Whenever I see one of the numerous hardware recreations of the Commodore 64 system, I have to admit to getting a bit teary-eyed. After all, like many of you, it was the C64 that acted as my gateway into the world of PC gaming in the 1980s. It taught us BASIC, it gave us some of the period’s best games, and it even exposed us to the dark world of piracy. Those hot afternoons sitting in front of a rusty metal box fan while playing my C64 on a woodgrain 13 inch TV in my folk’s poorly ventilated guest bedroom are some of the best gaming memories I have.

If you feel the same, you might be interested in what Darren Melbourne (The man responsible for the C64DTV) is creating.

Recreating the classic “Breadbin” style of the Commodore 64, Melbourne is effectively creating a new Commodore 64 unit that will both allow for the usage of the original system’s cartridges as well as storing of ROMS. It’s also worth mentioning that he is also in talks with license holders to get several of the system’s most memorable games pre-loaded on the hardware itself.

Even better than recreating the classic keyboard style is the addition of a new handheld variant that will allow for the same level of play, only in a mobile format.

Coming complete with both a micro-HDMI and USB port, the handheld version will ship out in April of 2017, just four months after the planned December 2016 launch of the main desktop model.

With only about $14,000 (as of this writing) into their goal of $150,000, Melbourne and his team have a long road ahead of them. Still, a simple refresh of the page shows it climbing by the minute, and for this Commodore kid, the idea of having an actual C64 recreation (and not just an emulator in a plastic housing) is incredibly tantalizing. If others feel the same, their funding goal might be met long before the month is up.