Game industry legend Sir Clive Sinclair recently started a crowdfunding campaign for a new ZX Spectrum.
The new computer will be called the Sinclair Spectrum Vega and will be sold for just under £100, boxed with a hefty 1000 built-in games and the ability to download more from the internet for free. The creators behind the system say that, to their knowledge, the device has the ability to run over 14, 000 games developed during the Spectrum era. That’s a lot of games - we’re starting to see the appeal. Besides, it’s been a while since we last played Jet Set Willy.
Retro Computers (of which Sinclair Research is a shareholder) are behind the development of this project and the intellectual property is owned by a separate company called Sky In-Home Service (a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s British Sky Broadcasting), which grabbed the rights from previous owners Amstrad.
The Vega - which comes in the form of a micro controller - will supposedly play every Sinclair Spectrum Game ever made. There also seems to be quite a lot of demand for it, too - the IndieGoGo campaign became a success after just 2 days, surpassing its £100,000 goal (about $157,000). Retro Computers is donating a portion of all the funds raised to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The donation is said to be 10 per cent of the selling price per Vega computer.
The first 1000 limited edition units have been sold out since the success of the IndieGoGo, according to Retro in an update. If you’re interested you need not fret - a second production run of 3000 units will be taking place about two months after the delivery of the first edition.
A full retail launch is planned for before the end of 2015. In the meantime, check out the wonderfully old-school advert below.
Oliver Zimmerman
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