The return of the Commodore

The Commodore 64, which debuted in 1982 and went on to exceed 20 million sales before being discontinued in 1994, is making a comeback.

The new Commodore 64 will cost $595, the price of the original computer. But nostalgic hobbyists should temper their enthusiasm — the technology is getting an update.

The system will run on an Intel Atom processor and an Nvidia graphics chip. It will also include an HDMI port so it can connect to a big screen and has options for Blu-ray and Wi-Fi.

“The original C64 was probably one of the most consumer-friendly PCs ever created,” writes John Breeden at Government Computer News, a sister publication of Federal Computer Week. “They were even sold in department stores. You could walk into a Sears or a Montgomery Ward (back when you could actually walk into a Montgomery Ward) and pick up fishing tackle, a new outfit and a Commodore 64 computer.”