As you should know by now, Commodore has been revived, with a team assembled by retro YouTuber Christian Simpson recently signing papers to buy various trademarks.
There is news from Commodore this weekend, as the third installment of “Let’s buy Commodore” hits YouTube. In the 37-minute video, Christian “Perifractic” Simpson guides us through the process of “getting the gang together” and finally signing the papers to make him the CEO of Commodore.
Apparently this all came about because a viral review video for a new Commodore 64 model put his team on the radar of the previous brand owner, leading to the acquisition. He states, “The review video went viral, got over a million views, and this really put us on the radar of the then brand owner.”
You can watch it here:
$2 million in sales
Incredibly, the new Commodore has already generated a huge turnover in such a short space of time. While the acquisition was funded by angel investors, the pre-orders for the Commodore 64 Ultimate also helped. “It was particularly the sales of that special gold Founders Edition that really pushed us over the edge,” the video tells us.
Consequently, within just one week of the product launch, Commodore had turned over $2 million. Now, it’s important to note that figure is not profit, as it is required for manufacturing and other overheads, But it gives the company working capital, and Christian Simpson is very aware of the risks of this going wrong: “… the one thing I keep saying to people is my main job is to make sure this is not another bankrupt Commodore.”
What about a new Amiga?
The video also addresses the Amiga. While there are several Amiga replicas already available, and the upcoming THEA1200, a lot of people seem to want something that looks like an A500 or 1200 that runs games off disk, perhaps with a USB drive and SSD, much like the C64 Ultimate.
Follow Gaming Retro on Google News to get the latest retro gaming news in your feed.
Acknowledging the demand, Christian Simpson says, “If […] you just want an Amiga, as precisely 1 million of you have told me, well, if I could snap my fingers and just make it so, I would.” He confirms in the video that he has had “some positive meetings about it” but adds “the ball is now firmly in others’ courts, and they know my cartridge port is always open.”
What happens next probably depends on the C64U, but the new Commodore certainly doesn’t seem to be short of ideas or talented personnel. Simpson concludes with his typical understated drama. “We’ll do this for everybody who grew up with a Commodore Amiga C64 that brought a bit of magic into their lives. I think what the world needs right now is a bit of magic.”
Who can argue with that?
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
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.