Learn extra at:
TL;DR: The Commodore 64, the world’s top-selling private laptop, has obtained revival clones earlier than, however a brand new enterprise from Commodore Worldwide’s new house owners function {hardware} emulation with 99% accuracy. The upcoming HDMI-enabled mannequin makes use of the identical expertise behind Analogue’s well-regarded retro consoles.
A crowdfunding campaign is now stay for a contemporary clone of Commodore’s iconic 1982 residence laptop. The newly revived firm guarantees to mix near-perfect retro {hardware} accuracy with assist for contemporary inputs.
Though the pictures on Commodore’s marketing campaign are preview renders, the corporate has a transparent imaginative and prescient of what the Commodore 64 Final will embrace later this yr. At its core lies an AMD Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA processor, which helps over 10,000 C64 video games.
Take a look at TechSpot’s retro function:
The Commodore Story: Gone But Not Forgotten
FPGAs (Area programmable gate arrays) are chips that permit builders to reconfigure their circuits for numerous duties, making them splendid for replicating classic {hardware}. Earlier FPGA-based clones of methods such because the NES, Tremendous NES, Sega Genesis, and Sport Boy Advance have earned reward for delivering extremely correct emulation with low energy consumption.
The FPGA-powered Commodore will assist cartridges, datasettes, disk drives, and CRT shows for customers looking for an genuine retro expertise. It additionally outputs as much as 1080p at 60Hz by way of HDMI and consists of Wi-Fi and USB connectivity.
A bundled USB “cassette” will supply a choice of video games, demos, music, and an all-new sequel to Jupiter Lander. Assist for C64 OS is coming quickly.
Though Commodore Worldwide is formally behind the crowdfunding marketing campaign, the crew main the hassle is sort of completely new. Retro gaming YouTuber Christian “Retro Recipes” Simpson acquired the corporate and 47 of its logos late final month. He has pledged to revive the model with a mixture of retro and trendy merchandise. Al Charpentier, one of many unique C64 designers, is serving as a technical advisor.
Additionally see: GPUs vs. FPGAs: What’s the Difference?
The corporate expects to start transport the Commodore 64 Final in October or November 2025. The usual value is $349, however early supporters can save $50 by way of a limited-time promotion.
Different builders are additionally planning to revive basic gaming units utilizing FPGA expertise.
Analogue, which has beforehand used FPGA to recreate the NES, Tremendous NES, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx, and Sport Boy Advance, will open preorders for the Analogue 3D on October 21. The brand new console performs Nintendo 64 video games in 4K. In the meantime, tinkerer Taki Udon is growing an FPGA-based PlayStation clone, and engineer Piotr “Osa” Ostapowicz is engaged on an enhanced version of the Atari utilizing the identical method.
