Thursday, August 22, 2019

A Retro Revival for the Commodore 64

Since I wrote the first version of my book A Commodore 64 Walkabout, there have been a number of developments around reviving the Commodore 64 as a platform (mostly for gaming) in particular by the so-called "mini" consoles, but not limited to those.  So many years later, the C64 continues to inspire creativity and a new generation of retro computing fans.  Some developments include:

1. The C64 Mini and a rumored "Full Size" version with a function keyboard
2. New improved versions of C64 Forever by Cloanto
3. New SD2IEC and other variations of easier to use tape (relatively new) and "disk" drives - SD Card type replacements for original disk drive hardware and software using disk and tape images once reserved for emulation - these can be found from European websites or Ebay
4. Plenty of new games for sale that look just as professional or more so than games sold back in the day - far beyond "homebrew".  Some sold by the old mainstay Psytronik Software.
5. Atlantis/Hokuto Force games, revised and improved -- the once cracker/hacker group is now debugging and improving old titles.

...and more!  It's great to see that the passion for the Commodore 64 has not diminished over time - if anything the Internet and a new generation of fans has only strengthened it.