Wednesday, January 31st 2018

THEC64 Mini, the Rebirth of the World's Best-Selling Home Computer

The fully licensed re-imagining of the 80's bestselling home computer - THEC64 Mini - will be released on the 29 March 2018. Developed by Retro Games Ltd - and distributed by Koch Media - THEC64 Mini is half the size of the original C64 and is a fully functioning home computer that connects directly to your television and comes with two USB ports for the joystick and a keyboard.

Launched in 1982, the C64 home computer went on to dominate the home computer scene throughout the 1980s. Millions of units were sold across the world and have a special place in the hearts of its former owners. 35 years later and it's back as the reimagined THEC64 Mini. Plugging into any modern TV via its HDMI port, users can play any one of the 64 licensed classic pre-installed games. This includes games from developers like Epyx, Gremlin Graphics, Hewson and The Bitmap Brothers boasting titles such as California Games, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, Paradroid and Impossible Mission.
Also included is the classic puzzler Boulder Dash. The game sees 'Rockford' cavern crawling in search of gems while trying to avoid creatures, cave-ins and gas explosions. Stephan Berendsen, President of BBG Entertainment GmbH said: "Retro Games and BBG brought back together what has always belonged dating back to 1984 - the C64 and Boulder Dash."

Most of these games were rated over 90% by leading publications of the day, with many winning coveted awards. From sports to shooters, platforms to puzzles, there is a plethora of titles to keep the most discerning retro enthusiast happy.

"We are delighted to bring to retail THEC64 mini and let both original fans of the machine, and all-new generations of games players discover this amazing system, as well as maybe even have a go at programming it for themselves!", said Paul Andrews, Retro Games' Managing Director.

Included in the box with THEC64 Mini is a classic 1.5m (5 foot) wired USB joystick (with added function keys for game specific modes), a USB charging cable and an HDMI cable (both 1.2m (4 foot) in length) allowing full compatibility will all modern TVs. Other features include Pixel Perfect display with US/Europe display modes and CRT filter options, plus a save game function. As befits a home computer reimagining, plug a standard PC keyboard into one of the two USB ports and use as a classic C64 to type in those old BASIC computer listings. Future software updates can also be assured by firmware revisions via USB flash drive.

THEC64 MINI FINAL GAMES LIST
AlleyKat, Anarchy, Armalyte: Competition Edition, Avenger, Battle Valley, Boulder Dash, Bounder, California Games, Chip's Challenge, Confuzion, Creatures, Cyberdyne Warrior, Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine, Cybernoid II: The Revenge, Deflektor, Everyone's A Wally, Firelord, Gribbly's Day Out, Hawkeye, Heartland, Herobotix, Highway Encounter, Hunter's Moon, Hysteria, Impossible Mission, Impossible Mission II, IO, Jumpman, Mega Apocalypse, Mission A.D, Monty Mole, Monty on the Run, Nebulus, Netherworld, Nobby the Aardvark, Nodes Of Yesod, Paradroid, Pitstop II, Rana Rama, Robin Of The Wood, Rubicon, Skate Crazy, Skool Daze, Snare, Speedball, Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, Spindizzy, Star Paws, Steel, Street Sports Baseball, Summer Games II (inc. Summer Games I), Super Cycle, Temple of Apshai Trilogy, The Arc Of Yesod, Thing on a Spring, Thing Bounces Back, Trailblazer, Cosmic Causeway: Trailblazer II, Uchi Mata, Uridium, Who Dares Wins II, Winter Games, World Games, Zynaps.

For more information please visit www.thec64.com
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14 Comments on THEC64 Mini, the Rebirth of the World's Best-Selling Home Computer

#1
morphy
I'm still waiting on the vic 20 mini.
Posted on Reply
#2
TheLostSwede
News Editor
xorbeOh my. Does it only play games, or is it a full emulator of the original?
From their website:
2 USB ports: plug in a USB keyboard and use as a fully functional home computer with C64 BASIC, or add a second joystick for 2-player games
So it seems like C64 Basic works, but not much else apart from the games.

It might be useful to include the price in the news post as well?
THEC64® Mini will hit the shops in early 2018 with a suggested retail price of £69.99/$69.99/€79.99.
Looks like it's powered by an AllWinner A20 SoC.
Posted on Reply
#3
Hokum
No: Mayhem in Monsterland, Creatures 2, Turrican, Turrican 2, Bards Tale, Stunt Car racer, Spy vs Spy, IK+?

I'm disappointed.
Posted on Reply
#4
natr0n
This will be like the nes/snes mini's. I'm sure all kinds of mods will be done to add more games and stuff.
Posted on Reply
#5
silentbogo
Whatta?...
Note: The keyboard keys are non-functional
The only thing that's promising, is that you can probably use phoenixTool and put Linux/Android/BSD on it (looks like it even has a cheap 8GB NAND). But judging from pics and brief glimpses on hardware in videos, I can see that most of the potential of that Allwinner A20 is wasted (no VGA, no 1080p60hz on HDMI, no analog A/V). Basically a barebone $15 tablet motherboard stuck in a custom enclosure with fake keyboard. Yet another low-effort project praying on nostalgia.
Posted on Reply
#6
Rockarola
My first two computers were C64 (my breadbox died, got me a slimline 64)

Then Amiga 500, then ye olde AMD "Pentium"...still miss those "so bad they were good" days.
Only used Atari St for for music, quite a few studios still hangs on to one of those dinosaurs (please substitute any pre-PC computer that fits your nostalgia)
Posted on Reply
#7
lexluthermiester
I wonder if this will play David Murray's(The 8-bit Guy) Planet X2?
Posted on Reply
#8
Evildead666
silentbogoWhatta?...


The only thing that's promising, is that you can probably use phoenixTool and put Linux/Android/BSD on it (looks like it even has a cheap 8GB NAND). But judging from pics and brief glimpses on hardware in videos, I can see that most of the potential of that Allwinner A20 is wasted (no VGA, no 1080p60hz on HDMI, no analog A/V). Basically a barebone $15 tablet motherboard stuck in a custom enclosure with fake keyboard. Yet another low-effort project praying on nostalgia.
Its super sad that they put a keyboard on there, and its non-functional.
Just for that, its a no-go for me.
Would have been all over it otherwise....
Posted on Reply
#9
VulkanBros
morphyI'm still waiting on the vic 20 mini.
Naah......waiting for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum - :rolleyes:
Posted on Reply
#10
kastriot
It's a crap son(Beneath the steel sky)
Posted on Reply
#12
StrayKAT
morphyI'm still waiting on the vic 20 mini.
My family's first computer...


C64 wise, I was and am still in love with Defender of the Crown. Apparently it's not even on their list. Pity.
Posted on Reply
#13
TheinsanegamerN
Evildead666Its super sad that they put a keyboard on there, and its non-functional.
Just for that, its a no-go for me.
Would have been all over it otherwise....
Yeah, although with a keyboard that small, it owuldnt have been usable anyway.

I'm still bummed out they stopped making the C64 PC case, that you could stick your own hardware into. nothing like a C64 with an i7 and a 1050ti.
Posted on Reply
#14
Eviling
My Commodore is still functioning well, so not really a product i need.

With a non-functional keyboard, and so far no info on "more games later", i dont see much reason to get this.
Posted on Reply
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