Playdate is a new portable games console from Panic that looks wonderful. It’s bright yellow, can fit in your pocket, has a high-contrast black and white screen… and it has a crank on the side.
Today, Panic announced that the Playdate will be available to pre-order from this July.
What Is Playdate?
Playdate is a small handheld games system from Panic, a company who develops Mac software and has published video games like Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game.
According to Panic, it made Playdate “just for fun,” and that ethos is certainly reflected in the console’s design and functionality.
The Playdate has a high-contrast 400 x 240 1-bit black and white screen which is “not backlit, but super reflective”, an 180 MHz Cortex M7 processor, 4GB flash memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a loudspeaker.
Most noteworthy is the physical crank that flips out from the side of the Playdate. Some games will use it to control the action, such as Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure—the rotation of the crank moves the character forward or back in time.
Today, Panic announced that the console will be available to pre-order this July for $179 plus tax and shipping. You can sign up for alerts on the Playdate website.
What Games Does Playdate Offer?
Of course, what’s a games console without games? Included in the cost of the Playdate is 24 free games. Two games will be beamed to the console every week for 12 weeks. There’s no subscription cost and the games are yours to keep forever.
As Playdate’s website amusingly says, you might not love all of the games, but you’ll at least have a fun time trying them out.
Some developers have announced they are working on games for Playdate’s future—including Lucas Pope, the man behind Papers Please and Return of the Obra Dinn.
It’ll also be free to make your own Playdate games, using the company’s SDK. You can also use Pulp, a browser-based tool designed to help people who have a good story idea, but aren’t developers, to build their own games.
Does Playdate Have Peripherals?
There’s the console, the games… and the peripherals! Panic also announced the Playdate Stereo Dock, a box which charges the console, acts as a stereo Bluetooth speaker, and has a pen holder to fit the included pen (yes, you read that right). Since the Playdate’s screen works as a clock when it’s not playing games, it’ll also double up as a fun clock.
There’s also the Playdate Cover, which aligns with the console’s screws and secures itself magnetically. This costs $29 and will be available for pre-order alongside the Playdate in July.
Playdate Is a Unique Video Game Console
It’s fair to say that Playdate isn’t going to be as popular as the PS5, Xbox Series X, or Switch. But that’s not the point. It looks like a fun and unique handheld console that will let developers experiment with some fun ideas.