Commodore started in 1985 with the expensive Amiga 1000. In 1987, the cheaper Amiga 500 (pictured) was also introduced. — Photo: Andrea Warnecke/dpa
BERLIN: On July 23, 1985, a legendary gaming computer was born. Four decades on since the original Amiga 1000, anyone feeling nostalgic at the thought of their old Commodore game collection doesn't need to dust off a machine to celebrate.
Today, it's far easier to play classics like Emerald Mine, Speedball 2, Tie Break, King's Quest, Battle Chess, Stunt Car Racer and Test Drive – all right from your web browser.
This is made possible by the Internet Archive in San Francisco. The foundation collects virtually all types of digital data imaginable on its servers to preserve them for posterity: music, films, software, websites and, of course, games.
The Amiga software library contains more than 13,000 titles. Many of these can be played for free directly in the browser, controlled via keyboard and sometimes also with a mouse.
It plays best in full-screen mode: To do this, click on the fullscreen view icon in the top right corner and remember to enable sound below it.
Unfortunately, gaming with the archive's collection does not always work reliably. Some games may not start at all. But anyone with a little patience and interest will likely not regret a visit to the Amiga section of the Internet Archive.
One major advantage of playing there is that there is no need to constantly swap floppy disks, as was required with the original computer – something most Amiga owners won't miss.
For Amiga fans with a television at home, there is also a retro version of the old computer in a smaller format: the A500 Mini. Unlike the free Internet Archive, the mini console comes with a price tag, currently around US$135 or €130 (around RM569). – dpa
