People involved in the preparation of this issue of RetroMagazine World (in no particular order):
- David “Cercamon” La Monaca
- Carlo N. Del Mar Pirazzini
- Daniele Brahimi
- Francesco Fiorentini
- Chiara “Kika” Carrara
- Roberto Del Mar Pirazzini
- Giampaolo Moraschi
- Tommaso Pitturru
- Felice Nardella aka “Kimono”
- Michele Ugolini
- Eugenio Rapella
- Takahiro Yoshioka
- Javier Gonzalez
- Marta Rossmann
- Ingrid Poggiali
- Pietro “WarioPunk” Turri
- Alex “LEX” Fridman
- Pietro “WarioPunk” Turri
- Bimbomillo
- Cover image: Giuseppe Mangini
- Cover layout: Carlo N. Del Mar Pirazzini
Editorial by Francesco Fiorentini – “Why retrocomputing is more relevant than ever!”
I’m inspired by a couple of discussions I’ve had recently. In an age where artificial intelligence reigns supreme and our data is stored “who knows where” in the cloud, there is a growing paradox: the fascination with computers of the past. We have talked about the nostalgia effect ad nauseam, but personally I don’t think that’s all there is to it. That would be reductive. So I asked myself a couple of questions and tried to answer them.
A return to tangibility: In a hyper-technological world where everything is dematerialized, we feel the need for tangibility. Computers of the past were tangible, accessible, even “humanly” imperfect. You could open them, understand them, modify them. But it’s not just that. Today’s games are almost exclusively in digital format. Once purchased, we can download them from somewhere (sometimes not even that), but we are left with nothing in our hands. No physical media, no manual to take to bed and fantasize about future games, no box to display on the shelves or in the bookcase. Personally, I miss that. In a few years, what will today’s young people have left of the games that accompanied their childhood? Nothing… Rediscovering limitations: More and more coders, who are certainly also experts in modern languages, are rediscovering the charm of creating software for machines with significant limitations (a few kilobytes of RAM, slow CPUs, very low video resolutions…). Probably the challenge of managing to create something relevant despite the objective limitations restores a sense of mastery and creativity that is often lost in modern development. Sociological and cultural aspects: Recovering, restoring, and documenting systems, software, magazines, and books from that era means preserving the memory of a time when computer science was exploratory and visionary. It means treating computers not only as tools, but as cultural objects. Objects that, like it or not, have changed the social fabric and habits of millions of people over the last 40 years! An active community: It is therefore clear that a global and, we hope, increasingly intergenerational community has formed around retrocomputing. Forums, social media, YouTube channels, open source projects, and dedicated fairs tell of a passion shared by more and more people. And while it is true that the majority are nostalgic family men, young people are also discovering the charm of machines and games that are light years away from modern glitz. My daughter (6 years old) regularly plays games on Amiga, C64, GameBoy, and Nintendo DS… Retrocomputing is therefore not just nostalgia: it is also awareness! It is the desire to understand how and why we got to where we are now. And perhaps it is precisely this awareness that can generate curiosity even in the youngest, offering them not only a lesson in digital history, but a genuine spark of passion. I hope so. What about you?
Note: this editorial and all the contents were first released in Italian in 2025 – ref. issue 51-IT
Summary:
- Commodore 64 Ultimate
- Happy Birthday! 40 Years of Amiga
- Happy Birthday Atari ST… The JackIntosh!
- Commodore rises from the ashes (again)
- The new version of the ZX Spectrum NEXT
- The MSX that never was: a forgotten prototype
- Visual Basic 6 on the browser?
- Rotating octahedron on the Commodore 64
- The Retromagazine World Library
- The mysterious commands of MS-DOS: EDLIN
- Random permutations for a question
- Dario’s books, AI, and the C64
- Generation 80
- The “new” Commodore
- Interview with Luigi Bonifacino
- …Gachagachagachagacha…pon!
- The unknown story of Takeru…
- Krogharr (Amiga)
- Outrun Amiga Edition (Amiga AGA)
- Shantae Adavnce (GBA)
- Galactic Panic (Atari ST)
- The Cursed Legacy (MegaDrive)
- Lunar Skirmish (SMS)
- The Secret of the Four Winds (SMS)
- Knight of the Moon (NES)
- Tiny Magic (MSX 2)
- Earrthion (Varie)
- Cubix (Spectrum)
- Daemonclaw: Origin of Nnar (MegaDrive)
- Gladmort (Varie)
- P47 II MD (Megadrive)
- Rust ‘n’ Steel (C64)
- Baten Kaitos (Gamecube/Switch)
- Boni in Bat Hell! (Spectrum)
- El Cartero (C64)
- Track ‘n’ Field (Amiga AGA)
- Outrun Game Boy (Gameboy)
- Random Ancient Stones (C64)
- ZPF (MegaDrive)
- Tiger-Heli (Atari 7800)
- Castle of Terror (GBC)
- Jixa Ledy Tiger (Windows)
- Dude the Deck Swabber (NES)
- Defender (Atari ST)
- Gyruss (Amiga)
- Donkey Kong (Plus 4)
- Phil’s Adventure (Plus 4)
- Willow (Arcade)
- Conan (C64)
- Hokuto No Ken (Playstation)
- Speed Freaks (Playstation)
