4th July 2011PlayStation Vita on the way

Sony Computer Entertainment has announced its next handheld game console, the PS Vita, or PSV, as the successor to the PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is set to release in Japan and parts of Asia on December 17th 2011, and in Europe and North America on February 22nd 2012. The new handheld will feature two analog sticks, a 5" OLED multi-touch display, and will support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and optionally 3G. Internally the Vita will feature a 4-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU and also a 4-core SGX543MP4+ GPU. Its main user interface will be LiveArea software in place of XrossMediaBar. Importantly, the PS Vita will be fully backward-compatible with the PSP, however PSOne/TurboGrafx-16 titles will not be compatible at the time of Japanese launch.

5th March 2011Acorn In-Depth Articles

3 new articles have been posted up on the site. The first of these is on the incredible Acorn Econet, the "economical network", the second is on the DFS/ADFS filing systems. To finish up, we've done a write-up on the BBC Literacy Project, which was the advent of the BBC computer. Happy reading!

5th October 2011Remembering Steve Jobs

Six weeks after resigning as Apple CEO, Steve Jobs died today in Palo Alto, CA. Jobs is most well known for starting Apple Computer in the 1970s along with Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and others. Following the huge success of their second computer, the Apple II the company went on to create the Apple Lisa, and Macintosh. After leaving Apple in 1985, Jobs founded NeXT, and then later Pixar Animation Studios. When Apple bought NeXT in 1996, Jobs found himself back with the company he co-founded with the role of interim CEO from 1997, and CEO from 2000 until this year.

27th September 201130 Years of the IBM PC and the 3.5" floppy disk!

Has it really been that long? Yep, this time 30 years ago IBM released their IBM PC, introducing the world to the first easily upgradable personal computer. This first model ran an Intel 8088 microprocessor at a less-than scorching 4.77 MHz and used Microsoft's MS-DOS operating system.
Also in 1981, Sony introduced the first 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and diskettes. This format was first adopted by HP in 1982, helping it become the standard and pushign out other contenders including the 3", 3.25", and 3.9" formats.

9th April 2011New Commodore Prices

Further to our previous news article from last year on the new Commodore 64 PC, we now have some more details and prices. The new Commodore 64 runs an Intel Dual Core Atom 525 at 1.8 GHz along with Nvidia ION 2 graphics. Up to 4 GB of main memory and 6-channel HD audio (with 7.1 output) are also supported. Joining the product line are also two new VIC-20 models: The Vic-Slim for simple internet needs (single Atom CPU) and Vic-Pro (up to quad-core 3.0 GHz CPU). Both have a touchpad on the front. Also released is an Amiga, although don't get your hopes up as it's just a PC case for which to put your own motherboard. The new C64 starts at $250 for a case and card reader only; $895 gets you the full Atom PC, 1 TB drive, and Blu-Ray drive as well. No pricing yet for the Vic models or Amiga case.

12th March 2011What's on the Menu?

You'll hopefully have noticed there are three new menus above - these take you directly into the games database, publishers database, or the authors database. Just choose a starting letter to home in your faves. Also for your convenience are shortcuts to what we think are the best games for the Speccy, C64, CPC and BBC, and also to some of our favourite publisher spotlights.

19th February 2011CBM In-Depth Articles

Three technical pages have been put together to cover some of Commodore's brilliant supporting chips: the amazing SID sound chip (from the C64), the VIC graphics chip (from the VIC-20), the VIC-II graphics chip found in the C64, and to finish up also a write-up on the trusty 1541 floppy drive.

10th December 2010Sega Megadrive

Back when 16-bit was huge news, Sega were quite the powerhouse in the console arena. We're going back to 1988, when they release the incredible Mega Drive. Check out the new section

30th November 2010HP Palmtops

These little things were great! Check out the new hardware section under the 'Others' dropdown menu on the HP 95LX, 100LX and 200LX - MS-DOS-compatible palmtop computers. Just try and find a fully functional PDA or phone these days that runs for 2 months on a set of AA batteries!

28th November 2010Lookee here

In the interests of improving our service for searches on Retro Isle, a restriction on the number of returned records has been put in place. So please be aware that only the first 100 records are going to come back to you. This is so that silly searches (for example, 'i') don't clog the site for others.

24th November 2010Amiga Shots

There are now more than 600 screenshots and Inlay box art for your favourite Amiga titles. If any are missing, remember if you register you can add your own!

Why not check them out and maybe add your own review while you're there?

18th March 2010Commodore 64 Awakes from Slumber

The vintage Commodore 64 personal computer is getting a makeover, with a new design and some of the latest computing technologies, as the brand gets primed for a comeback. The revamped computer will be available through the Commodore USA online store, which is set to open June 1, according to the company's Web site. The computer will be an all-in-one keyboard, with Intel's 64-bit quad-core microprocessors and 3D graphics capabilities, according to the site. To conform with the times, the PC also offers up to 500GB of hard drive storage and 4GB of RAM. Also included are a DVD-RW drive, a touchpad, four USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) port to connect monitors. No price information was given on the Web site.

14th February 2010Facelift Time!

So here it is folks, Retro Isle has been given a fresh new coat of paint!

The menu system is now more context-sensitive, so just choose a system from the red menu at the top, then you get an icon bar down the left-hand side. Let us know what you think via Contact Us!

15th January 2010Play your Games Here

That's right, we've enhanced Retro Isle with it's very own collection of emulators that run directly from your browser! When viewing game details, there is now a 'Play' button for ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC games if the game file is present.

You will be directed to the emulator screen (which requires the Java runtime environment to be installed on your computer by the way) where you can play away. So far there are over 10,000 Spectrum, C64, and CPC games to play, so why not give it a try!

1st January 2010Happy New Year!

Wishing you all the very best for 2010 from the Retro Isle crew. Another year passes and the computers of yesteryear just keep getting more interesting!

17th August 2009The Cat is Back!

Go to the Atari Jaguar pages to see the latest updates we've made. It's not quite complete yet, but keep checking back regularly.

4th June 2009More Game Reviews Added

You'll see on the home page here there may be a "Game Review" section shown. Click on the link to open the game details which also provides a full review of the game from that era, as well as personal reviews made by you the reader.

30th December , 2008New Publisher Spotlights Added

You'll see on the home page here there may be a "Publisher Spotlight" section to the left (if there isn't try refreshing the page). Clicking on the link or logo takes you to a detailed page on the publisher in question, including a full "softography", background info on the company's history and interviews with key employees. The latest ones added are Elite Systems, Imagine, Ultimate Play the Game, Ocean Software and Gargoyle Games. Under development are spotlight sections for CRL, Electric Dreams and Beyond Software, so watch this space!

27th November, 2008 Amstrad, Atari and Other Manufacturer Summary Pages added

We have now added more detailed history on the summary pages for Amstrad, Atari and and Others. These pages provides a quick comparison chart of each manufacturer's line of home computers as well as a brief overview of their history in the industry. Just click on the company name on the left menu.

23rd June , 2008 Manufacturer Summary Pages added

We have now added more detailed history on the summary pages for Sinclair and Commodore. This page provides a quick comparison chart of each manufacturer's line of home computers as well as a brief overview of their history in the industry. Just click on the company name on the left menu.

27th May , 2008Enter the Retro Isle Home Computer Timeline!

Visit the timeline (found on the left menu near the bottom, or just click here) to find out who made what, when and for how long! This resource is great for quickly identifying who was competing for market share around the same time, and is full of useful facts too!

14th April , 2008 New Nintendo Game Boy and DS sections added

Having done a little homework on these handheld games consoles, we thought we'd add a section on them. As always, this will be expanded upon. Currently we have system summaries, some articles, technical papers and utiltiies to download. Also check out the picture libraries!

11th April , 2008Games database now online

We managed to get the database online finally, which means we can now provide you with dynamic content, but more importantly, you can now search for your favourite games or other programs! To do a search regardless of platform, use the Search box and button on the left-hand sidebar. To search only for titles on a specific platform, use the "A-Z List & Search" page under the relevant platform menu.

Happy searching!

5th January , 2008 We're Live!

That's right, you've never seen this site before because it's only just gone live. We have over four years of research waiting to put up on the site in the coming weeks and months, so keep visting!

Whether you're just interested in grabbing the latest emulator, want to look up your fave game, or prefer to get technical with the hardware, it's all here. Just choose the model from the menu on the left and get going!

Feedback is always welcome - please report to us any dead links or omissions.