A New Mini Console Enters The Fray
Retro Games and Koch Media have announced the appropriately named A500 mini, introducing new fans to thy A500 and allowing old fans to bask in nostalgia. It is inspired by the home computer system, the Amiga 500, which featured a 16/32-bit CPU, 512Kb of RAM, and an array of custom chips for sound and video. Those are specs.
It features 25 games, including Another World, Simon The Sorcerer, The Chaos Engine, and Worms. I’ve heard of Another World and Worms. Everything else is a mystery to me.
While it comes packed with 25 games, you are not limited to just those titles. You will be able to side-load your own games via a USB stick with full WHDLoad support, and a save and resume feature.
The A500 Mini will include a 6ft wired USB classic mouse, a 6ft wired precision eight-button gamepad, and a USB-A to USB-C power cable and HDMI cable, allowing full compatibility with all modern TVs. Other features include a save game function, selectable 50Hz or 60Hz screen refresh, CRT filter, and multiple scaling options.
I’m actually pretty interested in this mini-console. While the NES mini and the SNES mini were neat consoles, I’ve actually played those consoles. I’m actually way more interested in mini consoles like the A500 that include games I’ve never heard of on a system I’ve never even seen before. From a historical perspective, this is just far more interesting.
Now, will it be good? I have no idea, but the ability to apply a CRT filter and download more games gives it some exciting features. I love going back and looking at classic games that I just never really had the chance to play before.
The A500 Mini is set to launch in early 2022 for $139.99. That’s certainly a very high price for a mini console, and I can see that potentially putting off people not nostalgic for the A500.
Source: Press Release