Retro mini Amiga 500 launches in early 2022

08/10/2021

The latest throwback mini console is an homage to a home computer — the Commodore Amiga 500, reborn as The A500 Mini from Retro Games Ltd, the same company behind 2018’s C64 Mini. The collector’s item/conversation piece will cost $139.99 when it goes on sale in early 2022, the 35th anniversary of the PC’s launch.

Classic gaming fans will find 25 Amiga staples in the A500’s onboard library of games — among them Interplay’s 1991 hit Another World, the 1993 point-and-click adventure Simon the Sorcerer, steampunk run-and-gunner The Chaos Engine (which was later ported to home consoles of the day), and Team 17’s 1995 hit Worms (as Worms: The Director’s Cut), which launched a franchise of almost two dozen sequels and spinoffs.

Players can also sideload their own games with a USB stick, as they did with the C64 Mini. A news release from Koch Media (Retro Games’ parent) said The A500 Mini will have full WHDLoad support, as well as a game-save feature “to help you finish those punishingly difficult classics.”

Photo: Retro Games Ltd.

Image Retro Games Ltd.

The A500 Mini comes with a USB mouse modeled on the original one the computer used, and a modern-style, eight-button gamepad. Both controllers are wired with a 6-foot USB connection. The A500 Mini has an HDMI cable and port and a USB-A to USB-C power cable as well.

The unit has options for 50 Hz or 60 Hz screen refreshes, a CRT filter, and multiple scaling options. Wednesday’s announcement said the A500 Mini “features the perfect emulation of not only the original A500 (OCS) and Enhanced Chip Set (ECS) of future revisions, but also the Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA) of the A1200.”

Commodore’s Amiga 500 launched in October 1987 in the United Kingdom and North America, and was joined by the Amiga 1500, 2000, and 2500. It carried the same chipset of its predecessor, the Amiga 1000, which gave it state-of-the-art graphics and sound capabilities that deepened its appeal as a gaming PC.

In addition to the four games mentioned above, The A500 Mini will also include 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, with more titles to be announced later. The A500 Mini will have a total of 25 games on board at launch. A gallery of screenshots from the original games is below: