Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
YouTuber Christian “Perifractic” Simpson has been busy at work since we last saw him, overseeing the first batch of C64 Ultimate computers.
One of the most interesting aspects of the revived Commodore is how quickly they got off the ground with a new device. While the Ultimate 64 already existed, @weareCommodore has nevertheless been able to leverage its FPGA-powered C64-ness as a flagship to herald its new era of digital detox. It might not be an original 8-bit Commodore 64, but at the very least, it has a working keyboard, can output in HDMI, and is more of a C64 than THEC64 or THEC64 mini.
But look, whatever you think about all of this, let’s just take a moment to appreciate that fact that A NEW COMMODORE 64 IS IN MASS PRODUCTION!
Perifractic inspects the C64 Ultimate boards
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Hot off the factory: The first run of the Commodore 64 Ultimate motherboards is being carefully inspected by CEO Peri Fractic and the Commodore team. One of these beauties could be yours if you’ve secured one over at http://commodore.net
Commodore’s CEO Peri Fractic is off to the factory in order to oversee the production line of the Commodore 64 Ultimate. Expect a lot of pictures, videos and updates in the coming days. There is still time to secure one of the first batches over at http://commodore.net
The Official Commodore social accounts have also shared some prototype images of the upcoming C64 in its three case styles:
As you can see, the computer is a large motherboard with a small grey square — the device that holds the FPGA core — and various internal ports and connectors. On the right, you can see the 9-pin joystick ports, near the FPGA board you can see the datasette port and I think the disk drive connector. Various pins are also arranged — and on the left of the case, a collection of USB and HDMI ports.
Meanwhile, at the font, a standard USB port, a USB-C connector, and a microSD slot.
All in all, a Commodore 64 for the 2020s. So, what should you do with this information?
Well, in your shoes, I’d be heading to www.commodore.net. At this stage, we don’t know how long production is going to last on these devices. It could be a situation where several build runs are made, or there could be years between them, as with the Spectrum NEXT. If you don’t want to risk missing out, you need to place your order today.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
