Commodore, which has resuscitated the brand with a line of MP3 players, plans to bring out a line of gaming computers in time for the CeBIT show next week in Hannover, Germany. Right now, the only clue to the company's plans is the Commodore Gaming Web site, which includes a countdown timer that's ticking down to next week.

"Twenty-five years ago, Commodore launched the best selling personal computer of the late 20th century, the C64, and defined the early computer games experience for millions of people worldwide," said Commodore Gaming CEO Bala Keilman, in a statement. "We are privileged and excited to bring the Commodore brand back to the gaming community and mark a new chapter in its history with this exceptional machine. We're sure that it will deliver what gamers need and want."

All in all, while it would be nice to see Commodore come out with something novel in the gaming space, all signs right now point to a lackluster product offering, which may never even see the light of day.

History has not been kind to Commodore's efforts; although the company launched the Gravel MP3 player, it hasn't had a whole lot of success building a brand for the device or within the lifestyle category. Commodore announced its intention to launch a range of MP3 players in January 2005, and announced the Gravel in August 2006, before "really" launching it on Feb. 27, at a press conference in the Netherlands.

However, Commodore said then that it plans to ship the device into "premium" retail channels, and did not disclose pricing. All of the products it talked about--the Gravel, and the "Commodore at Home" home gateway--had been talked about previously. While you can buy individual song tracks from the Commodore store, the unlimited subscription model remains on hold. The Commodore store also promised to sell games, which are nowhere to be found.

That might be a component of the launch, similar to what the Infinium Phantom was supposed to be. Here's hoping that there the two have only the most superficial resemblance.

Post by Mark Hachman