--- product_id: 346688120 title: "Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB" brand: "retro games" price: "€ 287.99" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 category: "Retro Games" url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/346688120-koch-distribution-the-a500-mini-electronic-games-usb store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # 25 classic games Save & resume feature 720p HD output Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB **Brand:** retro games **Price:** € 287.99 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🎉 Unleash nostalgia with every pixel! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB by retro games - **How much does it cost?** € 287.99 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/346688120-koch-distribution-the-a500-mini-electronic-games-usb) ## Best For - retro games enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted retro games brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Customizable Play:** Multiple scaling options and CRT filter for that retro feel. - • **Relive the Classics:** Dive into 25 iconic Amiga games, from Alien Breed to Worms! - • **Crystal Clear Gaming:** Experience your favorites in stunning 720p HD via HDMI. - • **Endless Compatibility:** Compatible with hundreds of classic Amiga games using WHDLoad. - • **Seamless Gaming Experience:** Save and resume your adventures with ease. ## Overview The Koch Distribution The A500 Mini is a compact gaming console that emulates classic Amiga systems, featuring 25 pre-loaded games and compatibility with hundreds more. It offers 720p HD output, customizable display options, and convenient save and resume functionality, making it a must-have for retro gaming enthusiasts. ## Description Product Description Now other classic consoles are just toys! Introducing THEA500® Mini, a compact reimagining of this classic home computer. Featuring perfect emulation of not only the original A500 (OCS) and Enhanced Chip Set (ECS) of future revisions, but also the Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA) of the A1200. Play one of the included 25 classic Amiga games, selected from a simple to use carousel, including all-time greats like Alien Breed 3D, Another World, Simon the Sorcerer and Worms. Or side-load your own games via USB stick with full WHDLoad support and an array of options to choose from. Plus save and resume your game at any time to help you finish those punishingly difficult classics. The THEA500® Mini comes with the original style 2-button mouse and newly engineered 8-button precision gamepad, allowing you to choose your control method. To compliment the on-screen keyboard, you can plug in an external standard USB PC keyboard for additional functionality. Directions Connect the 2-button mouse and 8-button gamepad. Insert a USB stick with legally obtained/purchased Amiga games. Power on the console and select games from the carousel or load from USB using WHDLoad. P.when('A').execute(function(A) { A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) { window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100); }); }); Box Contains THEA500 Mini (Keyboard non-functional. Virtual keyboard feature included), 2-Button USB Mouse (1.8m -6ft), 8-Button USB Gamepad (1.8m - 6ft), USB-C Power Supply Cable (1.8m - 6ft) (AC Adapter NOT included), HDMI Cable (1.8m - 6ft) See more Review: Nostalgia Overload - I have always been a massive fan of the Amiga although I never actually owned one as I was more into consoles. My cousin did own an A1200 though, and I used to spend many hours on it and had a lot of fun. Many games - specifically the Bitmap Brothers games such as Speedball 2, Magic Pockets and, of course, The Chaos Engine, hold a special place in my heart. Sure, I did have the SNES version of Chaos Engine, and as close as it was to the Amiga version, it did lack a certain groove. I have an Evercade handheld and VS, and of course couldn't wait to get my hands on the Bitmap Brothers collection, hoping that we would see Amiga ports of Speedball 2 and Chaos Engine, but alas that wasn't to be. As someone who has a lot of fondness for the Amiga but never owned one I was delighted when Retro Games announced the A500 mini - finally we would be able to play proper Amiga versions of classic games on our TV's in a mini form factor! I know, I know, we have had Amiga emulators for years on PC and Raspberry Pi, and technically the A500 mini is just another emulation box, but the difference being that the A500 mini offers officially licenced Amiga games, rather than ROMs of dubious legality. Unfortunately, as with the C64 mini and maxi, it doesn't carry the Commodore or Amiga branding, but the software is licenced from CLoanTo, which means that the A500 mini is as close to an official Amiga product as were likely to get - and the bundled 25 games are all fully licenced. Out of the box the A500 mini itself is stunning - there's so much detail. It's clear that the makers of this product have a lot of love for the Amiga. The mini is solid, with a little bit of weight behind it, and although the keyboard is non-functioning it looks like it could actually work (incidentally, the device does support USB keyboards), but of course it doesn't. The LED lights for power and disk drive are fully functioning and can even be set to mimic a real Amiga behaviour which is a nice touch (the red LED will turn itself off when playing a game, and come back on when going back to the home screen, and the green disk drive LED flashes to mimic loading a game when loading games from a USB stick). The cables (USB and HDMI) are the same beige colour as the A500 itself, which is also nice. Also accompanying the mini is a replica of the original Amiga tank mouse. It's slightly smaller than the original and of course uses a laser rather than a ball, but it feels nice in the hand and is very responsive in the games I've use it on. If this isn't your preference it can also be swapped out for any USB mouse. Additionally there is the A500 gamepad - this is a slightly tweaked version of the CD32 gamepad. At first glance I was very sceptical of the gamepad. I know some people have stated that Amiga games are best controlled with a joystick and not a controller, but as a console person first and foremost, I had no problem with a gamepad being included. My only problem was the decision to imitate the CD32 pad, which was not the most comfortable controller to begin with. The controller itself feels really well built, the buttons have a good amount of travel and the shoulder buttons have a nice click when pressed. The only issue I had is with the D-pad, which, although responsive, made finding diagonals is games like Chaos Engine a bit of a challenge. However, the more I used it, the more I have come to like it. Sure, I would prefer the D-pad to be round, like the CD32 controller, but I can't fault its function overall, and it is also possible to plug in other controllers - some people have even got PS3 and PS4 controllers working, and I also believe controllers from 8Bitdo also work, although I haven't tried this myself. I did attempt to try my Evercade VS controller on the A500 mini but this wouldn't work at all unfortunately. I'm not going to spend too much time focusing on the games, as these are very subjective and everyone has their own favourites - I will, however, say that although Amiga games were designed with a joystick in mind Retro Games have done a sterling job in translating these over to the gamepad, and most are as responsive as they have ever been! One final thing to note before I wrap up, and probably one of the biggest draws for a lot of people, is the ability to add your own games on USB stick via WHDLoad and indeed to get you started, Retro Games even offer a free bonus game available to download from their website (an enhanced version of Citadel), along with the WHDLoad package, which will be required when adding your own games. This, I think, is fantastic, and sets the A500 mini apart from other mini consoles such as the SNES and Mega Drive. In practice I've found that it is simple to add games via WHDLoad and, provided you have downloaded the WHDLoad package from Retro Games, they are recognised and most play perfectly well. There may be some issues with games playing too fast, or sound problems, but when a USB stick is inserted it is possible to enable an extra set of "expert" settings so you an adjust the amount of RAM used, enable copper and blitter timings and enable CPU JIT (Just in Time), which can fix the majority of issues. It's not perfect, and not every game will run right away, but for the most part I have found that with a bit of tinkering it is possible to run the vast majority of games just fine, and it's even possible to map the gamepad buttons or use a joystick for each individual game. If you fancy a bit more tinkering, it's also possible to get Workbench and ADF games working via AmiBerry - check out Crazy Burger on YouTube if this is your thing. I know this was a long winded review and now we're finally at the end. To summarise then; I am a fan of mini consoles, I own the NES, SNES, Mega Drive, PlayStation, C64 and Neo-Geo - I love them for their convenience, and the A500 mini is right up there. Its emulation is top class, and the versatility to add additional games, and peripherals such as USB hubs and keyboards makes it feel more like a fully fledged Amiga. Of course if, like me, you're just more interested in just playing Amiga games on your TV without the faff then this can also accommodate. The machine isn't perfect by any means. The gamepad takes some getting used to, there's no way to remap the controls of the built-in games, and the way WHDLoad is handled is a bit clunky and I know some people are disappointed with ADF not being supported out of the box. However, most of these can be fixed with a firmware update, and indeed Retro Games have already stated that they will be looking to add ADF support via a firmware update at some point, and maybe other features will be added. Given the support that Retro Games provided for the C64 mini and maxi machines I think that we will see the A500 mini's feature set grow as time goes on. Is the A500 mini perfect? Not at all, but is it a lot of fun? Absolutely. For me it's the ideal way to enjoy all those Amiga classics I played back in the day and scratches that nostalgia itch. I highly recommend it for any fan of the Amiga, and retro gaming in general. Review: a must have for Amiga lovers - I already have original Amigas and in the modern age, there are a lot of extra solutions to getting them working and loading software. Sometimes this involves nice simple solutions inside the case and sometimes a lot more faff. The A500 mini is brilliant. Connects via HDMI, not SCART or Amiga RGB and works lovely with a modern telly. Some of the games on it wouldn't be ones I'd play, but there are enough classics like the incredible Chaos Engine and Worms: The Directors Cut to keep me busy for ages and show off the best of the 80s 16bit scene to today's youngsters. Some people seem to have questioned the shape of the controller, being based on the CD32. I think the controllers are just fine and whilst they might not be as ergonomic as modern console controllers, they were clearly a compromise to keep the style retro looking. Older players might prefer a joystick but I can't stand using those so I bought a second one at the same time and also use these pads on The C64 instead of the sticks. Not tried them on the PC yet. I've added all the WHDLoad games too (google how to do that if you don't know) so this is my main Amiga for games now. The keyboard is non-working but the buttons would have been ridiculously small if they had made them functional and it would have pushed the price up. A USB keyboard can be used when needed and there are plenty of USB ports. Original looking tank mouse was a nice touch. I wanted one of these as soon as I heard about them and eventually gave in when they were on offer for under £100. I can see at the time of writing - April 2024 - that they are currently discounted to £85. You'll read some nitpicking over the games included and the pad design but for me it's a cracking bundle for a decent price. Writing this has made me want to go and play it now! ## Features - 25 classic Amiga games included, featuring: Alien breed 3D, Another World, ATR: All terrain Racing, Battle Chess, Cadaver, Kick Off 2, Pinball Dreams, Simon the Sorcerer, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe, The Chaos Engine, Worms: The Director's Cut, Zool: Ninja Of The ''Nth'' Dimension - 50/60Hz in 720p HD via HDMI; Multiple scaling options & CRT filter - Emulates Amiga 500, 600 & 1200 (ECS/OCS/AGA) - Save & resume game functions - THEA500 Mini is compatible with 100's of classic Amiga games and demos, utilising WHDLoad for simplicity (games must be legally obtained/purchased from the legal owners) ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B09BW8N7JZ | | Customer reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,474) | | Item model number | 200744 | | Language | English | | Product Dimensions | 25 x 7.8 x 17.7 cm; 1 kg | | Rated | Ages 12 & Over | | Release date | 8 April 2022 | ## Images ![Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71VZCM+NEHL.jpg) ![Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91j3how0FYL.jpg) ![Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51UmzgblR-L.jpg) ![Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61O09Jbi8XL.jpg) ![Koch Distribution The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) USB - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fjpdr4zaL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Color** options. ## Questions & Answers **Q: does it run workbench** A: Yes **Q: Can you program on this?** A: The fake keyboard on the mini is for show - not a keyboard - so yes you will want to add a USB keyboard to try to do coding because the "onscreen keyboard replacement" is slow and clumsy at best like a cell phone keyboard right? **Q: Are the power requirements geared for US or Europe?** A: Power is USB 5 Volts ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nostalgia Overload *by B***I on 21 April 2022* I have always been a massive fan of the Amiga although I never actually owned one as I was more into consoles. My cousin did own an A1200 though, and I used to spend many hours on it and had a lot of fun. Many games - specifically the Bitmap Brothers games such as Speedball 2, Magic Pockets and, of course, The Chaos Engine, hold a special place in my heart. Sure, I did have the SNES version of Chaos Engine, and as close as it was to the Amiga version, it did lack a certain groove. I have an Evercade handheld and VS, and of course couldn't wait to get my hands on the Bitmap Brothers collection, hoping that we would see Amiga ports of Speedball 2 and Chaos Engine, but alas that wasn't to be. As someone who has a lot of fondness for the Amiga but never owned one I was delighted when Retro Games announced the A500 mini - finally we would be able to play proper Amiga versions of classic games on our TV's in a mini form factor! I know, I know, we have had Amiga emulators for years on PC and Raspberry Pi, and technically the A500 mini is just another emulation box, but the difference being that the A500 mini offers officially licenced Amiga games, rather than ROMs of dubious legality. Unfortunately, as with the C64 mini and maxi, it doesn't carry the Commodore or Amiga branding, but the software is licenced from CLoanTo, which means that the A500 mini is as close to an official Amiga product as were likely to get - and the bundled 25 games are all fully licenced. Out of the box the A500 mini itself is stunning - there's so much detail. It's clear that the makers of this product have a lot of love for the Amiga. The mini is solid, with a little bit of weight behind it, and although the keyboard is non-functioning it looks like it could actually work (incidentally, the device does support USB keyboards), but of course it doesn't. The LED lights for power and disk drive are fully functioning and can even be set to mimic a real Amiga behaviour which is a nice touch (the red LED will turn itself off when playing a game, and come back on when going back to the home screen, and the green disk drive LED flashes to mimic loading a game when loading games from a USB stick). The cables (USB and HDMI) are the same beige colour as the A500 itself, which is also nice. Also accompanying the mini is a replica of the original Amiga tank mouse. It's slightly smaller than the original and of course uses a laser rather than a ball, but it feels nice in the hand and is very responsive in the games I've use it on. If this isn't your preference it can also be swapped out for any USB mouse. Additionally there is the A500 gamepad - this is a slightly tweaked version of the CD32 gamepad. At first glance I was very sceptical of the gamepad. I know some people have stated that Amiga games are best controlled with a joystick and not a controller, but as a console person first and foremost, I had no problem with a gamepad being included. My only problem was the decision to imitate the CD32 pad, which was not the most comfortable controller to begin with. The controller itself feels really well built, the buttons have a good amount of travel and the shoulder buttons have a nice click when pressed. The only issue I had is with the D-pad, which, although responsive, made finding diagonals is games like Chaos Engine a bit of a challenge. However, the more I used it, the more I have come to like it. Sure, I would prefer the D-pad to be round, like the CD32 controller, but I can't fault its function overall, and it is also possible to plug in other controllers - some people have even got PS3 and PS4 controllers working, and I also believe controllers from 8Bitdo also work, although I haven't tried this myself. I did attempt to try my Evercade VS controller on the A500 mini but this wouldn't work at all unfortunately. I'm not going to spend too much time focusing on the games, as these are very subjective and everyone has their own favourites - I will, however, say that although Amiga games were designed with a joystick in mind Retro Games have done a sterling job in translating these over to the gamepad, and most are as responsive as they have ever been! One final thing to note before I wrap up, and probably one of the biggest draws for a lot of people, is the ability to add your own games on USB stick via WHDLoad and indeed to get you started, Retro Games even offer a free bonus game available to download from their website (an enhanced version of Citadel), along with the WHDLoad package, which will be required when adding your own games. This, I think, is fantastic, and sets the A500 mini apart from other mini consoles such as the SNES and Mega Drive. In practice I've found that it is simple to add games via WHDLoad and, provided you have downloaded the WHDLoad package from Retro Games, they are recognised and most play perfectly well. There may be some issues with games playing too fast, or sound problems, but when a USB stick is inserted it is possible to enable an extra set of "expert" settings so you an adjust the amount of RAM used, enable copper and blitter timings and enable CPU JIT (Just in Time), which can fix the majority of issues. It's not perfect, and not every game will run right away, but for the most part I have found that with a bit of tinkering it is possible to run the vast majority of games just fine, and it's even possible to map the gamepad buttons or use a joystick for each individual game. If you fancy a bit more tinkering, it's also possible to get Workbench and ADF games working via AmiBerry - check out Crazy Burger on YouTube if this is your thing. I know this was a long winded review and now we're finally at the end. To summarise then; I am a fan of mini consoles, I own the NES, SNES, Mega Drive, PlayStation, C64 and Neo-Geo - I love them for their convenience, and the A500 mini is right up there. Its emulation is top class, and the versatility to add additional games, and peripherals such as USB hubs and keyboards makes it feel more like a fully fledged Amiga. Of course if, like me, you're just more interested in just playing Amiga games on your TV without the faff then this can also accommodate. The machine isn't perfect by any means. The gamepad takes some getting used to, there's no way to remap the controls of the built-in games, and the way WHDLoad is handled is a bit clunky and I know some people are disappointed with ADF not being supported out of the box. However, most of these can be fixed with a firmware update, and indeed Retro Games have already stated that they will be looking to add ADF support via a firmware update at some point, and maybe other features will be added. Given the support that Retro Games provided for the C64 mini and maxi machines I think that we will see the A500 mini's feature set grow as time goes on. Is the A500 mini perfect? Not at all, but is it a lot of fun? Absolutely. For me it's the ideal way to enjoy all those Amiga classics I played back in the day and scratches that nostalgia itch. I highly recommend it for any fan of the Amiga, and retro gaming in general. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ a must have for Amiga lovers *by M***C on 18 April 2024* I already have original Amigas and in the modern age, there are a lot of extra solutions to getting them working and loading software. Sometimes this involves nice simple solutions inside the case and sometimes a lot more faff. The A500 mini is brilliant. Connects via HDMI, not SCART or Amiga RGB and works lovely with a modern telly. Some of the games on it wouldn't be ones I'd play, but there are enough classics like the incredible Chaos Engine and Worms: The Directors Cut to keep me busy for ages and show off the best of the 80s 16bit scene to today's youngsters. Some people seem to have questioned the shape of the controller, being based on the CD32. I think the controllers are just fine and whilst they might not be as ergonomic as modern console controllers, they were clearly a compromise to keep the style retro looking. Older players might prefer a joystick but I can't stand using those so I bought a second one at the same time and also use these pads on The C64 instead of the sticks. Not tried them on the PC yet. I've added all the WHDLoad games too (google how to do that if you don't know) so this is my main Amiga for games now. The keyboard is non-working but the buttons would have been ridiculously small if they had made them functional and it would have pushed the price up. A USB keyboard can be used when needed and there are plenty of USB ports. Original looking tank mouse was a nice touch. I wanted one of these as soon as I heard about them and eventually gave in when they were on offer for under £100. I can see at the time of writing - April 2024 - that they are currently discounted to £85. You'll read some nitpicking over the games included and the pad design but for me it's a cracking bundle for a decent price. Writing this has made me want to go and play it now! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great system for nostalgia, a few watch-points to get the most out of it though *by D***S on 16 April 2022* I can't fault the system for its plug and play ease, its great. The caveat to this is that to get the most out of it, you need a few extras that aren't made clear in here, on the website or in the manual. The keyboard on the system is a decorative sculpt, its non-functional, but you can plug in your own USB keyboard. I used an old HP one I had lying around. Extras that you might want to consider. 1. The system doesn't come with a power supply. You need a 5 volt power supply (a tablet or phone charger suffices) the manual calls for 1Amp, but you really need about 2 Amps plus. I am using a 5Volt 2.4Amp, otherwise the system struggles to power a usb stick, game pad, and mouse/keyboard 2. You can play your own games, but to do this, you need a USB memory stick, (32Gb or less seems to work best, bigger ones seem to have a hard time being recognised by the system) formatted in FAT32, then you need WHDLoad package from the Amigamini website (but its easy to do; "you've been gamed" on youtube has some easy to follow tutorials if you get stuck) 3. There are only 3 USB ports on the system. You must have the gamepad plugged in, because it is used to navigate the menu system. If you want to play your own games then you need a memory stick plugged in. That leaves you with one port for the mouse or keyboard. If you want both it means getting a USB externally powered hub. You can hotswap the keyboard with the game pad, but that's a lot of messing around. 4 and 5. A USB keyboard and a USB 2 button joystick if you want to play your own games instead of just the 25 included. In summary, great system, but you might want to buy 1. a 5 volt 2.4 amp power supply (Necessity) 2. a 16-32 GB USB memory stick (for your own games) 3. USB externally powered hub (i.e. UGreen) 4. USB Keyboard 5. USB 2 button joystick EDIT** looks like only the official joystick works properly , BUT we've discovered that if you plug in an xbox controller or a dualshock, the analogue stock will work as a joystick in game (analogue stick doesn't work in menu, use the Dpad) ## Frequently Bought Together - The A500 Mini (Electronic Games) - retrogames The C64 Mini USA Version - Not Machine Specific - A Hobbyist's Guide to THEA500 Mini --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/346688120-koch-distribution-the-a500-mini-electronic-games-usb](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/346688120-koch-distribution-the-a500-mini-electronic-games-usb) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-05-17*