Commodore fans split over C64 Ultimate FPGA firmware lockdown — firm says it wants to protect its hardware and reduce support fallout

The retro community seems sharply divided over a decision by Commodore to lock down firmware access in its C64 Ultimate computer. In a post entitled Why We're Protecting Your Commodore 64 Ultimate FPGA, the iconic retro computing company telegraphs a change “preventing firmware not released by Commodore from being loaded onto the hardware.” This blog post seems to be designed to calm social media and forum commenters' concerns about the C64U breaking the spirit of the vibrant C64 scene, implementing an anti-tinkering change, and making a move that is really about IP control.

The latest firmware, version 1.1.0, was released a few days ago. You can see the announcement in the X post above, and can expand the embed to read some of the comments it has received.

Social media and forum posters started to grumble about the impending firmware locks soon after some users highlighted a section concerning firmware tinkering in the official 1.1.0 release notes. There are some very welcome changes in 1.1.0, including a new Left Arrow key implementation, USB mouse support for “most mice,” and enhancements for LED lighting interactivity – as well as a long list of fixes.

However, some enthusiasts found it. problematic that Commodore wrote that “A future update may introduce safeguards to help make sure incompatible firmware not released by Commodore does not damage your motherboard.”

Commodore and its supporters characterize the change as one safeguarding user hardware while official firmware updates still flow.

“The Commodore 64 Ultimate is not a static product," the blog post reads. There will be new hardware revisions, new components, and new capabilities! This is foundational to our roadmap and, frankly, core to the Commodore 64 Ultimate's value proposition." But then it warns about firmware built for different boards, causing issues on the C64U.

Probably most concerning for Commodore is that it says it has already seen non-functioning casualties of third-party firmware updates requiring support. This isn’t just hypothetical, insists Commodore. No company would find it sustainable to service “hardware returns and replacements due to actions entirely out of our control.”

It also uses the blog to make clear it isn’t intending to stomp on system patches, like the popular SPIFFY. The distinction is that SPIFFY is a community patch for the C64U - improving quality-of-life in many ways, and is not a replacement firmware. “This policy is not aimed at that kind of community-driven ingenuity,” Commodore makes clear.

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A so-called ‘walled garden’ is also not on the menu, according to the new Commodore blog. In this section it warns that the C64U is different from the closely related Ultimate64 from the same designer/developer. Specifically, it says that “Our hardware roadmap for the Commodore 64 Ultimate includes board revisions and component changes that Gideon's Ultimate64 firmware has no reason to address, since it's built for his product, not ours.” In other words, as the systems diverge and develop, more and more problems could arise from swapping firmware files.

We don’t know if the Commodore Blog post is going to satisfy the sternest critics and worry worms on the great WWW. Surely it helps explain the thinking behind the upcoming restrictions, but folks will always hate restrictions and others deciding what is best for them.

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