Some retro revivals are little more than a logo slapped on an uninspired plastic box. The Commodore 64C Ultimate is different. Commodore has brought back the Commodore 64C in a slimline shell pressed from the actual injection molds recovered from 1986, flow marks and all. If you want authenticity, it is hard to get more authentic than the exact same tooling that stamped out the originals.

Under the familiar beige (or translucent, or gold-plated, depending on how fancy you feel and how deep your pockets run) exterior sits modern FPGA hardware that reproduces the C64 cycle by cycle, with Commodore claiming up to 99 percent compatibility. That means thousands of classic games, cartridges, demos, and other applications from the mid-80s through the early 90s should run the way you remember them. Now though, the machine also boasts a few modern updates including HDMI output, USB, Wi-Fi, a turbo mode, extra RAM, multiple SID sound chips, and the GEOS suite. Retro gaming purists can still hook it up to a CRT for that familiar warm, fuzzy glow, while everyone else can plug it into our modern televisions without sorting through our adapter graveyard. We all have one.

The Commodore 64C Ultimate comes in three visual flavors. The “Basic” beige version starts at $299.99 for a classic look. The Starlight Edition runs $349.99, with a translucent case and game-reactive LED lighting across the case and keyboard, for those non-epileptic types who like their nostalgia with a light show. The Founder’s Edition costs $499.99 and provides a lot more bling and bonuses for the die-hard collector: a gently translucent white case, PVD gold keycaps, real 24k gold-plated Commodore and Power badges, plus a memorabilia bundle with a commemorative share certificate, an official Commodore flag, and gold-plated dog tags. If I ever run into any of you actually wearing those dog tags, I’ll buy you a coke. Word = bond.

The preordered units from earlier this year have already been shipped and are arriving at doorsteps as we speak, but you can still order your own on the Commodore website now. If you hurry, maybe it will ship before Christmas, making this either one of the greatest gifts you will ever give the retro gaming fan in your life or the most expensive way to finally beat that game you never finished in 1987.

READY.

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