The Commodore Amiga A500 Mini is in development and scheduled to release on March 31, 2022.
The unit is published by Retro Games Ltd and distributed by Koch Media. The compact system will come with 25 games built in. The Amiga A500 Mini features emulation of the original A500 chipset, as well as the Advanced Graphics Architecture of the A1200. This will allow you to smoothly run games from the 500, 600 and 1200 eras of the Amiga.
In addition, the A500 Mini comes packaged with both the classic 2-button mouse and an all new 8-button precision gamepad. The Amiga A500 Mini also comes with full functionality to attach a standard USB PC keyboard.
Of the 25 packaged games that come with the Amiga A500 Mini, 12 have been officially confirmed. These games include Alien Breed 3D, Simon The Sorcerer and Cadaver. To see the complete list of announced games, click here.
Retro Games Ltd’s previous work
Previously, Retro Games Ltd and Koch Media collaborated on the production of the Commodore 64 Mini. The C64 Mini released on October 9, 2018. This retro system came with 64 games and a Joystick.
The C64 Mini had its share of flaws, however, as described by Daniel Cooper on engadget.com. One of the major issues he noted was the keyboard. Cooper states that the packaged keyboard that comes with the C64 Mini is small and unusable. Unfortunately, it appears as though the A500 Mini will share this problem.
Another flaw with the C64 Mini, according to Cooper, is the stiffness of the joystick. He explains that it was quite difficult to use and made it nearly impossible to get his character to accurately move in the right direction. Hopefully, Retro Games Ltd learned from this with the controllers that will be provided with the A500 Mini.
A major selling point of the C64 Mini was the ability to sideload your own games. This feature will be continued with the A500 Mini. Because the A500 Mini will contain significantly less titles pre-loaded than its predecessor, this feature will prove to be even more important.
Where can I pre-order the Amiga A500 Mini?
The Amiga A500 Mini is available for pre-order from a variety of retailers including Amazon and GameStop. As of now, however, it is only available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Mega Visions will keep you updated once information on how to pre-order it in the United States is available.
Via Eurogamer
