A lot has changed since the late 1980s. I can now run Thunder Blade off of a flash cartridge (EasyFlash3). And in general I’ve grown so cynical of in-game product placement that it’s not even funny.
This actually gave me a pause. I guess a lot of marketing bullshit is actually about turning people into warring tribes. “This thing is trying to market X? Well damn you, I like Y! That is the best! Everyone, get Y!” …actually explains a lot about the perennial Console Wars: the companies like it as long as someone is winning. (…Jim Steph Sterling really was right, following game business for a moment is an easy way to become a critic of capitalism)
I actually really like the C64 keyboards - not perfect by any means, but they are some of the best keyboards in the 8-bit computers, really.
Fun thing, I wrote one NaNoWriMo novel on a C64, so I don’t think the typing comfort is too much of an issue. Though for that experiment I actually used my C64C, because the low-profile case makes things a tiny bit more ergonomic. (I don’t use it that C64 specimen much for other purposes, because it has a busted/temperamental SID. The one in the picture is my C64G, which is one of the last models produced, basically C64C guts in a breadbin-style case.)
I recently got out my Vic-20, which of course has a very similar keyboard. Not low-profile at all, so it really forced me to have proper typist posture.
Pepsi, its the choice of a new generation (that is now staring down the barrel of retirement). But we’ll be taking our C64 with us. Retirement home Jumpman tournaments are gonna be awesome.
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