Commodore in shock return

But what of Amiga, eh?

Am I the only one here old enough to fondly remember the Commodore C64, and the pure gaming pleasure it delivered? I'll get my coat. In all seriousness however, it appears the Commodore brand could be making a surprise return to the gaming scene Atari-style, after licence holder Yeahronimo Media Ventures announced new gaming-related plans. Yeahronimo is going to form a new games firm, called Commodore Gaming, in collaboration with the Content Factory, in order to create retro games and hardware.

Standalone TV attachments once again seem the order of the day, tapping-into the rich vein of interest in retro titles exploited recently by Pac-Man and Atari offerings. What's more, the Commodore back catalogue of hits will be exploited and re-branded in numerous compilation packs, again in the mould of Atari, whilst we're also told the new firm will see the brand return to publishing, bringing newly developed titles to market.

"The business will be developed in three phases," detailed Yeahronimo CEO and President Ben van Wijhe. "Initially, the focus will be on exploiting the numerous existing C64 retro game licenses through plug-and-play, mobile and handheld devices. The second phase will be to create a range of specialised gaming hardware products and accessories."

"The third phase will be to work with Commodore's existing partners to issue new game licenses under the Commodore brand name, focusing primarily on the mobile and handheld market in addition to the PC and console market, which have its stronger licenses," the enthusiastic chief revealed. More on Commodore's return as we get it.

By Luke Guttridge