Spectrum gets a reboot: Classic 1980s computer system set to be revived after inventor Sir Clive Sinclair raises £150,000 in just 48 hours
- Sir Clive Sinclair launched a modern version of his successful Spectrum
- Crowdfunding campaign to produce console raised £150,000 in two days
- Limited edition Sinclair Spectrum Vega is £100 with 1,000 games loaded on
A classic 1980s video game console is finally back after a crowdfunding site raised £150,000 in just 48 hours.
With it's cassette deck, simple controls and basic graphics, the Spectrum ZX cannot compete with today's multimillion pound gaming industry.
Yet, despite its dodgy graphics and simplistic games, nothing can beat quite beat the nostalgia value of the console for some gamers.
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Sir Clive Sinclair has re-lauched a modernised version of his hugely successful Spectrum products from the early 1980s. Called the Sinclair Spectrum Vega, the computer (pictured) has fewer buttons than the original, but will run thousands of the retro computer's games
Even Labour leader Ed Miliband has admitted to being an an avid fan.
Now fans can rejoice as the Spectrum has been resurrected from the dead after three decades following a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Sir Clive Sinclair announced he was launching a modernised version of his hugely successful Spectrum products at the end of last year.
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Called the Sinclair Spectrum Vega, the computer has fewer buttons than the original, but will run thousands of the retro computer's games.
'The Sinclair Spectrum Vega takes advantage of major advances in technology to achieve big cost savings by replacing most of the electronics in the earlier products,' said the firm.
'The Vega uses a low cost micro-controller and a clever piece of software that combine to enable the Vega to run all of the games, 14,000 or more of them, which were developed during the years when some 5 million of the original Sinclair Spectrum were being sold.'
This includes an early version of Sim City, Manic Miner, Boulder Dash, Treasure Island Dizzy and Elite, among others.
Thanks to the project's success on on crowdfunding website Indiegogo, the first Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega games consoles will be distributed at the end of this month to the 1,000 customers.
Limited edition versions of the computer are available from Indiegogo for £100 ($156) which come loaded with 1,000 games. Shipping outside of the UK costs an extra £20 ($31).
These games include an early version of Sim City, Manic Miner, Boulder Dash, Treasure Island Dizzy (pictured left) and Elite (pictured right), among others. The Vega additionally has 'sufficient memory' to allow the user to download other games that will be available from launch, for free
A further 3,000 consoles will be distributed in June and there are plans to produce another 10,000 in August or September if demand takes off.
The Vega has been developed by Chris Smith, a former ZX Spectrum games developer.
'We've been able to get into production so quickly largely due to the great success of our campaign on Indiegogo,' Sinclair told The Guardian. 'Crowdfunding is really an inventor's dream, because it can not only bring in the finance needed to get to market but also it's a test of how the market is likely to react to the product.'
The console plugs into a TV and will be sold with around 1,000 games built-in.
'The Sinclair Spectrum Vega is as simple to use as any of the popular games consoles, but far less expensive,' the firm added.
The Vega additionally has 'sufficient memory' to allow the user to download other games that will be available from launch, for free.
And, anyone who still has Spectrum games from the original series can load them onto the Vega using an SD card.
The ZX Spectrum was released in April 1982. It was the successor to Sir Clive Sinclair's ZX81 model and added high-resolution colour graphics and sound.
The computer was thinner than anything else available at the time and cost £125 ($195) for a basic model, with 16KB, or £175 ($274) for a 48k model.
'We've been able to get into production so quickly largely due to the great success of our campaign on Indiegogo,' Sinclair said. 'Crowdfunding is really an inventor's dream, because it can not only bring in the finance needed to get to market but also it's a test of how the market is likely to react to the product.'
Chris Smith, a former ZX Spectrum games developer, who designed the Vega, told The Guardian they had consulted fans of the original.
The ZX Spectrum (pictured) was released in April 1982. It was the successor to Sir Clive Sinclair's ZX81 model and added high-resolution colour graphics and sound. The computer was thinner than anything else available at the time and cost £125 ($195) for a basic model, with 16KB, or £175 ($274) for a 48k model
'We are especially grateful to those Spectrum fans who have made suggestions as to additional features they would like to see in the Vega, and we have taken all those suggestions seriously,' Smith said.
Sinclair, who launched more than a hundred products including the world's first pocket television in 1966 and the world's first pocket calculator in 1972, was persuaded to revive the console by Paul Andrews, managing director at Retro.
An avid collector of retro memorabilia, he said people weren't buying the simple Spectrums for their graphics but for a taste of childhood nostalgia.
'People know that the graphics and sound are not as good as modern consoles, but they want to get that warm feeling they had back as a kid, and I think this is why the Vega has had such a warm reception,' he added.
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