Amiga 500 Mini drops a release date and amazing game library
It’s become a bit of a hip thing to turn your retro gaming systems into bitesize, adorable miniature versions, hasn’t it? Ever since Nintendo blew the lid off that untapped market with the famously difficult-to-get-hold-of NES Classic, it seems every studio under the digital sun has trotted out their own pocketable slice of nostalgia. SEGA, Sony, Konami – they’re all at it.
Sure, almost every single game included with these gadgets are easily (and more conveniently) accessible elsewhere, but apparently the novelty of carting them around in a tiny, Instagrammable box warrants a re-purchase of consoles many gamers already own. Marketing genius, I have to hand it to them. Maybe for our next magazine issue, we should print the whole thing in barely legible size 5 font. Clearly it’s an infallible recipe for success.
A little background
Another example of this bizarre trend to be announced recently is the Amiga 500 Mini, a pintsized rendition of the classic Commodore computer of the same name. Belonging to the same category of machines as the well-remembered Commodore 64, the A500 was known for its improved computing power for the time, which enabled it to run proper video games. The folks behind the Mini (Retro Games, Ltd.) are certainly banking on consumers having nostalgia for the thing, as they’re delivering a selection of 25 games from back in its day, all wrapped up in a compact package with an authentic-looking retro keyboard n’ mouse.
As Eurogamer reports, we now have an official release date for the A500 Mini: March 25, 2022. That may seem a little ways off, but let’s face it – if you’ve been waiting for something like this then you’ve been doing so for over two decades by now. You can stand to wait a little longer.
The Amiga 500 game library
In the same report, we’ve also received a comprehensive breakdown of all 25 Amiga games you’ll be getting for your one-hundred-and-forty hard earned US dollars. They are as follows:
- Alien Breed 3D
- Alien Breed: Special Edition ’92
- Another World
- Arcade Pool
- ATR: All Terrain Racing
- Battle Chess
- Cadaver
- California Games
- The Chaos Engine
- Dragons Breath
- F-16 Combat Pilot
- Kick Off 2
- The Lost Patrol
- Paradroid 90
- Pinball Dreams
- Project-X: Special Edition ’93
- Qwak
- The Sentinel
- Simon the Sorcerer
- Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
- Stunt Car Racer
- Super Cars II
- Titus the Fox
- Worms: The Director’s Cut
- Zool
“The A500 Mini comes with both a mouse and gamepad – both of which are also available separately – as well as support for plugging in a standard keyboard over USB, save and resume functionality, 50Hz and 60Hz screen refresh options, a CRT filter and various scaling options,” details the report. That’s already far more bells and whistles than a pre-2000s home computer could ever hope to have, so maybe this won’t be a total miss after all.
Which of the listed games would you be most excited to try out? Me, I’d fancy a few rounds of Worms. Can’t beat it for keeping your blood pressure in check.
Any fond memories of the A500? Will you be buying the Mini? Let us know!
Via, Eurogamer.
