Retro Commodore 64 Mini Set For October 9 Launch

Retro Games is at it again promising that the smaller retro Commodore 64 console will be landing in the coming months. The first rumblings of the little Commodore 64, called C64 Mini, surfaced in September 2017 promising an early 2018 launch date. That launch date was then "confirmed" as March, but things didn’t shake out for some reason. Retro Games is now saying that C64 Mini will hit North America on October 9.

We want to be excited, but we have been down this road before with the console. Details appear to be the same as was promised in the past. It is a 50% scale Commodore 64 that comes packed with 64 games inside from the heyday of the computer system. The C64 Mini will come with a joystick designed with fans of the original console in mind.

Among the 64 games that will be on the console out of the box will be California Games, Winter Games, Impossible Mission II, Boulder Dash, Jumpman, Pitstop II, Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, Street Sports Baseball, Summer Games II, Temple of Apshai Trilogy, and Uridium. A pair of USB ports are integrated for connecting joysticks or for connecting a keyboard. With a keyboard attached, the C64 Mini can be used as a fully functional home computer with C64 BASIC.

For those who take their nostalgia seriously, there will be a CRT filter for the classic look. The console supports 720p output and 60Hz via HDMI with a 4:3 aspect ratio. One of the coolest things about the retro console that gamers of the '80s wanted was the ability to save their game progress. Any old-school gamer has felt the pain of needing to go outside and play and having a parent turn your console off losing your progress.

Software updates will be made over time and can be applied to the console via a flash drive and one of the USB ports. It's not clear what retailers will carry the console at this time and no word on pricing was offered in the new PR. Last time out the price was pegged at $69.99.