Quick Summary
The Commodore 77 was one of the surprises to greet us at Gamescom this year.
It's a new version of the C64 Ultimate reimagined computer, but with a Cyberpunk colour theme and more powerful processor.
It'll come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that one of my favourite booths at this year's Gamescom belonged to the resurrected Commodore brand. One of my first jobs was as editor of Your Commodore back in the day, so it's part of my heritage.
But even with my intrinsic, long-standing link to Commodore hardware, the company is still capable of pulling out a surprise or two. And announcing a Cyberpunk 2077 edition of the C64 Ultimate on the eve of the show was certainly one of them.
Cyberpunk is tricky to run on a moderate, modern PC, let alone a Commodore 64. And when you think of the classic titles to have released for the machine over the years, there's nothing really comparable. But hey, these are new days for the reimagined and renewed firm, and a bright yellow C64 certainly turns head.
I managed to see it in the flesh on the booth, in fact, and it looks resplendent in its new colourway. And while I didn't get to play on it or even turn it on (it was in a glass case, in fact), I had an instant desire to buy one for my collection.
That's furthered by the spec sheet and what you'll get for your money.
The Commodore 77, as it's cheekily renamed, actually comes with an improved processor that runs up to 77MHz (a nice nod), and while the full Cyberpunk 2077 will never run on it, an exclusive 8-bit Cyberpunk game will come with the computer in demo form.
You also get a themed box, enamel pin badges and some BASIC Cyberpunk-centric programmes to type in and enjoy.
That's about it, but I'd imagine it'll appeal to both CD Projekt Red fans and retro gaming enthusiasts alike. It's certainly a collectable in every sense of the word – only 500 pre-order models are being made.
You'll just have to splash out $377 / £276.79 to secure yours.
Also available to pre-order now is the slimline version of the Commodore 64 Ultimate, in Beige, Starlight, and Founders Edition variants.
Based on the C64C released in 1986, and even using the original case mouldings, the new version has a flatter profile – rather than the breadbin shape.
It feels as authentic as these things get, and instantly took me back to my origins in the games industry. I'd like to spend a bit more time with one to really deliver my full impressions, but you can see from my pictures just how convincing it all looks.
I also got to see the Commodore Callback 8020 phone – albeit without being able to use any of the functions or features, due to unfinished software. But the brand seems in great hands under the stewardship of Christian "Perifrantic" Simpson.
Long may it continue to surprise.
