Originally released in 1982,the Commodore 64 was a revolutionary personal computing devicethat made an at-the-time technical marvel accessible to more consumers than ever. It helped to demystify the advent of computing technology, and its user-friendly approach helped budding developers get into gaming and programming. Now, nearly 40 years later, indie developer Thalamus Digital has announced that it will bring long-forgotten Commodore 64 classics to the Nintendo Switch in 2022.
In a recent tweet, Thalamus Digital simply stated “you asked for Commodore 64 games on the Nintendo Switch. We Listened. Stay Tuned.” Aside from the 2022 hashtag, there’s not much else to go on, and Commodore fans have been left guessing as to what games will make the jump to the Switch and at what point over the next year that might happen.
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The tweet was met with dozens of classic computing fans voicing their excitement, and many were eager to suggest games to be added to the Switch’s library. Well-known releases like the surprisingly refined platformerMontezuma’s Revengeand the isometric space shooterZaxxoncropped up alongside less celebrated games such asThe Last NinjaandTooth Invaders. Unabashedly aged at this point,modern conversions of Commodore 64 gamesare destined to be niche, but the prospect of playing some of these older titles on the Switch should warm the hearts of retro enthusiasts and video game preservationists alike.
While a small, independent developer best known for the Switch edition of the puzzle gameWord Forwardmay seem ill-equipped to deal with modernizations of decades-old games, Thalamus Digital worked on a remaster for the Commodore 64 shooterHunter’s Moon. It’s also likely that the game will bemade available for the Nintendo Switchin the near future.
Names likeFantasy World DizzyandMayhem in MonsterLand may not carry much weight for modern gamers, but the ability to play these once nearly-inaccessible games on the go shouldn’t be overlooked.Playing Commodore 64 games on mobile devicesonce required homebrew emulators and tricky workarounds, and the convoluted and ununified control schemes of these older games made setting them up properly an incredible hassle. Fortunately, should Thalamus Digital make good on its promise, these titles will be more playable than ever before.
