ArchiveOriginally published 2011

The Commodore 64x: When the C64 Came Back as a Real PC

This site covered it twice: first the announcement that a company trading as Commodore USA would release the C64x, then the news that the Commodore 64 was back as a fully functional PC. It was a modern computer inside a faithful replica of the 1982 breadbox keyboard. The company was gone within two years, and the retro revival that followed took a different path.

What the C64x was

The Commodore 64 sold in the tens of millions in the 1980s and is often cited as the best-selling single computer model of all time. Its case, a beige wedge with the keyboard on top and the computer inside, is instantly recognisable to anyone who grew up then. In 2011 a small company that had licensed the Commodore name announced the C64x: the same case, injection-moulded from new tooling to match the original's shape and colour, with a modern small-form-factor mainboard inside. Configurations ranged from a basic model with a low-power processor to versions with a faster chip, more memory, a large hard drive and an optical drive in the side. It came with a mainstream desktop operating system and, later, a custom retro-styled system with an emulator so the machine could run the original 1980s software.

Why it was interesting

The C64x was not a good computer for the money; a plain desktop with the same parts cost far less. It was interesting because it treated the case as the product. The argument was that a generation of people who learned to program on a C64 would pay for the object on their desk, and would use it as a living-room machine, an emulation box, or simply a conversation piece. Reviews of the time were mixed on build quality and firm on price, but the machines sold to exactly the audience the company predicted, and the idea that nostalgia could sell hardware was proven a few years ahead of the market.

What happened to the company

Commodore USA was essentially one founder's project. He died in December 2012, and the company ceased operations soon after, leaving customers without support and the brand licence in limbo. The Commodore name has changed hands several times since, with various parties selling phones, computers and accessories under it with varying legitimacy. The C64x itself became a collector's item.

The revival that followed

The nostalgia the C64x tested became a market a few years later. Officially licensed mini consoles from several 1980s and 1990s brands sold in large numbers from 2016. In 2018 a licensed miniature Commodore 64 with a non-working keyboard and built-in games launched, followed in 2019 by a full-size version with a working keyboard that could run original software from a USB stick. Both were far cheaper than the C64x because they were emulation devices rather than PCs, which turned out to be what most buyers wanted. The hobbyist scene went further, with new mainboards that fit original cases, modern replacement chips, and a steady stream of new software for a computer that went out of production in 1994.