Commodore Says Its Comeback Is About Preservation, Not Just Nostalgia
Commodore wants its revival to mean more than another familiar logo on a box. Speaking to FRVR, chief strategy officer Jim Squires stressed that preserving hardware matters alongside saving old software. With ageing C64s increasingly being cannibalised for spare parts, the Commodore 64 Ultimate is intended to help keep the platform alive through an FPGA recreation of the original machine.
That approach extends to accessories: the revived TAC-2 joystick preserves the classic design while introducing a stronger steel shaft.
Squires also credited the homebrew and demoscene communities that never stopped developing for Commodore machines. The stated ambition is to preserve how these systems feel and play—not simply cash in on their name. Less souvenir, more working computer.