Commodore’s Amiga 500 Is the Latest Classic Console to Get the Mini Treatment

The Amiga 500 is a legendary machine, and it has recently been resurrected with the announcement of a miniature version that is smaller than the original. But a new Kickstarter campaign for the Amiga 500 Mini aims to resurrect the Amiga 500 with a look that feels authentic to the original.

When the A500 was released in 1989, it was the successor to the highly successful Amiga 500, and was a product of the Amiga’s aggressive business strategy. Amiga 500 was an effort to commercialize the Amiga 1000, and to appeal to consumers who were disappointed that it was not available in the US. The Amiga 500 sold to the same markets, but the Amiga 1000 was a very different beast, a fully-featured PC-like computer with a keyboard.

It’s no surprise that Commodore and Atari are bringing back their classic consoles. The nostalgic gaming community is growing by the day, and new consoles are being released almost daily. It’s great to see the classic Amiga 500 make its return, and the latest model is no disappointment!

Retro Video Games

Following Nintendo’s success in miniaturizing its vintage NES and SNES systems, a slew of other businesses have jumped on the mini-console bandwagon.

Retro Games is the latest to join the trend, announcing today that it has created a miniature replica of one of Commodore’s most iconic systems, the Amiga 500. The first version of this console was launched in 1987.

Retro Games’ newest tiny system, appropriately named the “A500 Mini,” promises to be an accurate reproduction of the original, down to the keyboard and CPU casing. A 2-button mouse, similar to the original, as well as a freshly designed 8-button precision gamepad are included with the tiny console.

Users of the A500 Mini may anticipate a library of 25 games, including classics such as 3D Alien Breed, Worms, and Zool: Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension. The complete game selection will be revealed at a later date, however users will be able to load their own games from a USB stick using WHDLoad support.

Retro Games’ A500 Mini will be available in early 2022 for $139.99 at recommended retail.

Commodore’s Amiga 500 was announced at CES in January 1987 and launched in the Netherlands only a few months later in April 1987. It ran the AmigaOS and used a Motorola 68000 CPU with speeds up to 7.16 MHz. It also came with 512 or 1,024 KB of RAM.

Features of the Amiga 500 Mini

Emulates A500, A600 & A1200 (ECS/OCS/AGA)
Save & resume your progress at any time
Add your own games to the mix.
720p HD display @ 50 Hz (Europe) or 60 Hz (North America) (USA)
CRT filter and several scaling options
Support for virtual keyboards and USB keyboards
Firmware upgradeable

Mini-Games for the Amiga 500

Alien Breed 3D
A Different World
ATR stands for All Terrain Racing.
Chess battles
Cadaver
2nd Kick-Off
Dreams of Pinball
Simon the Sorcerer is a character in the game Simon the Sorcerer
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe is a sequel to the popular game Speedball.
The Chaos Engine is a computer program that generates random numbers
The Director’s Cut of Worms
Ninja of the “Nth” Dimension, Zool

Retro Video Games

The THEA500 Mini, developed by Retro Games Ltd. and published by Koch Media, offers flawless emulation of not just the original A500 (OCS) and subsequent upgrades’ Enhanced Chip Set (ECS), but also the A1200’s Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA).

The THEA500 Mini comes with a 2-button mouse in the classic form and a newly developed 8-button precision gamepad, so you may select your preferred control technique. You may use an external conventional PC keyboard to supplement the on-screen keyboard and offer more functionality.

Retro Games is the source of this information.

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