPC games, all playable free in your browser.
The Amstrad CPC (Color Personal Computer) is a range of 8-bit home computers made by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. The first model, the CPC 464, launched in the United Kingdom in June 1984 with 64 KB of RAM and a built-in cassette deck. It was followed in 1985 by the CPC 664, which replaced the tape with a 3-inch floppy drive, and by the CPC 6128 with 128 KB of RAM.
- First released · Europe
- 1984
- Units sold
- 3M
- CPU
- 8-bit
- Games in the library · all playable
- 1,838
TIMELINE
1984–1990
- EUEurope
- NANorth America
- ENDDiscontinued
Games per release year
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 1981 | 1 |
| 1982 | 3 |
| 1983 | 7 |
| 1984 | 91 |
| 1985 | 267 |
| 1986 | 276 |
| 1987 | 270 |
| 1988 | 202 |
| 1989 | 166 |
| 1990 | 100 |
| 1991 | 60 |
| 1992 | 32 |
| 1993 | 13 |
| 1994 | 10 |
| 1995 | 6 |
| 1996 | 1 |
| 1997 | 2 |
| 1998 | 3 |
| 1999 | 2 |
| 2002 | 2 |
| 2003 | 1 |
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
All 36 systems
- Atari 2600Atari 2600: Sep 1977 – 1992
- SpectrumZX Spectrum: Apr 23, 1982 – 1992
- ColecoColecoVision: Aug 1982 – 1985
- Atari 5200Atari 5200: Oct 1982 – May 21, 1984
- VectrexVectrex: Oct 1982 – Feb 1984
- NESNintendo Entertainment System: Jul 15, 1983 – Sep 25, 2003
- SG-1000Sega SG-1000: Jul 15, 1983 – Oct 1985
- MSXMSX: Oct 21, 1983 – 1993
- Amstrad CPCAmstrad CPC: Jun 21, 1984 – 1990
- Master SystemSega Master System: Oct 20, 1985 – 1996
- Atari 7800Atari 7800: May 1986 – 1992
- X68000Sharp X68000: Mar 28, 1987 – end not recorded
- PC EnginePC Engine / TurboGrafx-16: Oct 30, 1987 – Dec 16, 1994
- CPS-1Capcom CPS-1: May 13, 1988 – May 11, 1995
- GenesisSega Genesis / Mega Drive: Oct 29, 1988 – 1997
- PCE CDPC Engine CD / TurboGrafx-CD: Dec 4, 1988 – end not recorded
- Game BoyGame Boy: Apr 21, 1989 – Mar 31, 2003
- LynxAtari Lynx: Sep 1, 1989 – 1995
- Neo GeoNeo Geo: Apr 16, 1990 – 2004
- Game GearSega Game Gear: Oct 6, 1990 – Apr 30, 1997
- SNESSuper Nintendo: Nov 21, 1990 – Sep 25, 2003
- Sega CDSega CD / Mega-CD: Dec 12, 1991 – 1996
- CPS-2Capcom CPS-2: Sep 10, 1993 – Dec 22, 2003
- Neo Geo CDNeo Geo CD: Sep 9, 1994 – 1997
- 32XSega 32X: Nov 1994 – 1996
- PS1PlayStation: Dec 3, 1994 – Mar 23, 2006
- N64Nintendo 64: Jun 23, 1996 – 2002
- CPS-3Capcom CPS-3: Nov 21, 1996 – end not recorded
- NAOMISega NAOMI: 1998 – end not recorded
- GBCGame Boy Color: Oct 21, 1998 – Mar 31, 2003
- NGPCNeo Geo Pocket Color: Mar 19, 1999 – Oct 30, 2001
- PS2PlayStation 2: Mar 4, 2000 – Jan 4, 2013
- WonderSwanWonderSwan Color: Dec 9, 2000 – 2003
- GBAGame Boy Advance: Mar 21, 2001 – 2010
- OpenBOROpenBOR: 2004 – today
- TIC-80TIC-80: Mar 22, 2017 – today
A bar that fades out means the end date is unknown. Fantasy consoles and game engines are still available.
UNDER THE HOOD
Technical specifications
Processor
4MHz
- CPU
- Zilog Z80A
- Core
- Zilog Z80
- Word size
- 8-bit
- Motorola 6845 (CRTC) + custom gate array — video
- NEC 765 — floppy disk controller (664/6128)
Memory access is aligned to microsecond boundaries; Amstrad estimated an effective rate of about 3.3 MHz
Memory
64KB
- Main RAM
- 64 KB
Sound
3channels
- Chip
- General Instrument AY-3-8912
Three channels (square wave, noise or both) with hardware envelopes; mono speaker, stereo on the headphone jack
Sales
3million
- Scope
- Whole CPC range, approximate
Below: Lynx 2 million · Above: Master System 13 million
Media
Cassette tape
Launch price
£359
- Europe
- £359
THE STORY
About the Amstrad CPC
Every model is built around a Zilog Z80A at 4 MHz and was sold only as a bundle with a color or green-screen monitor that also supplied power, an all-in-one design that left the family television free. Graphics come from a Motorola 6845 CRT controller paired with a custom gate array, offering three display modes with colors drawn from a 27-color palette, while a General Instrument AY-3-8912 provides three-channel sound.
The range sold well in the United Kingdom, France, Spain and German-speaking Europe, where Schneider sold its own branded versions. The later 464 plus, 6128 plus and GX4000 console extended the hardware with less success, and around three million CPC machines were sold in total.
- Three video modes: 160 × 200 in 16 colors, 320 × 200 in 4 colors and 640 × 200 in 2 colors, from a 27-color palette.
- Sold only as a bundle with an Amstrad monitor that also powers the computer.
- The CPC 6128 was the first Amstrad product sold in the United States, from June 1985.
- 3-inch floppy disks hold 180 KB per side in AMSDOS format.
- The CPC 464 alone sold more than two million units.
THE LIBRARY
1,838 Amstrad CPC games on Back2OldGames
1,838
games, all playable right in your browser
Release years 1981–2003
<p class="lib-span">435 developers</p>Genres
Top developers
Players
165 games with a known number of players.
Regions
THE GAMES
The Amstrad CPC library
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Sources
Specifications and history from the sources below (Wikipedia text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; facts summarized in our own words). Library numbers come from the Back2OldGames catalog.
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