Items tagged with Commodore 64
It is official, folks—Retro Games is releasing a full-size retro reboot of the original Commodore 64, called TheC64, on December 5. That means it will arrive in plenty of time for Christmas, though not as a stocking stuffer. Well, not unless you have a oversized stocking hanging over your fireplace. Otherwise, it's best if Santa slips this one underneath the tree. Retro gaming is vogue right now, with manufacturers trying to capture the same type of sales success that Nintendo did with both its NES Classic and SNES Classic consoles. Sega, for example, is launching a Genesis Mini console packing 40 games in September, and Sony's PlayStation Classic recently dropped in price to $29.99 on...
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For most people, the thought of playing Super Mario Bros. on a Commodore 64 probably never occurred to them, for a number of reasons. The biggest one, of course, is that Super Mario Bros. was never made available for the best selling PC of all time—it's an NES game. However, the thought did occur to developer ZeroPaige, who made a ROM of the classic game, but unfortunately Nintendo is shutting down the party. ZeroPaige spent the better part of a decade—seven years, to be exact—developing a nifty port of Super Mario Bros., in the form of a ROM that is playable through C64 emulation software on a modern PC. While the gameplay appears to stay true to the original, however, it's...
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The C64 mini is a tiny, retro-console, in the same vein as devices like the NES and SNES Classic Editions and the Sony PlayStation Classic. The C64 mini, of course, is designed to mimic the beloved Commodore 64, which was the best-selling, single model personal computer, of all time – but in a much smaller package. After a couple of firmware updates, the C64 mini has generally been well received. The diminutive system includes a host of games and offers the ability to program or run your own as well. The keyboard on the mini is not functional, however, so you’re forced to plug in a USB keyboard, and figure out which keys are mapped to some of the original Commodore 64’s proprietary...
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Retro gaming is all the rage right now, and companies are trying to replicate the success Nintendo had with the NES Classic and SNES Classic. Amid all the noise, however, is a fun and interesting project that pays homage to the Commodore 64, one of the most popular home computers of all time, while combining a passion for Lego blocks. A self-proclaimed "retroholic" who goes by the name Perifractic wanted to find out if he could build a full-size working Lego Commodore 64, complete with a functioning LED, a mechanical Lego keyboard, and a Lego PCB. "When I saw a mini Commodore 64 made of Lego, I thought 'What about a full-size one'? This started me down a wormhole or discovery and creation. You...
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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...
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The Commodore 64 holds a Guinness World record as the highest-selling single computer model of all time. After its initial release in August 1982, the C64 went on to sell millions of units – outselling all other popular 8-bit machines at the time, including the Apple II. For many long-time technology geeks, including me, the Commodore 64 was the first personal computer they ever owned. So, it’s no surprise that all these years later, the machine still hold a special place in our hearts. It is with that in mind, along with knowing how popular our Building An Amiga Emulator article was, that we decided to show you how to build your own ultra small form factor Commodore 64 emulator,...
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Last year, we brought you some exciting news concerning the Commodore 64 Mini, which is a retro console that will be released by Retro Games. When it was first announced, Retro Games said that the Commodore 64 Mini would be available in early 2018. Well, 2018 is here and Retro Games has announced the official launch date: March 29th. Given the success that Nintendo has seen with the NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition, it should come as no surprise that there would be a lot of interest in a Commodore 64 remake. The Commodore 64 Mini is a 50 percent replica of the original, and includes a plug-in joystick (which thankfully has a 5-foot-long cord). For those that are feeling nostalgic,...
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The retro gaming wars are definitely beginning to heat up. Nintendo brought mainstream awareness to the reinvention of retro gaming consoles with the NES Classic Edition, and followed up with the SNES Classic Edition. Atari is answering with the Ataribox. And now, we have a fully licensed and miniaturized version of the Commodore 64 -- the world's best-selling home computer. The C64 Mini, which is a 50 percent scale replica, plugs into your television with an included 4-foot HDMI cable. Like the NES Classic Edition and SNES Classic Edition, the C64 Mini features CRT, scanline emulation and pixel perfect display modes to further enhance your computing experience. Also included in the box is a...
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In many regards, the Raspberry Pi family of computers is quite modest, which is of course by design. For a relatively small price, you can pick up a fully-functional RPi single board computer that can be used for many purposes, whether it is for learning, creating homemade bots, or cobbling together your own purpose-built media player or server solution. Given RPi's flexibility, it should come as no surprise that the open source Linux-power min PC has proven to be such a popular computing platform for scores of consumers, businesses and educational institutions. Just how popular? Well, while RPis themselves might be "modest", their sales figures are anything but. In fact, the total number of...
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One common complaint in the twenty-first century is that nothing is built to last. Even complex, expensive computers seem to have a relatively short shelf-life nowadays. One computer in a small auto repair shop in Gdansk, Poland, however, has survived for the last twenty-five years against all odds. In January a photo was taken by Facebook user Bartek for the page Retrokomp/Loaderror. The picture recently resurfaced on Commodore USA’s Facebook page. The computer claiming victory here is a Commodore C64C that has been balancing driveshafts non-stop for a quarter of a century. The C64C looks like it would fit right in with a scene from Fallout 4 and has even survived a nasty flood and pigeon poop....
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It's with heavy hearts that we report the death of Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International, who passed away at the age of 83. Tramiel, born in Poland in 1928, died while surrounded by family on Sunday, April 8, according to Forbes. He is survived by his wife Helen and their three sons, Gary, Sam, and Leonard, along with their extended families and millions of fans and the computing industry at large, including those who might not have been familiar with his name until now. By all means an unlikely pioneer in PCs, Tramiel was a taxi driver when he founded a typewriter repair business named Commodore Portable Typewriter. His business would later morph into a typewriter manufacturing outfit...
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It's been nearly 17 years since the Commodore 64 was officially discontinued, but the iconic system is being prepared for a relaunch. The Commodore brand was acquired last September by Barry Altman, with the specific intent of providing a system that no longer exists. "Thirty years ago computers were an all-in-one product, with the keyboard, memory and components built inside," Mr. Altman explained. “Over the years that has changed, and we believe there is a huge potential to revive the early format." Since a depressingly large number of you weren't old enough to play with a C64 when it was one of the hottest products anyone could buy. Commodore's decision to include top-notch graphics...
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Apple has finally allowed the Commodore 64 emulator by Manomio LLC into the App Store. It had previously been rejected (in June). In order to get their app accepted, however, the company had to disable BASIC from the package. I'm assuming that Commodore 64 fans (and there are plenty, as the C64 is the best-selling single computer model of all time) remember BASIC (or maybe not!), the old programming language AKA Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. In reality, C64, still contains BASIC in the app, and some clever hackers have discovered how to re-enable it, according to the company. Also, the company had to remove all references to the word "emulator" from the product. That one I'm...
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The Commodore 64 is legendary, and just last year celebrated its 25th anniversary. And now owners of the Nintendo Wii will be able to play classic games of that era via the Wii Virtual Console.Bala Keilman, CEO of Commodore Gaming, commented, “The massive impact the Commodore 64 had on video gaming is still evident today with many gamers remembering the computer and its games with great fondness. By working with Nintendo of Europe, we are ensuring that future generations of gamers can play some of the best and most popular titles that kick-started the computer games revolution and so keep the C64 legacy in gamers hearts.”Laurent Fischer, Managing Director of European Marketing & PR of Nintendo...
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How many of you reading this got started in computing because of the good old Commodore 64? Considering our demographic, I'd bet a whole lot of you spent many a sleepless night parked in front of that unassuming brown and grey contraption grinding your way through Impossible Mission or experimenting with some BASIC programming. Well, can you believe that awesome little machine is about to celebrate its 25th birthday? To commemorate the milestone, CNN has a story posted with plenty of great information, including videos, pictures, and current collections. Here's a snip from the piece..."Often overshadowed by the Apple II and Atari 800, the Commodore 64 rose to great heights...
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