Available in the USA

mkp_c64 3 Mar

All the discussions I've read on this refers to the UK. I'm not seeing any references to this ever being available in America? Is that true, or am I just overlooking it?

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RetroGamesLtd 5 Mar

Watch this space!

20 DAYS LATER

M M1keyC 25 Mar

Watching, waiting. Getting jealous of those who are receiving theirs... any update on when in the US?

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countermeasure replied to this.

S scottyhp 26 Mar Edited

My FOMO is in full effect right now, lol.

9 DAYS LATER

T trminton 22 days ago

Any updates on a US\Canada release? I think there are plenty that would like some kind of an answer. If it is next week, next month or Christmas, that's fine. I don't mind waiting a little longer if it is worth it. I would just like some assurances.

With all of the issues with joysticks, monitors and game support, a little more time might be prudent.

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OG1-KENOBI 19 days ago Edited

Just grabbed one here in Australia. $149 rrp but I paid $129 for the Mini Nes & Snes also as us Aussies always get raped on prices.

T trminton19 days ago
Yeah, Ebay has the same as I feared in the beginning. I have been on the fence about buying a real C64 with SD2iec drive. The price on that setup is about $230 US dollars. It is a lot but then you don't have any issues with games and such.

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rogersyd 19 days ago

From the latest indiegogo newsletter:

THEC64 Mini REGIONS NOT YET IN RETAIL – We know a lot of people are keen to see THEC64 mini in retailers in regions not yet live, such as the USA, Canada and others – please don’t panic it is coming ASAP, stock is being made, and shipped as fast as it can be, both to existing supplied regions and also the ones yet to go live – we will update everyone as soon as we can on retailer pre-orders and in-store sales for the regions not yet live ASAP, but don’t panic they are coming!

countermeasure 18 days ago

trminton

M1keyC I received mine here in Los Angeles at the end of March... ordered it in early 2017 (when they were taking pre-orders on the retrogames.biz website) I'm not sure if you can contact them and pay via paypal to have it shipped, but worth a try... I just checked on ebay and amazon and don't see it listed...

I'm using the64mini a lot more than my real c64's!!
attached is a picture of the C64mini compared to my real C64 set up..., I hope you get yours soon!!

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MIK 18 days ago

countermeasure Very cool picture and LOVE the colour/color of your real C64, very tidy! B)

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synchromesh 18 days ago

Great Pic !!
I must admit I have them all switched on

trminton 17 days ago

I had thought about just trying to order the UK version but I wasn't sure if I would have any issues here in the states with 60hz monitors.

trminton 17 days ago

I won't know until they actually announce it, but considering that they allowed preorders for a few months before the March 29th release, I wouldn't be surprised if they announce a Fall/Winter release for US/Canada so that they have a few months to gather preorders and build expectations. I hope it will be sooner though.

countermeasure 17 days ago Edited

MIK Thanks MIK! The secret to a tidy 64 is a good cover--
ibb.co/g9mZwc

MIK 17 days ago

countermeasure Nice sturdy cover! :+1:


K KenS 17 days ago

trminton, I pre-ordered the full size THE C64 a little over a year ago, got my mini working on a monitor (US). So I don't think it matters if you order your from the UK, assuming that at this time all THEC64 mini's are the same. Now day's monitors cover the full Hz range.

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countermeasure16 days agoEdited
trminton The C64mini works well, I like it a lot. The main thing of course which can't be emulated 100% is the sound of the SID, as that is a semi-digital/analog chip.

If you choose to go with a real C64, that is of course the best (I've got 2 of them! especially with the SDiec drive, which I have as well.. by the way, if you do buy a C64 on ebay, and have issues with it, there is still 1 person I know who repairs them (at a reasonable price!), he is in Washington so last year I shipped my C64's to him from L.A., he serviced them and sent them back, they work great! he is semi-retired but still services real C64's, as he has done for the past 30+ years. I can provide his info if you buy a C64 on ebay and it needs service.

For comparison purposes (and out of curiosity), I looked at how much my original C64 cost at the time--it cost $128, photo below (yes, I still have the original box for my C64

ibb.co/iSfdPx

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Jammet 16 days ago

I am still waiting for Minecraft 3DS to be released in Europe! You Americans get to suffer the waiting time for this! Harharhar! KeKeke! Seriously though, I always thought this was going to be sold world wide from the get-go? Aren't kickstarted projects supposed to be? Maybe I was mistaken about that.

But I suppose the good news that it's on it's way. Unlike Minecraft, grrr .

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MIK 16 days ago Edited

countermeasure I prefer the 64C SID (6582) for music in general when it comes to the real hardware so I find the mini sounds as if playback is set to half that quality. That said, I get used to how it sounds from the mini very quickly and is not something I keep wishing was better as it works and does the job well enough for games playing.

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trminton 16 days ago

countermeasure

I wish I had kept mine. I purchased the C64c and 1541II drive from Hill Department store in 1986. I will have to keep my eyes open for that perfect deal on Ebay. There are several that test the C64's with diagnostic carts but also cost more. Regardless if I get a real C64 or not, I still want the C64 mini if at least to support RetroGames in their efforts.

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trminton 16 days ago

Jammet

My complaint to this is that from the beginning I asked about preorders in the US and all i got was "asap". If they had simply informed everyone that the US preorder and release would be later this year, it would have sucked but oh well. Instead, it is just an unknown hanging around. I'll still get one but I think they could have done a better job on the preorder and release.

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MIK16 days agoEdited
trminton The only thing I can think of is that it might be like DVD's, different regions have different companies that own the rights to the same movie. The C64 design, name or even the 'Microsoft' Basic may of caused a delay. It sounds like it's a done deal with "asap". Or just maybe they can't make them fast enough so are drip feeding them?

I feel your pain though as the USA is like the holy land of all Commodore Machines, the rightful birthplace even regardless if we made our own CBM's in Europe. Hope you guys hear some news soon!

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Jammet 16 days ago Edited

trminton The thing is, if you ask me, public relations and marketing never was the strong point of this entire endevour. On Facebook, Kickstarter, wherever I went my questions, early on, the replies were never satisfying at all. I was one of those who was sure that this whole thing was a scam artist trying to make money off of C64 lovers. I even pointed it out to them several times, that they ought to employ someone to take care of their community. To no avail. Early on you saw no names, no faces. There simply was no one claiming responsibility. And that raises a lot of red flags. I so desperately wanted to crowd fund this, but ... red flags. Red flags everywhere.

And in that same vein, they botched responding to other interested parties, never setup a proper FAQ and what have you. The best and most honest answer to when the product would be available in the US is probably still "We don't know (yet).". Of course ASAP sort of implies that, but this is the lack of clarity that, for the longest time, really put me off.

That's really a point of critism I keep holding up. This could have gone a lot better, right from the crowdfunding to now, if all the cards were put on table, first day. They could have made themselves available for questions, could have opened this very forum way, waaaay back. Anything but dead silence.
So I understand your frustration. It's a typical business thing to say that: ASAP. That keeps you hanging on, but doesn't tell you anything whatsoever.

Not putting blame on the entire company of course, but I feel that mistakes were made, mistakes are being made, but things are looking up. For one thing, this C64 actually exists, to I'm excited. No Vaporware. Much love!

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MIK 15 days ago Edited

Jammet All we can really do is keep our fingers crossed and maybe cross our cables for good measure that they deliver.

You never know but tweaks to the carousel might be needed, like 60hz default (maybe) and some games being changed to support USA's childhood memories. All speculation of course... They could of done this side by side but then any different games added to the carousel would need to be play tested in full.

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THEC64 14 days ago

USA Retail will be coming ASAP - details to follow as soon as we can of course!

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Jammet 14 days ago

I rest my case.

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scottyhp 14 days ago

On the one hand, “ASAP” is vague and has become nearly meaningless after weeks of hearing it. On the other hand, it is truly better than nothing - getting the occasional response at least reassures me that North America release is still in the plan. If they stop responding altogether, then I will be worried.

My big concern now is that I’m losing interest and motivation to keep checking the website regularly. So I fear that eventually they will post some N.A. retailers, and I’ll totally miss it (and orders will sell out). Maybe I should try to get on a mailing list.


THEC64 14 days ago

scottyhp USA is 100% coming but until dates are firm we don’t want to give a date and then miss it, but it is of course coming, globally in fact! 😊👍

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Jammet14 days agoEdited
Hakuna Matata. I believe most people here are likely over in their late 30s or mid 40s. The kinds of people who probably won't hold it to you if you say late May, but you could not keep that promise. It's not a binding contract, just something to look forward to. A rough estimate, and a maybe. It's just a forum, and everyone is aware that you just might not know at all. Personally, I appreciate "I don't know", too.

So no worries. And thanks for responding!

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AndyF 14 days ago

Jammet or mid 50's in my case !

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8 DAYS LATER

cindy_k 6 days ago

I can't wait for this to be available in the US. I still have a Commodore64 SX in my closet, unfortunately it looks like the disk drive has finally quit working. This is my childhood returned.
I want to hear the words coming from my TV. 'AHHH Another Visitor. Stay a while. Stay FOREVER'

I am going to have to put this on the TV in the family room, so my mother can play too.

My birthday is at the end of May, this would be an awesome birthday present.

Hoping soon is soon,
Cindy

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tomxp411 6 days ago Edited

Hey, Cindy.

I'm curious - does your SX64 work, other than the disk drive? You can get something called an SD2IEC now which will emulate the disk drive, so there's a way to still use legacy computers without the physical drive.

I've actually been looking at SX64s on EBay; I want to get one, but haven't been able to bring myself to spend the money on something that may or may not work (and there are far too many "no keyboard, untested, as-is" units for my taste.)

You can get a C64 Mini on Amazon right now, but expect to spend about 40% more than retail. They're going for $149 right now, but will (hopefully) drop to around $100 when the actual US version is released.