The C64 (Electronic Games)
The C64
The C64 is back, this time full-sized with a working keyboard for the dedicated retro home-computer fan.
Featuring three switchable modes – C64, VIC 20, and Games Carousel.
Connect to any modern TV via HDMI for crisp 720p HD visuals, at 60 Hz or 50 Hz.
Micro computer
An updated joystick, now featuring micro switches, companions the hardware making the included games even more fun than ever.
The Games Carousel has 64 pre-installed games including classics such as California Games, Paradroid and Boulder Dash, with new additions like Attack of the Mutant Camels, Hover Bovver, Iridis Alpha, and Gridrunner.
Topped off with the recently released shoot ’em up Galencia and text adventure Planet of Death to let you relive the glory days of true keyboard gaming!
| Dimensions: | 11.3 x 63 x 25 cm; 1.5 Kilograms |
| Model: | RGLA03.UK.61ST |
| Origin: | China |
I ordered the A500 Mini from Amazon UK because I didn’t want to wait another 6 weeks in the US. I received it in 5 days and have been very happy with my purchase. My online shopping experience with Amazon UK was superb. The A500 has a few support groups on facebook which adds to its value. You will be selling a lot of these.
It’s a solid well made product, slightly smaller than the old tank mouse. It’s hard to say how much difference that makes, as my hands would have been smaller when I last used the original mouse!
I hoped to use it on my old Amiga with a USB to 9 pin adaptor, but sadly it doesn’t work for that. However, connected up to a Rasperry Pi running FS-UAE, it’s perfect.
Great little machine, very fast load times even the whd loads are practically instant, is just a pity il doesn’t have a working keyboard, but great nonetheless.
Ok first of all looks, it arrives I na box very reminiscent of the ones the Amiga 500 arrived in, complete with Power cable (but no power adapter,) HDMi Cable, Mouse, Joypad and a very retro looking Mini A500.
Picking it up its a bit lighter than I imagined, but it remains in place on my desk.
The 25 games it is supplied with are a bit “meh”, but if you have read the reviews, watched the YouTube videos etc. You will know its so very easy to add more.
Quick tip, get an 8,16,32GB USB flash drive, format it to MS-DOS(FAT) and enable MBR not GUID.
Now go to the A500 mini support website and download the A500 Zip file, copy that to the Flash drive and unzip it (leaving a folder called A500) with the required files inside.
Now search for Amiga games in .lha format. (They’re all out there on the web and luckily they take up hardly any space). Copy them into the A500 folder (Do NOT unzip them, leave them as lha files). If you are copying a lot, then add some folders to make it east to find them when scrolling through, for example “Arcade”, “Shoot em ups” or “A-G” etc.
Once you have done that just plug the flash drive into a USB slot on the A500 and start it up, scroll through the pre-installed carousel until you find USB and click it.
All your games (in the folders if you followed my advice) are now there.
All this took 10 mins, and I now have over 600 Amiga games installed.
99% of them work perfectly, just tweak the button settings and you are good to go.
There’s even a way to get Workbench 3.0 running, its slightly harder (but not very much so, you could do it in 10 mins).
Games and apps work flawlessly (I would suggest using 50Hz as most games and software was written in UK).
Overall its a fun reminder of the Amiga days of yesteryear, you can even plug in a USB keyboard if you want.
Only downsides. 1. No internet on this, 2. It could do with one more USB port (1, Flash drive, 2 Mouse, 3 Joystick and that’s all the ports taken, I believe it works with powered USB hubs, but I haven’t tested it with one).
But it works well, and for the price is a bot of a bargain. I suspect they will already be working on a full sized one, like they did with the C64.
Its a solid 10/10 from me. Right, I am off to play Cannon Fodder 2.
A great product for 2-player games on THE A500 Mini. Although it would be nice to have a matching beige 2nd controller this controller is more reminiscent of the Amiga CD32 joypad of old but of sturdier construction and less like a glasses case to hold! It works well and I’m very happy with the purchase other than the cable at 1.8m needs an extender (2m works well) to play from the sofa. This is especially necessary because the USB cable plugs into the back of the console so you need some extra slack so the cable isn’t bent back on itself under pressure!
Huge Amiga fan from back in the day and still to this day. I had a 500+ then and this is just awesome – I really wish the small keyboard was actually usable but on the whole the system does a great job. Yes I know you can have a PI filled with Amiga stuff (and I do) however this is just a little self contained setup and the tank mouse! what a flashback.
I have tried a few WHDLoad games also and most work great. For what I paid (just over 100) no brainer.
Works with windows amiga emulator and Ubuntu fs_ use very pleased can now play amiga games once get use to controlle
What a blast from the past. A brilliant piece of kit. Anyone of a certain age will use with fond memories. I have forgotten how hard games used to be. I downloaded extra games to a USB. Police quest, lemmings with a mouse! Lucas arts games. If you are reading this review, buy one, you will not regret it, well your wife and family may when you are spending so long reliving your past Amiga experiences.
You can sideload more games and play them via a USB drive.
Download Lha format games from lemon amiga… go Google it. Make sure you click the link for “whd packaged” for the full game otherwise you’ll only install the start up script. You’ll be able to tell by the file size. If it’s less than 10kb then it’s not the game.
You need to install the whd side loader onto the USB drive. Go to retrogrames.biz (the full address is posted by other reviewers). Download the zip file then extract it to the USB drive. Move the a500 folder (and contenrs) it off the original folder to be its own folder on the USB (otherwise the amiga won’t open it).
Then when inserted into the amiga the USB icon appears. Open that and navigate to where you saved the Lha games. Select the gave you want THEN PRESS THE HOME BUTTON TO START IT (in capitals as I missed this step for ages wondering why the games wouldn’t load).
Perfect emulation. Lovely little replica of the Amiga. I recommend an Xbox 360 wired controller, plays Sensible soccer perfectly, the supplied controller is abysmal. Plug in a USB drive and add your own games. Fantastic piece of memorabilia.
Is also compatible with with your own .lha Amiga collection. The firmware is still evolving so expect any hiccups to be resolved in a future firmware update all and all the best out of the box way to experience the Amiga library.
This is by far the best computer mini. I’ve had the mini C64, ZX VEGA and all the mini consoles, but the Amiga A500 mini being as awkward as it is with those emulators and all its workbench Kickstarter, fiddling around getting it to work or even the buying an expensive original A1200 with a CF card.
Problem solved all your old LHR files on a flash drive work fine with a already update and I’m sure any other bus will be ironed out. A500 mini comes with a Amiga CD32 style game pad and a perfect working tank mouse for the likes of marble madness, Psygnosis Barbarian etc usb mouse can also be used on pc’s.
Great quality product and a lovely package. Adding your own games is a breeze, and there a many more settings/options compared to other mini consoles. Mouse and joypad are very good. For the price this has to be the best mini console yet.
For someone who used to adore his Amiga, this really is a great retro console.
Much smaller than the original, and just as playful. A great time to sell my original Amiga and bulky box sets.
Just fantastic!
This is super brilliant. The 25 games are excellent and the others which I have downloaded are awesome too. Just what I had hoped for. If your an Amiga geek like me then don’t hesitate to get this. Five stars with mini Amiga 500s on top.
The A500 Mini is a fantastic device. Allows you to put all your old Amiga games on a USB so you can enjoy Sensible World of Soccer and others again as they were meant to be played. Plugs right into a modern tv and works out of the box. Adding your own games is easy. Just buy it!
Well made and game play is good – worth a look !
I love it. There’s a decent selection available. What makes this a must buy for fans of the original is that you can add games from Amiga emulator sites. If you’re not sure how to do it, there’s videos on YouTube and it’s pretty straightforward. I added Lemmings, Cannon Fodder, RoboCop and Operation Stealth to name a few. It’s been a great trip down memory lane and I have loads of games I never got to play that I’m going to play now. If you had an Amiga or an Atari ST, it’s well worth it, I’m having a great time.
I had already converted an original Commodore Tank mouse to optical USB using the original button switches off the old Commodore board as nothing like this product existed at the time, and snapped up one of these mice as soon as I saw it!
Size wise The Mouse is only a little bit smaller than the Commodore one and fits nicely into your hand. The build quality is pretty good and the microswitches ( i suspect..) that are use for the buttons are nice and accurate. Overall a good buy and worth getting if you are looking to complement the many C64/Amiga cases that are available.
Llamada THEA500 Mini para sortear el espinoso tema de los derechos de Commodore y de AmigaOS, esta mini consola es una recreacin del legendario ordenador de 16 bits Commodore Amiga A500, el modelo ms vendido de toda la serie de ordenadores Amiga. Tras este producto se encuentran Retro Games, responsables tambin de THEC64 , THEC64 Mini y THEVIC20 ; y Cloanto, actuales propietarios de la propiedad intelectual de Commodore Amiga hasta 1993 y autores de la suite de emulacin Amiga Forever, por lo que el producto est respaldado por gente que sabe lo que hace.
El hardware interno de la consola es el esperado en estas mini: un modesto procesador AllWinner H6 con 512 MB de RAM, para un rendimiento similar al de una Raspberry Pi 3B+, suficiente para emular todos los ttulos del catlogo original de Amiga y sus variantes. La carcasa reproduce con mucha calidad la original, aunque por supuesto el teclado y la disquetera. Dispone de 3 puertos USB para conectar dispositivos, incluyendo memorias USB y hubs (recomendable), HDMI y un puerto USB-C de alimentacin. Soporta teclados, ratones y mandos de terceros — se pueden reasignar los controles sin dificultad dentro de la interfaz. Requiere un adaptador de corriente USB de 5 V y 1 A, que no est incluido. Tiene pequeos toques que denotan verdadero afecto por la mquina original, como que en la placa base haya grabado un nombre clave tomado de una cancin de los The B-52’s, como los Amiga originales (esta es Cosmic Thing) o que los LED imiten el funcionamiento original. Complementan los accesorios un ratn USB tipo tanque con sensor ptico y un pad al estilo de los de CD32, muy logrados ambos, ms el cable USB-C a USB de alimentacin y un HDMI; todo ello en el adecuado color beige noventero. Solo incluye gua rpida, pero el manual completo (de muy recomendada lectura) est en la web, eso s, en ingls. Tambin tienes disponibles los manuales de cada juego. La traduccin al espaol de la interfaz es nefasta, seguramente hecha automtica sin revisar.
La seleccin de juegos incluida me parece posiblemente la mejor incluida en cualquiera de las consolas mini que han salido al mercado y creo que bastante representativa de lo que era jugar en un Amiga. Al estar enfocada nicamente a videojuegos, se ha omitido el resto del espectacular –pero muy obsoleto– catlogo de software de Amiga. Las versiones incluidas son, en su mayora, las mejoradas para el chipset AGA, aunque no es el original del A500, que es un ordenador OCS. Hay mucha presencia de juegos de Team17, de The Bitmap Brothers y de Electronic Arts, echndose de menos a MicroProse, Psygnosis y a Sensible Software, que escribieron algunos de los mejores juegos de la plataforma. Se nota que donde hay problema de licencias se ha escogido un ttulo alternativo, como ATR por Micro Machines, Arcade Pool en lugar de Jimmy White’s Snooker o Qwak en vez de Bubble Bobble. Prcticamente todos los ttulos son entretenidos, destacando Another World, Battle Chess, Speedball 2 y Worms. La presentacin de la interfaz del emulador (Amiberry) es lo ms sencilla posible, con un carrusel que muestra los juegos preinstalados y no hay un retraso de entrada apreciable, ni afortunadamente juegos mal emulados, que ya ha pasado en otras minis. Se pueden ajustar las opciones de pantalla y reescalado como en todas las dems consolas Mini y los puertos en los que est conectado el ratn y el mando para configurar los juegos. Con el botn Menu del mando se lanza un teclado virtual, til para introducir nombres o trucos y el botn Home regresa a la interfaz principal: lo pulsars accidentalmente unas cuantas veces hasta que asumas que no es un botn Start
Lo bueno de esta mquina es que tienes la ventaja de que, si no te gusta el catlogo, lo puedes ampliar. El software del THEA500 permite cargar prcticamente cualquier ttulo, de cualquier generacin de Amiga, a travs de una memoria USB siempre que est en formato compatible con WHDLoad en forma de ficheros LHA. Hay que darle formato a la memoria USB en FAT32 y descargar un fichero de la web oficial, que tambin proporciona un juego extra, la versin mejorada del FPS Citadel de Virtual Design. Aqu es donde puedes necesitar trastear con las opciones del emulador, lo que requiere activar el modo experto en la configuracin. En muchos programas es necesario ajustar el modo del Blitter (coprocesador grfico del Amiga), activar o desactivar el JIT de la CPU (la CPU parece emular la del Amiga 1200) y activar o desactivar Copper. Si te dedicas a cargar tus propios programas, es muy recomendable un teclado: la mayora de juegos de Amiga necesitan uno aunque luego soporten joysticks o gamepads. Puedes conectar un hub y tener ah teclados y ratones. Para opciones avanzadas de emulacin, cada programa que cargues genera un fichero .UAE de texto con opciones de configuracin que puedes editar desde un ordenador. Si necesitas versiones adicionales de Kickstart, puedes aadirlas en el fichero boot-data.zip del USB, aunque lo ms inmediato es cargar juegos de CD32, que no requieren configuracin para el gamepad. Y en cuanto a mandos, los de Xbox 360 y PS4 funcionan correctamente por cable, con la asignacin de botones en el mismo lugar que el incluido.
Retro Games ha tenido buen inicio con el soporte de este aparatito: das despus del lanzamiento, actualizaron la base de datos WHDLoad incluida inicialmente a una versin ms moderna, junto con el binario del programa, y prometen soporte para imgenes de disco ADF en un futuro. Por s mismo, este Amiga semioficial merece la pena lo suficiente como para recomendar su compra a los entusiastas, pero Retro Games ha ido un paso ms all y, al permitir cargar programas propios, es toda una recomendacin para descubrir o rememorar la plataforma Amiga, con mando y ratn, o el clon del Competition que tambin venden. Por supuesto, hay ms formas (legales) de emular un Amiga, pero esta ofrece una experiencia muy sencilla.
I ordered one of these due to the keyboard can be used and was more in line with the original Commodore 64 that I owned whilst at school. Really pleased that I managed to purchase one of these units and am not disappointed.
Con grande interesse ho seguito gli sviluppi e l’uscita di questa controparte “mini” della mitica Amiga 500.
Finalmente dopo un paio di rinvii, ecco arrivare il pacco, consegnatomi dal servizio Amazon.
Dopo aver aperto la confezione, sono rimasto un p deluso dal packaging, abbastanza scarno e povero nella presentazione e nei contenuti. Quelle che a mio avviso, almeno a giudicare dalle foto, sarebbero dovute essere le misure della console, sono state disattese da quelle di un prodotto veramente molto contenuto come dimensioni, ma assalito dal desiderio di metterlo in funzione, soprassiedo e procedo ad aprire le varie sub scatole presenti all’interno della confezione, che sembra essere una copia di quella del Commodore 64 mini, lievemente rivisitata.
La tastiera finta… si avete capito bene, i tasti come tutto il resto, sono un solo pezzo di plastica, che non consente alcuna funzionalit o interazione, se non il fatto di avere 3 porte usb nella parte posteriore, dove inserire mouse, joypad ed eventuale pendrive per implementare il limitato e non eccellente parco titoli compreso di default nella console. Ottima l’idea di rendere il led sopra la scocca, simile all’originale, che si accendeva e spengeva in funzione dei caricamenti. Offerte alcune possibilit di configurazione delle immagini a video, che non fanno gridare al miracolo, ma sono comunque un simpatico extra mirato al custom.
Il pad di discreta fattura e come ampiamente pubblicizzato pu facilmente essere sostituito da quelli delle pi moderne console, anche se questa opzione spegne un p l’hype ed il sendo del nostro acquisto.
Incluso anche un cavo hdmi ed un power cord, assente come di sovente accade con prodotti analoghi il charger, ma sicuramente ne avrete millemila dentro casa, o addirittura potreste collegarlo ad una porta usb della vostra tv. una volta acceso il dispositivo, configurarlo secondo i nostri gusti cosa facile ed intuitiva, non che le opzioni siano poi cos tante, ma accontentiamoci ancora una volta.
Come anticipato i titoli inclusi di default nel sistema non sono il massimo, anche se questo ovviamente lasciato ai nostri gusti personali. Per fortuna formattando una pendrive in fat 32 ed inserendo all’interno 2 cartelle, una riservata al software per il caricamento dei giochi extra da dispositivo usb ed una per inserire gli stessi all’interno, si pu fruire di tutto il parco titoli della mitica Amiga 500. I file devono essere in un formato particolare, infatti non verranno (stranamente) riconosciuti i file .adf. Dopo qualche tentativo , finalmente si ha un dispositivo con cui perdersi in tanti ricordi e rivivere quel sapore retro, riscoprendo come solo 2 tasti sul controller possono ancora donare molta soddisfazione ed appagamento.
Di sicuro vari aspetti faranno storcere il naso, piccoli accorgimenti avrebbero reso il prodotto molto pi interessante, ma le spietate regole di mercato che impongono una spesa minima a fronte di un ampio margine di rientro, hanno tarpato le ali a quella che sarebbe potuta essere una console meravigliosa. Mi auguro che come accaduto con le controparti precedenti, venga considerata l’idea di rilasciare sul mercato una console con dimensioni maggiori e con una tastiera degna di questo nome. In fine, nonostante quelli che potrebbero essere tutti i punti a sfavore del dispositivo, sono soddisfatto della mia scelta e ne consiglio l’acquisto, anche perch ho il forte sospetto che a breve oltre ad essere non pi reperibile, il costo salir di molto.
Spero questa mia descrizione possa essere utile a coloro che si trovano in dubbio sul probabile acquisto.
It what you would expect from the product. Perfect! But the shipping gave me some extras… This is not what to expect when you’re buying a collector’s item. The same thing happened with the C64 Mini.
Thank you fast shipping verry happy here with the vic20 back to the 80’s
Love the product. Bought it as a gift for my dad & he loved it. So much nostalgia. Works really well. Package contains an adapter for connecting to the TV screen which I was pleased with as I did not expect this to be included. 10/10 from us. Dad would give 64 stars if he could! 🙂
Takes you back to the 80s, now with all mod cons you can do so much more. Super fast delivery as always.
I held off for nearly two years buying this, partly because I wasn’t sure how much I’d use it, and partly because it seemed expensive. Took the plunge at the start if 2021. The quality is superb, looks amazing, great quality keys and case, and works great. Easy to add extra games via USB stick, easy to load them, all the games I have tried have worked, easy to progam in BASIC like you did back in the day, if you did. Easy to connect to a modern TV or monitor via HDMI and a better picture than you ever got on an original C64. No worries about ancient hardware or aging power supplies that can blow stuff up. Microswitched joystick is great, and I bought a second one for 2 player games. If you were a fan of the original C64 and want to enjoy that experience again, this is for you.
picked this up for my nephews to play so retro games with, while they don’t like it, its still a good joystick the movement is clunky but solid, button placement is awefull but true to the original desig
Seems like a good deal to me and it even comes with a joystick.
he reasons why not first.
Well first off I thought all these Retro machines were just a mini arcade box.
I thought the games would be dated.
I thought no one would use or dev the games.
I found the new full sized THEC64 for sale on amazon, and I found myself researching it, most emulators never recreated a retro consoles without perfect keyboard and joystick and executables. the c64 mini was just a box with lets face it dated games.
——————————————–
the reasons for it as I found them
I bought THEC64 first because I saw they run the thousands of games you can download and put on a FAT32 USB stick, and the Price was equivalent to the original C64.
then the quality when I opened the box , gave me goose-bumps like my first one in the 80s, it was made with love I can tell you
Next it acts just like the original hardware, the system uses the same software as the original, you can fire up basic and use it just like the original, but on any TV with HDMI,
so its now NOT restricted to tape drives and old TV monitors, but still keeps the C64 working like the original
NOW CAME FOR ME THE crunch, you can distribute your C64 games you write on itch.io. now this interested me, so I looked at a book called ‘RetroGameDev C64 Edition Volume 1’ and found it advertised a free IDE environment called ‘CMB rpg studio’ and the VICE emulator, so I could trust the tools, and downloaded them as they were recomended and had awards from the book.
the IDE also have designers for the graphics, and exported straight to your game. this interested me because in the 80s game art was simple and you did not have to be an artest, just a programer.
then I thought the joystick would be expensive but it was not it was 17.
The THEC64 console is a brilliant recreation of the original and I feel there is an outlet for my work on itch.io and I swear I feel like I’m back in the 80s roots, the programing was just as rewarding as it was back then, you can do an ASM dump and export the code in Hex and then feed it in as data into a basic program. the free IDE is great! quick! and proffessional!
it above all is fun and a great side line to our hobby, I would recomend anyone from the 80s to get one, the young guys wont feel the buzz like us, it just feels like opening the box of my first computer, thec64 team must of been c64 devs back in the day, because they did it well.
Such a good trip down memory lane, an excellent recreation with full functionality
Never owned a Commodore 64 back in the day I had an Acorn Electron Great to be able to finally experience this computer thanks to the C64 Maxi As a keen retro gamer, it’s awesome to play old school computer games A must have for any retro game collector The full sized working keyboard on the Maxi gives it the look and feel of a real computer, as opposed to just another emulation device
This machine is impressive! I have several real C64S, but, the fact they are aging conserns me, parts are hard to find, and i’d rather keep them in perfect condition or as close to anyway! While i cannot connect real C64 devices to this? It doesn’t matter all that much. If i really need the real thing? I’ve got it, i just choose to use the original somewhat sparingly. I. Have lots of games, so don’t play any of the built in ones. The fact it comes with games built in, is a bonus
Just the same as the one that comes with ‘The C64’. I got the clear one just to be distinct and to use on a Raspberry Pi 2 that I have running BMC64 inside a Vic20 case and keyboard.
The joystick is best suited to use on emulation of 8bit computers on PC or Raspberry Pi. Each button can be remapped to different functions on an emulator. I wouldn’t use it for playing any modern games requiring 2 analogue and digital pad and 8 buttons. Totally retro only, wouldn’t be much use playing Fortnite or even some console games such as nes or sms.
I have tried a few of theC64’s own branded joysticks, but by far this joystick has been the most comfortable joystick of them all.
I bought this as a present for my husband. He grew up playing games on original C64 and he’s absolutely loves this new one.
Not bad, the main buttons can stick occasionally but the stick is very good. I’m sure I’m committing some kind of heresy by using this to play Amiga games on my retropie but it does the job well.
I got this to add to my retro collection. I have an original Commodore 64 and an original VIC-20 but the screen display and speed of loading is unsurpassed. Its really nice to play games of yesteryear with such speed of loading and clarity we could only dream of. A Perfect addition to my collection.
I love it reminds me of the Olden says plugs straight into the USB port on my Android box
That’s what I like to hear. The Sound of a Good joystick Love It.
Really nice retro item exactly how I remember them being when I was like 10 grea
If you love retro gaming with your C64 or C64 mini you need to get this controller. Zero point using the original once you have this.
However, it’s worth knowing you need to make sure you’ve updated the BIOS on your C64C64 Mini as it’s unlikely to work….and you will want to avoid the total meltdown I had when I first plugged it in!
It’s crazy simple to do, the people at https://retrogames.biz/ rock and the guide is simple to use.
Why are you still reading…. buy it already! 🙂
Nostalgia right here! Had this back in the early 90’s on my Commodore 64. Will go great with my Mini C64 and the Breadbin remake.
Nice to be able to see inside and the microswitches in all their glory.
Excellent product ! Takes me back to my youth and many hours waiting for the program to load from tape. No such issues with this. Full sized keyboard usb and hdmi ports to connect the latest equipment. Comes loaded with many of the classic games that I played as a youth. Also this version comes with basic and the familiar commodore basic blue screen. Joystick is also retro and works well
I’d wanted to try the C64 for ages but didn’t want to get into the whole retro hardware noise. This is a great halfway point, giving you the opportunity to try the games and basic programing in one very collectable package. Looks great on your shelf or plugged into your TV for some super SID action.
Love it 10/10
C64 easy to update and add games need PC and USB Stick
I Used TheC64 Maxi game tool v1.01 software C64 games are easy to found on Google. c64 keyboard vary useful and feels great. joystick great can be use joystick on pc 8 button config. Tested C64 on 48″ Full Hd screen see picture great picture this a must for any c64 fan.
Was not sure about purchasing this but am glad that I did. My original Commodore 64 can rest a while whilst i can take advantage of the HDMI and USB ports of this great little machine. Everything I have loaded onto the USB stick has run fine. The only thing I have had to do, for a few games, is put _J1 into the filename in order to get the joystick going. TheC64 defaults to port 2. I think this is a great piece of kit and the people behind it have done a great job. Very good value for money. Recommended.
Great joystick for the c64 maxi – controls pixels well.
Retro Games LTD Never disappoint.
Another Top Quality release. Although this is in fact a Limited Edition “TheC64” in the guise of a Vic20 it is indeed a version in its own right with a custom carousel containing its own collection of added vic Games.
Cannot wait to purchase their next product !!
Great precision! Best USB Joystick!!
Great performance!
Great gameplay!
Thank you, Retro Games!
Thank you, Amazon!
Love the classic mode.. USB drive has a good 1541 command emulator. User documentation
Is very thin. New users will need to buy the manual. Overall good value for money
no need to hesitate.
My brother bought me this for my birthday and I’m thrilled! My dad gave me his C64 when I was a kid in the 90s and I was absolutely obsessed with it. I learnt BASIC and I played games like Humphrey, Mayhem and Punchy on it (loaded via tape)
When I was about 11 the c64 went “Pop” and it was decided that I would get a Pentium III to replace it.
I never really gave it much thought since.
Until now.
I’m not sure the keyboard is ‘quite’ right but it certainly looks the part. I ordered a USB stick off eBay that advertised “every c64 game ever” and I’m exploring a new game every day. It’s great. Buy it!!!!!
Whoever decided to resurrect this machine is a genius. Add to it a brilliant new joystick, and treat yourself to a True Blue Mini C64 stick with 480 games on it and enter retro gaming heaven.
After reading online reviews for this machine, I finally took the plunge and bought it as a Xmas present. BTW it arrived quickly – thank you Amazon! What can I say? In a word..amazing! The C64 Maxi is like a dream come true. It truly captures the essence of the 64 and feels and plays like the real C64. Emulation is near perfect and the available options are incredible. It even allows you to play your own games from a USB drive – brilliant! If you ever owned a 64 and miss those glory days, buy the C64 Maxi. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Since it’s USB, the first thing I did with it was try it on OpenEmu running on Mac OS, and it worked 100% perfectly. Assign the four fire buttons to A, B, X, Y and they work individually. The four buttons for navigating TheC64 can be assigned to left/right shoulder, start and select – it was completely hassle-free. Since that all worked I got the clear one for two-player C64 games and for use on emulators on PC, RetroPi and the aforementioned Mac (OpenEmu is really impressive), and I’ve found it completely trouble-free on all platforms.
There’s nothing to complain about here at all, though I miss the suction cups of the original joysticks and might see if they can be added. Fit and finish is good and it’s a close recreation of the original; all that’s missing is the rapid-fire switch, but the depth of the joystick body is taller and chunkier – see my pictures for a comparison. It’s the same size as the C64 DTV joystick from a few years ago, but that was a whole console in a joystick. It also has some extra weights in the base.
There’s enough room in the shell for mods – so you could add lights, or perhaps a switch-only passthrough to an old Atari joystick, for example…
In terms of appeal this really is a no-brainer for retro gaming. The goal is to get an accurate working microswitched joystick, and this costs about the same as a USB to DB9 (Atari) style convertor but is a complete, working, fully implemented solution. Because it’s linking to microswitches inside, you could even use the boards inside the joystick as a basis for converting your existing favourite microswitched type,. and enjoy the well-implemented USB device support that doesn’t need any daft drivers.
Buy it. Even if you don’t have a recreation C64, buy it. It identifies properly in Windows, it just-works in Mac, and it’s supported in RetroPie; I haven’t tried EVERY option but as it works so well with what I have tried there’s not much left to go. The clear version looks great – if they made a green and chrome one like my original Competition Pro I’d have it like a (Quick)shot.
I’m very happy with this Joystick. It has the most realistic feeling of the old good joysticks used on the home computers of the 80/90’s. I highly recommend it. It not only works with theC64 and theC64mini but also with other emulators and all operating systems.
64 game graphics are better than I remember, and the music on the games – absolutely great. Impossible Mission and so on. Lots and lots of fun. very happy with this purchase.
The unit is of high quality construction including the joystick, and the 64 looks identical to the original, but none of the hassle of loading off tape. Now it’s all off the internal SD card. Great value, excellent quality, lots of fun!
Loved the microswitch joystick aspect of it and it’s responsiveness. A great buy!
Good nostalgic fun, but with ease of instant loading of games.
Good solid joystick for The C64. Clicky microswitches and feels better than the original sticks released for the micro.
I am giving it 4 out of 5 Stars for the box being damaged when it arrived. Other than that it is a great addition to the The C64 family of consoles. The game selection leans more towards Vic-20 this time around which is great. The only downside is that there isn’t many more well known titles included. Leans more towards the indy releases.
Preorder arrived a day early.
Can easily load your own Downloaded games from a thumb drive.
If it’s the VIC20 rather than the Commodore64 that you remember as a kid then this works nostalgia wise.
Not sure about the joystick colour but intended to get a separate CompetitionPro anyways.
Retro box branding looks great too.
This is just great fun and a fantastic nostalgia trip.
It worked flawlessly for me, right out of the box.
I’d forgotten how much effort a microswitch joystick was, and how difficult some of the games were. All in all, just fantastic fun.
I love, love, love this! Well done Retro Games! I can’t find words to express how happy I am to have a C64 again! Thank you! : )
Everything’s just perfect.
Really REALLY hope the amiga gets the same treatment:)
A journey back to the past!!!
Very well made replica easy to setup and use. Kudos to the developers!
Overall very good . I’m glad I bought the full size keyboard. The user guide is very basic. The original Commodore 64 can with a programming guide with some type in code, and it would have been nice if this had been included, as this was part of fun of computing in the 80s.
As described and this micro switch version is more robust and better than the one that comes with the C64 Mini
Dislike: Unit came in a box and looked like new however it has a black scuff mark on the front and small scratch on a plastic case where the inside hinges are. It was either a used unit opened and repaired or those cosmetic issues happened on a production line.
Overall I’m very happy with the purchase however due to above faults taking away one star.
This product is amazing for C64 fans and the keyboard feels amazing. I like the fact that you can put your own games on here which I plan to do in the upcoming week. The only things which are kind of a downside is that there isn’t any option for AV output which is kind of a shame because the Commodore 64 looks awesome on a CRT, and the other thing is the joystick’s range of movement seems a bit small and the button placement is kinda awkward. Nevertheless this is a great remake of the Commodore 64 and I’d love to see more things like it (preferably a Commodore 128 Maxi).
Super-easy to set up and no datasette loading times – every game loaded in seconds. The quality of the joystick is awesome – just the feel of using it took me back. Loved it. Great product.
This is a great representation of the original hardware. Easy to add your own games and a lot less hassle than loading tapes (I also have the real thing) The joystick isn’t the best but it does the job well enough. If you just want to play games and don’t want to risk the cost of an original machine failing at any time then its well worth the money. Vic 20 mode is a bonus.
Talk about bringing back old memories! The C64 is fantastic, especially with a fully working keyboard, super simple to set up and get running and with a pretty good selection of games, well worth the money if you fancy some retro gaming
Works great, the keyboard makes a huge difference and makes the product feel more authentic to the original…
I can only give this product top marks
Just the same as the original joystick so if you have both plugged in it saves the hassle with the swapping of ports.
Works well with the C64 mini. Once upgraded to the new firmware.
Excellent for certain games.
This brings back so many child good memories and works amazingly
Excellent piece of kit and with the addition of a SD card the number of games is limitless. Anyone interested in retro computers, this is a must buy.
He was so happy to get this on Christmas Day. Works fine and no issues
My husband loved this gift, arrived on time, in perfect condition, we spent fun and a little nostalgic evenings.
Our child appreciates it very much, it is customizable and all three of us enjoyed playing the game of bowling.
Highly recommended for those looking for a product that is not only aesthetically beautiful but also functional.
8 stars, but the voting system reaches a maximum of 5.
🙂
A happier 2020 at all! ^ _ ^
If you liked the original Commodore 64, you’ll be happy with this version. The 8 bit guy does a good review on you tube, which is worth a watch. My 11 year old son loves coding on it but he finds the joystick a little stiff at the moment.
Very nice piece of retro computer heaven. I love it.
I pre-ordered two of these in the one transaction to go with The C64 and have a few multiplayer games with the lads. I had to wait a few months before they were released and the excitement was building. Finally, both arrived at the same time in two separate vastly oversized boxes. At least 3 of these joysticks, perhaps 4, could have fitted in one box but for Amazon to send them in them fashion they did is taking the Michael. Can’t fault the joysticks though, they are fantastic and worth every penny.
I didn’t buy this cause I thought it was a real C64, I new it was an emulator with games included and that I could add more games. I love it, it looks so much like the original and works surprisingly well.
Sound and game play are spot on and it’s so easy to use.
Plugs straight in the HDMI port at 720 P no need for 1080, as blocky graphics are blocky at any resolution. I never had an 64 but had the similar Atari 800, which had many of the same games, the C64 had better support so I can now look at games the Atari missed out on.
My most played Atari game Goonies was easy to add and play just the same.
Like having a real C64 without the issues and worries of the old hardware.
I got my ‘The C64’ from Game on launch day. Right from the start you can tell this is a quality product. The box is actually very similar to the original Commodore 64 when it was released in 1982! The machine is extremely well built and doesn’t feel cheap. The keyboard isn’t quite the same as the original, more like a high quality PC keyboard. The connectivity is excellent, with four USB ports and a micro USB for power.
The built in games are okay, with some classics, but the real beauty is the ability to play your own via ROM images on a Flash drive. You can play disk, tape and cartridge ROMs. Most disk ROMS will only work with True Drive Emulation, but this can be fixed by making CJM files. The excellent on-line manual on the website explains all of this in great detail. Highly recommended retro replica computer.
Nothing to dislike, loved it took me right back. Instantly got a .D64 file of a game I played on it a lot; Paperboy. Even done some programming on it.
Fantastic product. I really like the way I can download more games etc from my pc to update the C64. It was great in the 80’s and still is now.
Much better than the mini with tighter emulation. The terrible audio lag of the mini is gone and for those who like basic, having a proper 64 keyboard with all the correct keys and symbols is fantastic. My only wish for this was that it could have had original joystick ports as well rather than just USB. Plenty of room inside for mods though, so could be an option for aftermarket stuff.
10/10 from me