Latest news with #ZXSpectrum
Geeky Gadgets
29-07-2025
- Geeky Gadgets
ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 : Rediscover Retro Gaming on Kickstarter
Do you ever find yourself longing for the simplicity and charm of retro computing, yet wishing it could keep up with today's technology? For many, the ZX Spectrum holds a special place in their hearts—a symbol of creativity, gaming, and the early days of personal computing. But as much as we cherish those memories, the limitations of vintage hardware can make revisiting them feel like stepping back in time, for better or worse. Enter the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3: a device that doesn't just recreate the magic of the original but reimagines it for a modern audience. Whether you're a nostalgic gamer, a budding developer, or someone curious about blending the old with the new, this might just be the perfect bridge between eras. At first glance, the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 feels like a love letter to the past, but it's so much more than that. It takes everything you adored about the original ZX Spectrum—its quirky charm, its iconic design, and its creative potential—and pairs it with the kind of power and flexibility that today's tech-savvy users demand. With turbo processing speeds, modern connectivity options like HDMI and Wi-Fi, and compatibility with both classic and new software, this isn't just a retro revival; it's a reinvention. So, whether you're here to relive the golden age of 8-bit gaming or to explore fresh creative horizons, the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 promises a journey worth taking. Let's dive in and see what makes this fusion of nostalgia and innovation so remarkable. ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3: A Fusion of Retro and Modern Computing Early bird pricing are now available for the innovational project from roughly $360 or £300 (depending on current exchange rates) , offering a considerable discount of approximately % off the retail pricing, while the Kickstarter crowd funding is under way. The ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 seamlessly merges the charm of retro computing with the capabilities of modern technology, offering a platform that appeals to both vintage enthusiasts and contemporary creators. As the successor to the iconic ZX Spectrum, it redefines the potential of an 8-bit computer by integrating upgraded hardware, expanded software compatibility, and advanced tools for gaming and programming. Whether revisiting classic titles or developing new applications, this device strikes a balance between tradition and innovation. If the ZX Spectrum Next 3 campaign successfully raises its required pledge goal and manufacturing progresses smoothly, worldwide shipping is expected to take place sometime around December 2025. To learn more about the ZX Spectrum Next 3 ZX Spectrum Next 3 project survey the promotional video below. At its core, the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 is powered by an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), specifically the Artix A7. This component emulates the original ZX Spectrum hardware while introducing significant enhancements. The system achieves turbo processing speeds of up to 28MHz, a substantial improvement over the original's capabilities. Paired with 2MB of RAM, it delivers the performance required for running complex programs, multitasking, and supporting modern applications. This ensures a smooth and responsive experience, whether engaging with vintage software or experimenting with new creations. Modern Connectivity and Storage The ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 incorporates modern connectivity and storage options, making it adaptable to contemporary setups. Key features include: HDMI output for crisp visuals on high-resolution displays. for crisp visuals on high-resolution displays. Built-in Wi-Fi for seamless networking, allowing file transfers, updates, and online collaboration. for seamless networking, allowing file transfers, updates, and online collaboration. Dual SD card slots—one internal and one external—for ample storage of games, applications, and development projects. These features enhance the device's versatility, catering to both casual users and those with more demanding needs. The integration of modern technology ensures that the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 remains relevant in today's computing landscape. Gaming and Development Gaming is a central aspect of the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3's appeal. It is fully compatible with the original ZX Spectrum library, allowing users to revisit classic titles with enhanced performance through turbo modes. Beyond nostalgia, the platform supports exclusive new games, such as *Saboteur Remastered* and *Lords of Midnight Next*, which take advantage of the upgraded hardware to deliver richer experiences. For developers, the system provides a robust environment for creativity. Tools like NextBASIC, C, and Assembly enable the creation of games and applications, fostering innovation within the retro computing community. This combination of backward compatibility and forward-looking development tools makes the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 a versatile platform for both gamers and programmers. Versatility and Design The ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 extends its functionality beyond gaming by supporting multiple computing 'personalities.' Official cores for systems like the Sinclair QL and Commodore 64 allow users to switch between platforms effortlessly. These cores maintain compatibility with legacy software while introducing modern enhancements such as accelerated processing and expanded storage. This versatility broadens the device's appeal, offering a comprehensive retro computing experience. Designed by Rick Dickinson, the original Sinclair designer, the ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 retains the aesthetic charm of its predecessor while incorporating practical improvements. Features such as a responsive keyboard, support for vintage peripherals, and a detailed printed manual make it both user-friendly and faithful to its roots. Additionally, the active community surrounding the platform provides resources, support, and collaboration opportunities, fostering an environment of learning and creativity. The ZX Spectrum Next Issue 3 is more than a retro gaming console; it is a versatile computing platform that bridges the gap between past and present. By combining nostalgia with innovative technology, it celebrates the enduring legacy of the ZX Spectrum while expanding the possibilities of what a modernized 8-bit computer can achieve. For a complete list of all available project pledges, stretch goals, extra media and technical overview for the ZX Spectrum Next 3, jump over to the official ZX Spectrum Next 3 crowd funding campaign page by checking out the link below. Source : Kickstarter Disclaimer: Participating in crowd funding campaigns such as those found on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, involves inherent risks. While many projects successfully meet their goals, others may fail to deliver due to numerous challenges. Always conduct thorough research and exercise caution when pledging your hard-earned money. Filed Under: Gaming News, Top News Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
Metro
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
The 80s Sinclair Spectrum version of Football Manager is being remade on Steam
With no new Football Manager from Sega in over a year, the creator of the original game from the 80s is reviving it on Steam. After several delays, it wasn't too surprising to hear Sega had cancelled Football Manager 25. But this does mean fans are having to go an unusually long time without a new instalment, with still no guarantee of when the next game will be out. Developer Sports Interactive has insisted it's working on another Football Manager game, but there's no word on whether it'll be called Football Manager 26 or if it'll even be out this year. In the meantime, there is an alternative: a re-release of the original Football Manager. Not the 2005 game that kicked off Sega's series, but the 1982 original that was first released on the obscure Video Genie home computer and then various other formats of the 8-bit era. Football Manager was originally created by Kevin Toms (whose face always appeared on the box cover) and found great success on the ZX Spectrum, although versions of it were ported to almost every home computer format of the 8-bit and 16-bit era, including the PC. Despite being entirely text only it was a huge commercial success, although the last entry, in 1992, was made without Toms' involvement and the series faded from memory. It was revived in 2005 by developer Sports Interactive, and publisher Sega, as a means of continuing the Championship Manager series – which had always been a spiritual successor to Football Manager – by another name, although Toms was never involved in the making of the games. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Toms returned to the genre in 2016, with mobile game Football Star Manager, and now he's teamed up with publisher Curveball Games to bring the game to PC. You won't need to wait long to play it either since it launches in just a couple of weeks on August 14, the same day as the start of the Premier League season. You can find its Steam page here and while there's no mention of pricing at the time of writing, it presumably won't be particularly expensive since the mobile versions on the Apple and Google Play stores only cost £4.99. The announcement trailer cheekily refers to the game as 'the original, the best, and the only Football Star Manager of the year' and jokes that it has 'none of the features you've come to expect from modern gaming.' More Trending Rather than being literally the same game though, Football Star Manager is merely reminiscent of the original game and is not exactly the same in terms of graphics or interface – somewhere between a remaster and a remake. Much like Sega's games, Football Star Manager features real player names and teams, although they seem to be a mixture of old and new, with teams featuring both Glen Hoddle and Alexandre Lacazette. While Football Star Manager has already been around for nearly 10 years, it'll be interesting to see how it performs on Steam, since many younger fans will be unaware that the series goes all the way back to the dawn of home computing. Nevertheless, with Sega's next entry MIA, this is an open goal for Football Star Manager to capitalise on until Football Manager 26, or heaven forbid Football Manager 27, finally appears. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Football Manager 2024 fan admits sadistic revenge plot against players MORE: Football Manager says they won't release 2024 update but there's an easy fix MORE: The 20 best Commodore Amiga games to celebrate the 40th anniversary
Stuff.tv
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
The next ZX Spectrum will also be a Commodore 64
What if? That question haunts retro gamers everywhere. What if the companies behind beloved childhood machines hadn't driven off a cliff in a clown car of bad decisions? ZX Spectrum fan Henrique Olifiers decided to find out, by building an imagined future. And now, after two successful crowdfunders, his evolved ZX Spectrum is back for one final time as ZX Spectrum Next, Issue 3 (from $400/£300). The device remains a sharply styled reboot in a Spectrum+-inspired case. It runs thousands of old Speccy games with total accuracy, due to FPGA wizardry. But you can also crank things up with new video modes, beefed-up audio, and a 28MHz CPU that would have made Sir Clive's head spin. That new tech isn't just for show either – eager fans have made hundreds of bespoke games for the platform, including dazzling remakes of much-loved classics. But why bring the Next back again? Olifiers says two reasons: 'Some people missed out on earlier runs and they now sell for silly money, which isn't fair on fans. But also, we want to grow the community. The more users we have, the more viable it becomes for developers to create games and apps for the Next that can actually reward their time.' Cores? Blimey This latest ZX Spectrum Next will also be the first to ship that's able to run the full Sinclair lineage, thanks to the new QL Next core. Yes, even the QL, the machine that arguably doomed Sinclair, now gets an outing, giving your Next enough bells and whistles to run the entire QL software catalogue. Assuming you'd actually want to. The real prize, though, is that the Next will now be able to become its old nemesis, the Commodore 64. To which I say: what? What? 'At its heart, the Next is a Sinclair machine, but its hardware can be reconfigured to become other machines. The community asked for the C64 core, and so we built it,' explains Olifiers. He adds that it nails the C64 hardware, including the legendary SID chip, and can run the machine's entire library of games. 'It is a bit weird having a Sinclair model do this, but also very good,' admits Olifiers, who mulls that at least the C64 got a successor in the form of the Amiga – something denied to the Speccy until the Next rocked up. 'But I do also think there'll be cool stuff to build on the C64 core to make it more powerful than a stock machine. Accelerated modes? Co-processors? More sprites? We shall see!' Either way, the new Next has to be worth a punt, not least to have a 1980s British playground fight within a single machine, while desperately trying to decide which platform is best – right before someone whacks you around the noggin with an Amstrad CPC.
Stuff.tv
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
I hope another Sinclair can ignite a gaming revolution with the Pi-powered GamerCard
The name Sinclair runs through the DNA of British tech like a stick of seaside rock. In the 1980s, Sir Clive unleashed a gaming revolution with the ZX Spectrum, a machine on which many of today's gaming luminaries cut their teeth. Now, Sir Clive's nephew is attempting to spark his own gaming revolution with GamerCard. Like the ZX Spectrum, Grant Sinclair's creation is built for tinkerers who crave something a bit different from the norm. Its guts are typical enough. The brains are a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W with 128GB storage. There's a 1600 mAh battery that'll keep the unit going for hours on a single charge. And you get HDMI and USB-C connectors. However, Qwiic connectivity aligns GamerCard with the geek sensibilities of the Sinclair name. And the lush 4in 254ppi 1:1 IPS display stands out from the competition and should make your eyes happy while gawping at games. Speaking of, GamerCard doesn't ship with a library of dubiously sourced titles. But it does preload two game that began life on the Switch (platformer Bloo Kid 2 and shooter AstroBlaze DX). A launcher then provides fast access to additional games through emulation or Pico-8 – the faux-9-bit console that'll set you back $15 and unlock hundreds of tiny indie gems. Design of the times Play Just like the ZX Spectrum stood out among the boxy, beige monstrosities of its day, GamerCard is a svelte number in a sea of chunky handhelds. It's a ridiculous 6.5mm thin – about a third of the depth of most portables in this space – and weighs just 100g. This is achieved thanks to a 'next-gen PCB sandwich construction that replaces traditional body cases and eliminates wasteful manufacturing processes'. The controls are even weirder. No Speccy rubber keys here, but you do get two control pad discs for navigation and play. It's impossible to say how they'll fare when confronted with a game designed for a traditional D-pad. Sinclair told Stuff the discs 'have snap domes underneath that are super-tactile and were tested by gamers over several months'. He added this was one of the 'hardest details to get right' but said it is 'now perfect'. Perfect is a high bar, but I'm intrigued. I'm a fan of 1:1 handhelds – they're ideal for Pico-8, vertical arcade games and a bunch of other classic systems. And GamerCard should cope with anything up to the (original) PlayStation. But I'm a mite concerned how a super-skinny unit with oddball controls will feel to play. There's also the small matter of the price. The GamerCard will set you back £125 (about $170), which isn't cheap, especially when you stack it up against something like the TrumUI Brick – a chunkier beast at 20mm, but more powerful and half the price. Still, if you're into stylish oddballs or want to help the Sinclair name on its next adventure, grab a GamerCard right now from
Stuff.tv
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
What I think the Apple Games app needs to work – and why it won't
The rumour mill is frothing about a dedicated Apple games app. Which, given Cupertino's dearth of app-naming imagination, will presumably be called Apple Games. After hastily rebuilding an office wall I blew down due to sighing so heavily on hearing this news, I figured I should at least consider how Apple could make this work. And why it won't. Because Apple. Clearly, Apple Games would be intended as a statement, to convince gamers, developers and even Apple itself that the company is a market leader in this space and serious about games. Despite years of evidence to the contrary. It would also be a combination of launcher, games discovery engine, friends hub and leaderboards. Which sounds a lot like Game Centre, a once standalone app Apple forgot about and left broken for six months, before taping it back together and burying it so deep inside its operating systems that it now only appears when you sacrifice a ZX Spectrum on the night of a blood moon. But, hey, Apple rakes in huge sums of cash from App Store games and services like Apple Arcade. So if Apple wants to make Apple Games work, here's the minimum that it needs to do. 1. Nail the basics Achievements. Leaderboards. Social features. These aren't bold innovations in gaming. They're the bare minimum. If Apple execs rock up on stage and even remotely infer Apple invented any of these things, we should riot. 2. Highlight controller support It's 2025. If a fancy new Apple Games app can't say whether Lara Croft: Guardian of Light will work with my Gamesir G8 or Backbone, it's already failed. Just like the App Store, which will, bizarrely, instead denote the game's position on the UK App Store Action chart, as if I or anyone else cares. Great until you stick your iPhone in one and realise the Home Screen is still in portrait orientation. 3. Add landscape support Any iPhone in a controller means landscape orientation. That grinds against Apple's portrait-mode iPhone app obsession, but I don't want to crane my neck 90 degrees to launch a game, like I currently have to when using the iOS Home Screen. 4. Embrace openness (LOL) Someone may have to break it to Apple execs that Apple Arcade isn't all of gaming. Gamers should be able to pin and rapidly access third-party games – and ideally even tap into Steam, Xbox Cloud Gaming and Antstream Arcade. Otherwise Apple Games will be little more than an Apple Arcade app wearing comedy spectacles and a fake moustache. 5. Recommend good games Apple editorial too often highlights IAP nightmares over legitimately good games, for some reason. No, hang on, for this reason: money. But gamers hate all that even more than 20-minute unskippable cutscenes. So: surface genuinely and objectively great games. Get smart game journos to help if need be. Easy. 6. Not get bored after 11 seconds The big one. Apple has a bad track record with its own apps. Many launch in a blaze of glory, only to be caked in cobwebs a year later. If that's Apple Games (as it was for Game Centre) , I'd sooner Apple would permanently leave its gaming ambitions in another castle. Why Apple Games will fail Even if Apple ticks a few boxes, it probably won't tick enough. Because there's no sense of gaming spirit, drive and commitment at Apple's highest levels. Games are seen as cash generators, not culture. They're benchmarking tools, rather than experiences – a way to show off the power of a new iPhone or Mac before quietly forgetting games exist for another year. I'd love to be wrong. But when I yet again hear Apple is getting excited about games, I get a pang of hope that's instantly, mercilessly crushed under a 20-tonne weight of reality and history. So I want Apple Games to thrive and for this to be the year Apple finally cracks gaming. But I think there's more chance that 2025 will be the year of Linux on the desktop.
