Retro consoles have had a revival of sorts lately, especially following the wild success of the NES Classic Edition and the SNES Classic Edition. These miniature replicas of beloved consoles have been adapted for modern use with built-in libraries of games, HDMI and USB ports. Atari followed suit with the Atari Flashback consoles and we even reported that a C64 Mini was coming this year. Retro Games Ltd. and Solutions 2 GO announced today that their licensed reimagining of the C64, called THEC64 Mini, is coming to North American retail stores on October 9, 2018!

​

This 50% replica of the bestselling home computer that launched in 1982, comes pre-loaded with 64 classic games and THEC64 Joystick. Aspiring gamers of yesteryear can revisit the past and program their own games – just add a keyboard, and THEC64 Mini becomes a fully functional home computer complete with C64 BASIC. For younger and more casual audiences, the console is also accessible via its plug and play action.

​

THEC64 Mini includes the following:

• Pre-loaded with all the Retro Faves: THEC64 Mini comes with 64 classic titles already installed, including: 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, Uridium and more.
• USB Ports: The unit comes equipped with two USB ports – perfect for adding an extra joystick for multiplayer games or plugging in a keyboard to create your own programming masterpieces.
• Customized Visuals: The unit features high definition output at 720p and 60Hz via HDMI, 4:3 ratio, US/Europe display mode options, and a CRT filter for that classic look.
• Back to the Basics: Plug in a USB keyboard and use as a fully functional home computer with C64 BASIC.
• Don’t Forget to Save: For the first time, THEC64 Mini allows you to easily save your progress in games.
• Always Optimized: THEC64 Mini supports software updates via USB flash drive so players have continued access to improved and enhanced programming.

​

“We are delighted to be able to bring back some of the most loved retro games ever, on one of the most successful formats of all time”, said Paul Andrews, Retro Games’ Managing Director. “The North American release of THEC64 mini is a reimagining of the classic C64 computer and one of a series of products we have on the way.”

THEC64 Mini is available now for pre-order now at retailers across North America. The press release only mentioned the North American release date without a price point. However, it was previously reported that the console would sell at a suggested retail price of £69.99/$69.99/€79.99.

THEC64 Mini Official Website

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Doesn't even have jetpac, riot.

 

[Vieela]

Is it just me or there's something extremely off with the hand holding the keyboard in the 3D render of it? At first i thought the hand was literally facing downwards until i actually noticed the actual position of it o.O

 

[VitaType]

Doesn't even have jetpac, riot.

Indeed. Half the titles seem to be a fairly random selection to me, but what makes this console really unappealing is the fact that the keyboard it comes with isn't useable. If you need to add a costume keyboard anyway, why not just use a RaspberryPi or such... Even a keyboard 50% smaller then the original would have been nice.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

I just wanted jetpac from the donkey kong 64 mini game.

 

[chirogan]

Is it just me or there's something extremely off with the hand holding the keyboard in the 3D render of it? At first i thought the hand was literally facing downwards until i actually noticed the actual position of it o.O

Now that you pointed it, this made me cringe a little. But nah. We are just used to seeing the thumb when a hand is there. Its the other way around this time so your subconscious secretly corrupted our minds.

 

[Jayro]

I saw the reviews of the European one, and I'm let down. The no-brainer here should be that they keyboard is functioning, and it does not... Which is 100% stupid.

 

[Song of storms]

The keyboard is fake.

Yes, I know that the console is too tiny for the keyboard to be used properly, but they could have made better decisions than simply making a fake keyboard.

 

[emmanu888]

Game list seems different for the North American release.

I recall the PAL release having Armalyte on it and the NTSC release does not have it. And some of the games on there, i hope they're not PAL version because everyone knows what happens if you run PAL games on a NTSC machine.

You get SID music playing faster than usual, you get timing issues because the game is programmed to run at the speed that a PAL machine provides.

 

[XDel]

And all reviews have been negative thus far...

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

There is a company that makes a Raspberry Pi interface board and kit so you can gut a real Commodore 64 and get HDMI out and SD loading of all the software and I have to say.... if I was going to buy this C64 Mini... I would probably grab that Pi thing first.

 

[zoogie]

39K of free memory, sheesh. Who needs all that power?

 

[Song of storms]

39K of memory, sheesh. Who needs all that power?

Actually, I wonder if they used bigger batches of memory but limited them to make the console more "faithful".

 

[Noctosphere]

Commodore age was before my birth
So... no... no nostalgia here for me...

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

This is shit, unfortunately. Utterly meh, according to reviews. You're better off buying a Pi instead of this thing.

But I'm more interested in the "full size" C64 Mini they're making eventually (hopefully). Gonna be basically the same, but full sized with an actual working keyboard and potentially more support for peripherals.

 

[Song of storms]

But I'm more interested in the "full size" C64 Mini they're making eventually (hopefully)

Is there any confirmation to that?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Is there any confirmation to that?

Originally this "Mini mini" version wasn't even what they were making when they started their Kickstarter, it wasn't until Nintendo's NES Mini took off that they put a stop on the full sized design in favor of a mini console.

But the full sized design is still in development, and is "supposed" to be launched at some point in time this year (their site still says "later 2018" if you check the about page). There are rumors, however, that if this doesn't sell as well in NA as they hope they might abandon the full sized version completely, but I'm hoping it's just usual BS that follows bad releases list this.

 

[codezer0]

Basically, they need this mini to sell well, before they cna get the go-ahead to make the full sized model.

So, gotta find someone this appeals to, fast.

 

[kumikochan]

I have one. They started selling here over half a year ago and i like it

 

[urherenow]

bah. You have to add a keyboard? which keys are C=, runstop, and restore? This is bogus. May as well stick with Vice/WinVice.