Retro Games and Koch Media have announced The C64, a new retro console, this time in the form of the classic Commodore 64. Unlike the mini NES or PlayStation consoles, The C64 includes a full-sized replica and ships with a keyboard and cables necessary to permit the system to work with contemporary screens and televisions.
Releasing on December 5th, 2019, the console will retail for £110/€120 and as you might expect, comes pre-installed with a range of classic C64 games, including Attack of the Mutant Camels, Boulder Dash, California Games, Galencia, Gridrunner, Hover Bovver, Idris Alpha, Paradroid, and Planet of Death.
“We are delighted to be working with Koch Media once more to bring back even more of the most loved retro games ever on two of the most iconic home computers of all time, and which now has a full working keyboard”, said Paul Andrews, managing director at Retro Games.
“The C64 full size is a re-imagining of the classic C64 computer and the second in a planned series of products on the way.”
The C64 isn’t the only retro console coming out this year. Capcom – which revealed its plug-and-play system in April – has a mini-console releasing on October 25th, 2019. The system is styled to looked like Capcom’s yellow and blue logo and will also feature a pair of “competition-class Sanwa sticks and buttons for the finest precision, response times and durability” to “enable these games to be played the way that they were meant to be played”.
Konami is also joining the retro console bandwagon with a re-release of PC Engine Core Grafx mini. Making the announcement at E3 2019, a smaller scale version of the console, which originally released in 1989, will feature a range of classic retro games.
Sega also recently announced the Sega Mega Drive Mini, a new mini-console pre-loaded with 40 classic Sega games. The mini-console will release on September 19th, 2019, and sees Sega join Nintendo and Sony with its own mini-console replica. It remains to be seen if the console will set tills ringing like Nintendo’s inaugural NES Classic.