{"id":928501,"date":"2026-04-30T12:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/928501\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:25:34","slug":"the-c64-and-zx-spectrum-are-being-reimagined-as-nintendo-style-clamshell-handhelds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/928501\/","title":{"rendered":"The C64 And ZX Spectrum Are Being Reimagined As Nintendo-Style Clamshell Handhelds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following its tease yesterday<\/a>, Evercade maker Blaze has confirmed that it is teaming up with Retro Games Ltd to produce two new clamshell handhelds based on the ZX Spectrum<\/a> and Commodore 64<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Entitled THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld<\/a>, each unit boasts 25 preloaded games, a 4.3-inch IPS display, simplified controls to compensate for the lack of a keyboard, and the ability to load your own games via MicroSD. You can also connect a USB keyboard using a USB-A I\/O port.<\/p>\n

On this page: The C64 And ZX Spectrum Are Being Reimagined As Nintendo-Style Clamshell Handhelds<\/a><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 1.THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld – Specifications<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. 2.THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld – Games<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. 3.THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld – Price & Release Date<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    “The clamshell case design takes inspiration from some of the most successful gaming handhelds of the past, while also evoking the style of portable computers, palmtops and organisers of the 1980s,” says the press release. “Each console also has four function buttons designed to mimic the keys on the original devices and a menu\/start\/select button layout inspired by the same. These keys are tactile plastic on THEC64 Handheld and rubber on The Spectrum Handheld.”<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a> Image: Blaze \/ Retro Games Ltd
    \nTHEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld – Specifications<\/p>\n

    The specifications of these devices are as follows:<\/p>\n\nSize<\/strong><\/td>\nW136mm x H26mm x D86mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nWeight<\/strong><\/td>\n235g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nColour<\/strong><\/td>\nRetro Beige (THEC64 Handheld), Classic Black (The Spectrum Handheld)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n<\/tr>\n\nControls<\/strong><\/td>\nD-Pad and Face Buttons, Four mappable function keys and menu\/start\/select keys in tactile plastic (THEC64 Handheld) and rubber (The Spectrum Handheld)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nDisplay<\/strong><\/td>\n4.3\u2033 840\u00d7480 IPS high resolution screen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nProcessor<\/strong><\/td>\nQuad Core 1.2Ghz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMemory<\/strong><\/td>\n256mb DDR RAM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nConnectivity<\/strong><\/td>\n3.5mm headphone jack, USB-A I\/O port for external keyboard, MicroSD port for additional game loading<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nBattery<\/strong><\/td>\n3+ hour 2000mAH battery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nCharging<\/strong><\/td>\nUSB-C (cable included). 5v 1a minimum required for charging (mains adaptor not included)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nFormats<\/strong><\/td>\nTHEC64 Handheld Formats – Can select between C64 PAL\/NTSC, C64C PAL\/NTSC, C64SX PAL\/NTSC, PET64 PAL\/NTSC, C64 GS<\/p>\n

    The Spectrum Handheld Formats – Can select between Spectrum 48K, Spectrum 48K (NTSC), Spectrum 128K, Spectrum +2, Spectrum +2A, Spectrum +3, Spectrum +3e,Spectrum 16K. Spectrum CPU under\/overclocking supported.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    \"The<\/a> Image: Blaze \/ Retro Games Ltd
    \nTHEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld – Games<\/p>\n

    Each unit comes preloaded with 25 games, but you can load up more using the MicroSD card slot.<\/p>\n\nTHEC64 Handheld
    \nThe Spectrum Handheld<\/strong>
    \n<\/tr>\n\n<\/tr>\n\nA Pig Quest<\/td>\nHead Over Heels<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSam’s Journey<\/td>\nManic Miner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nNebulus<\/td>\nSkool Daze<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nBoulder Dash<\/td>\nTiny Dungeons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSpeedball 2: Brutal Deluxe<\/td>\nArchon: The Light and the Dark<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nParadroid<\/td>\nThe Great Escape<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nHunter’s Moon Remastered<\/td>\nBounder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nKnight ‘n’ Grail<\/td>\nSwitchblade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nAztec Challenge<\/td>\nNightmare Rally<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nKrakout<\/td>\nM.O.V.I.E.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nLee<\/td>\nAvenger: The Way of the Tiger II<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nDruid<\/td>\nBugaboo the Flea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nEncounter!<\/td>\nDevwill Too ZX<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nGalencia<\/td>\nHammerfist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nIce Guys<\/td>\nHammer Knight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMetal Warrior Ultra<\/td>\nPenguin Attack<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nMillie & Molly<\/td>\nS1NCLA1R C1TY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nPlanet Golf<\/td>\nShovel Adventure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nShadow Switcher<\/td>\nSnake Escape<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSpherical<\/td>\nSorcerer Kid Adventure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSquish ‘Em<\/td>\nSplat!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nSteel Ranger<\/td>\nTourmaline<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nX-Out<\/td>\nWhere Time Stood Still<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nYeti Mountain<\/td>\nZynaps<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nIt’s Magic 2<\/td>\nStarquake<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld – Price & Release Date
    \n    \"The<\/a>\"The<\/a> Images: Blaze \/ Retro Games Ltd<\/p>\n

    THEC64 Handheld and The Spectrum Handheld will cost \u00a3109.99 | $129.99 | \u20ac129.99<\/a> each and are set to launch in October 2026. Pre-orders go live today.<\/p>\n

    Also available are ‘Collector’s Edition’ variants of each device, which ship with a hard shell case and<\/p>\n

    exclusive magazine \u2013 Crash with the Spectrum and Zzap with the THEC64. These units will only be available from Funstock.co.uk and Funstock USA<\/a>, and are limited to just 2000 units each. They will cost \u00a3129.99 | $149.99 | \u20ac149.99.<\/p>\n

    Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n

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    \"Damien<\/p>\n

    Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media’s sites from an editorial perspective. He’s also the editor of Time Extension<\/a>, the network’s newest site, which \u2013 paradoxically \u2013 is all about gaming’s past glories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following its tease yesterday, Evercade maker Blaze has confirmed that it is teaming up with Retro Games Ltd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":928502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[259932,98441,23822,53,16,15,963],"class_list":["post-928501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-c64","tag-emulation","tag-emulation-handhelds","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-zx-spectrum"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116493650057351619","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/928502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}