The Amiga 500 from Commodore needs no introduction. For many users, it was “the” first computer, and when nostalgia strikes, all those memories come flooding back. If you no longer own the original hardware but still have some games, you can run them with Armiga Project, a hardware-based launcher that can read physical disks and create ADF images.
A Legend Turns 28
Next October, the Amiga 500 will turn 28 years old. Introduced as an “economical option” in 1987, it became Commodore's best-selling model in that family, and the whole of Europe embraced it. History tells us it remained on the market for nearly four years before being retired, but its legacy lives on. Today, finding relatively intact hardware is very difficult, and those who offer it for sale are either trying to pay for their grandchildren's college education or planning an early retirement. The magic of emulators has kept the flame of the Amiga 500 alive, and for those who want to go that route, the official WinUAE site is the first stop.
What is Armiga Project?
Some of our readers may have come across Armiga Project before. Two enthusiasts from Tenerife, Igor Modino and Luis Guirado, presented the idea of a physical platform to play Amiga 500 games on Indiegogo. Unfortunately, the campaign didn't raise the necessary funds, but Armiga Project went ahead, and today it can be purchased as a limited edition. There are two versions of the Armiga module: the first features an integrated floppy drive to create images from your disks, and the second eliminates that drive, reducing its size. The hardware is based on the Cubieboard2 platform, and in the case of the floppy version, there is a custom controller. The base software is Android 4.4, but each Armiga comes with a copy of Kickstart 1.3, properly licensed.
The video output for the Armiga is HDMI, ensuring compatibility with modern TVs and monitors (along with upscaling and other graphical modifications), and it has two USB ports for connecting keyboards, mice, and of course gamepads. Currently, Armiga Project stock is sold out. The price for the floppy version is 169 euros, and 119 euros for the compact edition. If getting an Amiga 500 is too difficult and you can't settle for emulating it on a PC, Armiga Project offers an excellent middle ground.
