PLAION and Retro Games Ltd officially announced The Spectrum – a modern recreation of the beautiful ZX Spectrum from 1982. The retro console, that we saw early at gamescom 2024, will launch in Europe on November 22, 2024, and is now available for pre-order at a price of 99.99 euros. Below you can find all the useful information about the gaming platform.
- Thanks to its pioneering design, the original machine became an icon of home computing and video games. It is a widely recognized symbol of the technological revolution of the 1980s, and it is this historical status that inspired Retro Games Ltd to create a faithful replica that incorporates modern quality of life features.
- In addition to 48 pre-installed games, the Spectrum features an HD output at 720p via HDMI that allows for modern TVs, four USB ports that can be used for gamepads and joysticks, and an exact replica of the famous “rubber” keyboard with fully functional keys, just like in 1982.
The 48 pre-installed games include some of the most fun, quirky, and beloved titles in the machine’s history, including:
Alien Girl (Skirmish Edition), Ant Attack, Army Moves, Auf Wiedersehen Monty, Avalon, Bobby Bearing, Cosmic Payback, Devwill Too ZX, Exolon, Fairlight, Firelord, Football Manager 2, Freddy Hardest, The Great Escape, Head Over Heels, Highway Encounter, The Hobbit, Horace Goes Skiing, Jack the Nipper, Knot in 3D, The Lords of Midnight, Manic Miner, Match Day II, Movie, Nodes of Yesod, Penetrator, Phantis (Game Over II), Pheenix, Pyracurse, Quazatron, Robin of the Wood, Saboteur! Remastered, Shovel Adventure, Skool Daze, Snake Escape, Spellbound, Starquake, Starstrike II, El Stompo, Stonkers, Target: Renegade, TCQ, Technician Ted – The Megamix, Tenebra, Trashman, The Way of the Exploding Fist, Wheelie, Where Time Stood Still.
Other features of The Spectrum include:
- The ability to rewind the game up to 40 seconds to help players overcome the hardest levels.
- The inclusion of four save-game slots for each title, an old-school CRT filter option to replicate vintage TVs, and a functionality that allows players to add their own games via a USB stick.
- With the goal of ensuring authenticity, Retro Games also took the time to incorporate BASIC programming, allowing budding developers to be creative just like the original pioneers responsible for the multi-billion dollar video game industry we know today.
Additional points of interest include:
- All pre-installed games are officially licensed and can be played using only the keys, just like when they were originally released.
- Emulates all ZX Spectrum models from 16k to 128k.
- Detailed instructions for control mapping for all games, accessible from the themed user interface.
- The keys incorporate various functions outlined by words in different colours, a visually interesting and practical design element.
- Compatible with a range of new and old controllers/joysticks, both proprietary and third-party.