Commodore International

Commodore CEO Christian 'Perifractic' Simpson is leading the brand's revival at commodore.net

- Words by Andrew Fisher

The Commodore brand has changed hands multiple times since its bankruptcy in 1994, but now Christian 'Perifractic' Simpson, best known for his YouTube channel Retro Recipes, has led a group effort to take control and to create new Commodore computers.

How did the takeover of Commodore copyrights happen, Christian?

It grew from a simple goal: do things the right way. After years of seeing the brand handled in ways that didn't reflect its legacy (fancy a Commodore Shredder anyone?), it actually began with a YouTube video. I reviewed the Commodore 64X Linux PC, conceived by Leo Nigro in 2010 at licensee Commodore USA, and which had just been brought back to life by Sean Donohue at Retro Games Ltd. Sean had licensed the Commodore name from the one-and-only owners of the original brand, Commodore Corporation BV.

What happened next?

So I released the video, it got over a million views, meaning Commodore was quite happy with us. That led to a conversation... which led to a licence... which led to a wildly successful launch... I had originally just pitched that we sign an exclusive license. To my surprise, they not only said yes, but suggested we know Commodore better than they do and might like to buy the whole thing. Turns out being a lifelong fan can be a valid business plan! And then the hard work began, not least of which was my real business plan and pitch deck – one that I was honoured to see investors flock to support. It's been a roller-coaster ever since.