Gear

Finally, Somebody Is Bringing Back the Commodore 64

It's half the size, includes 64 games, and only costs $70.

by Dave Baldwin
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
C64 Mini

In the pantheon of early personal computers, the Commodore 64 reigns supreme. An 8-bit system with 64KB of RAM and top-flight graphics, the retro console hit the market in 1982 and went on to become the most popular computer ever sold. If you were raised in the 1980s, you probably knew somebody who had one. There’s a good chance you spent every afternoon in 6th-grade playing Hardball! and other video games on it.

So, it should come as no surprise in the middle of the current vintage video game renaissance that somebody would bring the Commodore 64 back to life. The bigger surprise is really that it took so long. That said, fresh on the heels of the re-released mini Nintendo SNES (and the NES Classic, and the Atari Flashback 8 Gold, and the Sega Genesis Flash… ), UK-based Retro Games has announced the C64 Mini: a half-sized model of the original computer that plugs into any TV with an HDMI port.

The C64 Mini will come with a classic joystick, save-game function, and 64 built-in games, including Epyx Winter Games, Hunter’s Moon, Pit Stop II, and Cyberdrone Warrior. It will also have a pair of integrated USB ports for a second joystick or keyboard, so it can also be used as a “fully functional home computer.” Although whether you can make the screen infinitely scroll “John is cool” is anybody’s guess.

The C64 Mini will run $70 and is slated to go on sale early next year.

Buy Now $70

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