COMMODORE 64: THE FOUR HORSEMEN
ORIGINAL, MINI, MAXI AND ULTIMATE — WHICH ONE WINS?
My mother threw away the Commodore 64. She threw it away. Without warning, without asking, without the slightest hint of remorse. One day it was there, in its usual spot, with its games, its tapes, its datasette recorder alongside it and its TV cable neatly coiled. The next day there was a plant in its place. A plant.
When I found out, I felt something I can only describe as my heart leaving my body in slow motion and shattering on the floor. She says she took it to some kind of recycling point. I believe that somewhere in the universe there is a parallel dimension where that C64 is still running and someone is playing Impossible Mission at this very moment. It gives me comfort to think so.
I tell this story because what came next seems almost like a miracle to me. It turns out the world, without asking my mother's permission, decided the Commodore 64 was not going to die. And not only that — it decided it deserved to come back. And after coming back, it decided it deserved to come back better. And now in 2026 we have four options on the table — the original, two modern incarnations and a feat of engineering that would make Jack Tramiel weep with joy — and we need to talk about them. So here we are.
The real one. The genuine article. The one you had in your room and that your mother one day decided to give a quiet, funeral-free death. The original Commodore 64 arrived in 1982, cost $595 (which in today's money would be around $2,000 — in case anyone had doubts about whether their parents loved them), and became the best-selling home computer in history: over 12 million units.
Finding one second-hand today is an adventure. Prices range from €40 (which usually means "something's broken that I haven't told you about") to €200 or more if it comes boxed with accessories. The real problem is not the price: it's that these machines are over thirty years old and their capacitors have their own retirement plans. The SID chip is becoming scarcer and more expensive than saffron. And the original power supply is a ticking time bomb that can take out the whole motherboard when it blows — which they do with enthusiasm.
And yet, is it worth it? Yes. Because it's the real thing. Because the SID sounds different — better — than any emulation. Because connecting it to a CRT monitor and loading a game from tape is an experience that has no digital equivalent. And because when it works, it works in a way no modern replica has ever fully managed to replicate.
2018. Retro Games Ltd. shows up with a box that looks like a Commodore 64 that shrank in the wash — 50% of the real size. HDMI output, 64 included games, a joystick, and a launch price of around €80. The retro scene had gone years without any C64 news and this was received like water in the desert.
And then you open the box. And you see the keyboard. And the keyboard does nothing. The keys are there, painted on, decorative, like a politician's smile during a campaign. They don't press. They don't work. They're props. An insult with a retro aesthetic. To type in BASIC you need to plug in an external USB keyboard — not included — into one of the two USB ports the device has. If your joystick is already in the other one, you have to choose.
That said, and to be fair: for what it promised — plug in, press play, and game — it delivered. The VICE emulator works well, the included games are a decent selection, you can load your own games from USB, and there are save states. In 2025 a Black Edition even came out with 25 new homebrew titles, as a final nod to anyone who still has a soft spot for it.
A year later, Retro Games comes back with the big brother. Full size, a truly functional keyboard — the keys press, produce letters, do what they're supposed to do — and three boot modes: C64 BASIC, VIC-20 BASIC (because Jack Tramiel deserves that tribute) and the carousel of 64 games. Launch price: €120.
This one actually feels like something. You put it on the desk, look at it, and it has the right silhouette. The right size. The right colour. If you close your eyes for a moment and then open them, you can almost convince yourself you're in 1987 and somewhere Maniacs of Noise is playing. Almost.
Because on the inside it's still software emulation. The same ARM processor, the same VICE dressed in new clothes with a working keyboard. Which means compatibility is very good but not perfect, the SID sounds good but not identical, and some scene demos don't run exactly as they should. For 90% of everyday use this doesn't matter at all. For the remaining 10%, you know who you are, and it does get to you.
And then 2025 arrived and someone decided it was time to do it properly. The Commodore 64 Ultimate is the first official C64 in over thirty years, and it was born from one of the most curious stories in retro computing: a group of enthusiasts who literally bought the Commodore brand, with Christian "Peri Fractic" Simpson — a well-known retro YouTuber — at the helm, alongside people like Al Charpentier, the original C64 engineer, and Jeri Ellsworth, creator of the famous C64-in-a-joystick. These, ladies and gentlemen, are not a marketing company. They are nerds with power.
And the machine they built shows it. There is no software emulation inside: there is an AMD Artix-7 FPGA chip that recreates the original hardware cycle by cycle, transistor by transistor, as if it were 1982 but with a warranty. Declared compatibility is 99% with original games, cartridges and peripherals. You can plug in your old tapes. You can connect an original disk drive. You can use a CRT if you're the type who keeps one in the garage. And if not, HDMI for the modern TV. And Wi-Fi for downloading games. And a real mechanical keyboard with Gateron switches. And 128 MB of RAM. And a turbo mode at 48 MHz.
The price? From €300 for the standard beige version, up to €500 for the gold Founders Edition that comes with a medal and everything. It's expensive. Nobody says it isn't expensive. But compared to what a good original C64 costs, plus a new power supply, plus a capacitor recap, plus an HDMI adapter, plus psychological therapy for the state it arrived in... it might actually be a fair deal.
| ORIGINAL | MINI | MAXI | ULTIMATE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | 1982 | 2018 | 2019 | 2025 |
| APPROX. PRICE | €40–200 (used) | ~€60–80 | ~€100–120 | from €300 |
| WORKING KEYBOARD | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ✅ Mechanical |
| TECHNOLOGY | Real hardware | Emulation | Emulation | FPGA |
| HDMI | ❌ (adapter) | ✅ 720p | ✅ 720p | ✅ |
| ORIGINAL CARTRIDGES | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| DATASETTE / DISK | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| RELIABILITY | ⚠️ 40 years old | ✅ High | ✅ High | ✅ High |
| ORIGINAL SID | ✅ The real thing | Emulated | Emulated | FPGA (very faithful) |
| INCLUDED GAMES | None | 64 classics | 64 classics | 50+ licensed |
This is the million-dollar question. Or the €300 question, depending on the case. And the honest answer is that it depends on who you are.
If you already have a working original C64 in good condition: you don't need anything else. Look after it, get a modern power supply, and enjoy life. If you don't have one and want the authentic thing: get ready for the second-hand adventure, for recapping capacitors, and for learning more about electronics than you expected. It's not for everyone, but nobody who goes through it ever regrets it.
If you want something that just works without drama, plugged into the modern TV with the kids or your partner watching with curiosity: the Maxi is the right answer. Real keyboard, real size, reasonable price, zero complications. It's the one I'd recommend to anyone who wants to relive the era without getting into hardware trouble.
The Mini is for those with little space, a tight budget and who mainly want to play — no BASIC programming, no tinkering, just gaming. Under those conditions, it delivers. But if you're going to spend €80, you might as well add €40 more and get the Maxi.
And the Ultimate... the Ultimate is for those who've been carrying that splinter in their heart for thirty years. For those who know exactly why FPGA matters over emulation. For those who want to plug in the cartridges they've kept in a box for decades. For those willing to pay what something made with love and craftsmanship is worth. Yes, it's expensive. But it's the first one in all these years that truly does justice to the legacy.
IT WAS ON HOLIDAY.
Each one has its reason for existing. Each one speaks to a different kind of nostalgic. But they all share something: the idea that what we lived with that computer between 1982 and 1994 was worth remembering. And reliving. And, if necessary, paying for.
To my mother, if she ever reads this: I forgive you. But only because the Ultimate exists.
READY.█