Retro Games — the company responsible for the TheC64 Commodore 64 Mini console — is at it again with its new THEA500 Amiga mini console. More specifically, the upcoming Retro Games THEA500 Mini is essentially “a fully licensed re-imagining of the much-loved 16-bit home computer,” featuring 25 classic Amiga games alongside the ability for users to “side-load” games via a USB stick. Head below for a closer look, more details, and the launch window.
New THEA500 Amiga mini console
The upcoming THEA500 Amiga mini console “is a homage to the 1980s heyday of 16-bit personal computing” heavily inspired by the 1987 release of the Amiga 500. That machine featured a 16/32-bit CPU, 512Kb of RAM and a series of — at the time — high-end custom chips for creating “best-in-class sound and video.”
Continuing the popular line of timeless classic consoles being given a new lease of life, today Retro Games announces the creation of THEA500® Mini, a fully licensed reimagining of the much-loved 16-bit home computer starring a plethora of classic Amiga games.
Retro Games has tapped into these sensibilities to create its nostalgic new THEA500 Amiga mini console. The brand says it not only features “the perfect emulation of the original A500 (OCS) and Enhanced Chip Set (ECS) of future revisions, “ but also the “Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA)” found in the A1200.
While only 12 of the included 25 games have been unveiled this far, the lineup is shaking up to be a good one. Alongside titles like Worms: The Director’s Cut, The Chaos Engine, and Another World, you’ll also find Simon The Sorcerer, Alien Breed 3D, ATR: All Terrain Racing, Battle Chess, Cadaver, Kick Off 2, Pinball Dreams, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, and Zool: Ninja Of The ‘’Nth’’ Dimension.
According to Retro, you’ll also be able to “side-load your own games via USB stick with full WHDLoad support and an array of options to choose from. “ There doesn’t appear to be much detail just yet on this front, but things are looking good for future expansion potential for gamers interested in filling out the library here.
The THEA500 Amiga mini console ships with an “original style 2-button mouse” as well as an all-new 8-button precision gamepad that “complement the on-screen keyboard” and “you can plug in an external standard PC keyboard for additional functionality.”
Retro Games says the THEA500 Amiga mini console is set for release in “early 2022” with a suggested retail price of $139.99. Pre-order doesn’t appear to be available stateside just yet.
9to5Toys’ Take:
Reports suggest the Amiga licenses have been in legal turmoil for years, but it looks like Retro Games has got just enough going for it to pull off this new Amiga-inspired mini console launch. These particular games and the platform they launched on don’t carry much nostalgia for me personally. But retro remakes have been super popular over the last few years, and while this one is certainly more niche than, say, Nintendo’s, it is nice to see it return from the grave (as much as it could, all things considered).
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