Playdate - A new handheld console

brevity · 23-05-2019 10:59am #1

https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1131307504116174848?s=20

You can sign up for notifications on their website and the most recent edition of Edge magazine has loads on it.

I’m very tempted. It’s super unique. And it has a crank. It could end up being an expensive ornament but the company making it, Panic, seem to have a good reputation.

More Info:

We love video games.

We love the places they take us and the feelings they give us. We’ve grown up with them. It sounds silly, but they really mean a lot to us.

Playdate is our celebration of the video game.

We reached out to some top game designers, like Keita Takahashi and Zach Gage and Bennett Foddy and Shaun Inman.

We showed them Playdate and asked, “Want to make a game for it?”. Then we lost our minds when they said “Yeah!”

So Playdate isn’t just the hardware.

It’s twelve brand new video games, one each week.

What are these games? Here’s the thing: we’d like to keep them a secret until they appear on your Playdate. We want to surprise you.

Some are short, some long, some are experimental, some traditional. All are fun.

When your Playdate lights up with a brand new game delivery, we hope you can’t wait to unwrap your gift.

And there’s so much more to come. Playdate is alive with possibilities and surprises, future games and new ways to make them. We’ll have even more to talk about at launch.

DavyD_83 · 23-05-2019 11:02am

I'm intrigued....

If I had a spare $149 of definitely give it a shot

[Deleted User] · 23-05-2019 11:25am

very gimmicky

kunst nugget · 23-05-2019 11:44am

glasso wrote: »

very gimmicky

And tiny.

It looks like it would be about the size of the palm of my hand. $149 to look at a black and white screen half the size of my palm, playing games that look for any reason to use that stupid crank controller? Nah, you're grand...

Potential-Monke · 23-05-2019 11:45am

The crank is interesting, but I can't see a market for this over here. Some may get it, but at $150 it would want to be really good. I'd imagine they're aiming at a specific audience, but good to hear it's open source so the mod community will probably make this.

I'll wait and see what the games look like, and may splash down the line.

jester77 · 23-05-2019 11:55am

Sounds like they will make games in the mold of Braid for this, could be interesting. Would fit in the pocket and ideal for short journeys on the train.

wally1990 · 23-05-2019 12:27pm

hold on..... $150 for a black and white handheld with only 2 buttons , no backlight(wtf.. why not) and a crank(meh)........

sorry but you can keep your money.

I can run emulators on my android phone for ps1, snes , GBA, gamecube etc and they want $150 for this junk because it has great developers???....... can't personally see this taking off....

it won't be long until the 2nd version is released with alot of improvements and the 1st console(this) will be gone

the price is way too much for this anyway, in the US, people may have to pay taxes in addition on the purchase.

I see a flop of a device coming.

It's starting with way too many flaws

Can it be modded? does it have wifi?.........

I dunno,,,,, cant see who they are targeting with this product (fools with their money)

It's starting with too many flaws.

johnny_ultimate · 23-05-2019 12:42pm

It’s silly to see this as being in any sort of competition with existing mobile or handheld devices as I can’t for a second imagine that was Panic’s intention here. It’s a quirky experiment above all else, and aimed at a market of people who’d be interested in such things.

I’m certainly intrigued from the off. The developers they’ve gotten on board are precisely the sort of people I’d want making games for an eccentric piece of hardware, and as a piece of design I think it’s clever and unusual and rather aesthetically pleasing. I can actually foresee the crank being used in clever and witty ways, and the demo we’ve seen so far is testament to that.

It’s undeniable that the price is high, but when you consider it’s a bespoke piece of hardware that also needs to cover development costs for a dozen games (even if they’re small ones) it starts to come into focus why it costs that much. The irony is a high quality but lo-fi black and white screen will cost more than a bog standard colour display.

Could it fail? Sure. But it’s cool seeing someone develop on oddball piece of gaming hardware just because they can, and seemingly as a passion project. Given how we typically think of gaming hardware as predominantly a bland black box (Nintendo being the obvious exception) I think something different should be welcomed even if it never amounts to anything more than a niche curiosity. That’s especially true when it’s clearly designed to be a niche curiosity in the first place.

Shiminay · 23-05-2019 1:04pm

I think it's interesting, but a little too expensive for my current means to indulge in it. I'm very glad to see some people taking a chance on something interesting though and I want to support that at least.

[Deleted User] · 23-05-2019 1:07pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

That’s especially true when it’s clearly designed to be a niche curiosity in the first place.

I wonder if there is even a niche for this.

No harm in letting them give it a shot but seems redundant and at most a gimmicky curiosity item given the limited scope outlined.

K.O.Kiki · 23-05-2019 1:10pm

Said it in the main news thread, but that handheld looks utterly dreadful to hold.
Too thin & narrow for the adult hands it's aimed at, A-B buttons in a straight line (a design rightfully abandoned since 1990).
A crank so you can experience the joy of your handheld wobbling around in your hand (that screen will want to be PERFECT).

And the games are - in a fúcking season pass.
12 games, 1 a week, and you've no idea what they are other than the first.

But hey, they bought their way onto the cover of EDGE #333 :rolleyes:

fergus1001 · 23-05-2019 1:13pm

but is it as good as SouljaGame ??

BloodBath · 23-05-2019 2:56pm

Worst console since the Ouya. Has flop written all over it.

What a gimmicky piece of crap.

super_furry · 23-05-2019 2:58pm

BloodBath wrote: »

Worst console since the Ouya. Has flop written all over it.

What a gimmicky piece of crap.

Jaysus relax there. Why get so angry about it?

It's clearly not being sold as a mass-market product. It's going to be a limited run art-project with some interesting names attached to it and that will only appeal to those with a real interest in game mechanics.

Depending on the delivery costs and import tax, I'll pick one up myself if I can. It's a really interesting little project.

BloodBath · 23-05-2019 3:05pm

Who's angry? It's just an opinion.

Some good indie devs attached but the hardware is bad outside of aesthetics.

Basic black and white screen with no backlight, judging by the graphics it's very basic hardware which limits game design and the crank is just a gimmick.

Hiding the games is not a good sign either.

In the age of high end phones what is the point of this product.

TerrorFirmer · 23-05-2019 3:16pm

I have to agree that this has flop stamped all over it. In principle it's a grand novelty idea, but $150, limited to playing 12 entirely random unknown qualities, as well as seemingly having no multi-functionality, is asking far too much.

If it was a fraction of that price, might be viable, but forget it at $150.

The Specialist · 23-05-2019 3:22pm

Ouya 2.0 in my eyes, looks like the perfect gimmicky gadget for non-sock wearing hipsters to keep in their man bags though.

super_furry · 23-05-2019 3:30pm

BloodBath wrote: »

Who's angry? It's just an opinion.

Some good indie devs attached but the hardware is bad outside of aesthetics.

Basic black and white screen with no backlight, judging by the graphics it's very basic hardware which limits game design and the crank is just a gimmick.

Hiding the games is not a good sign either.

In the age of high end phones what is the point of this product.

It's nowhere near even being aimed at competing with high end phones, modern consoles or 4K PC gaming.

It's like you're reading about a play being put on in a local theatre and complaining because it's not the Avengers.

I dunno, I think people are missing the point of the whole thing massively. It's not being set-up or sold as a mass-consumer device. It's a niche, bespoke, gaming art-piece that is being sold in really small numbers and if the medium is to grow in any significant way outside of big bang AAA console titles, I think things like this are important.

BloodBath · 23-05-2019 3:38pm

I get that but how big is that market realistically.

If you want to attract devs you need a playerbase more than a few hundred or thousand people.

This would need some real killer games to be worth the investment. I don't see that happening.

They advertise the screen as non backlit, monochrome, and highly reflective as if that's a good thing.

Did you ever try and play the original game boy in well lit areas?

johnny_ultimate · 23-05-2019 3:38pm

BloodBath wrote: »

In the age of high end phones what is the point of this product.

To push back against the idea of hardware being purely utilitarian, and to highlight that the psychical object itself can still be something artful and experimental and individual. The designers Teenage Engineering as far as I can tell have made their name doing this with synths.

To give a bunch of talented developers an opportunity to experiment with a novel and indeed in some ways limited set of tools.

To offer an alternative to players who want something different to the mass market devices from massive corporations.

And - ultimately the reason I find this so interesting - because some designers said ‘**** it, here’s something we want to do, let’s see if it works out’. Not to be some revolutionary market disruptor, or a competitor to the Switch. Just a fun, cool passion project that might or might not make a few quid in the process.

kunst nugget · 23-05-2019 3:42pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

To push back against the idea of hardware being purely utilitarian, and to highlight that the psychical object itself can still be something artful and experimental.

I'd be more onboard with a sentiment like that if it didn't just look like a repurposed gameboy with a crank thrown on to it. It's like those digital cameras that are still to look like vintage DSL cameras - that adds nothing to design and actually annoys me because it's attempting to co-opt some notion of authenticity by aping something else.

super_furry · 23-05-2019 3:44pm

BloodBath wrote: »

I get that but how big is that market realistically.

If you want to attract devs you need a playerbase more than a few hundred or thousand people.

This would need some real killer games to be worth the investment. I don't see that happening.

They advertise the screen as non backlit, monochrome, and highly reflective as if that's a good thing.

Did you ever try and play the original game boy in well lit areas?

Probably really small, I doubt they're making more than 10,000 units - ever. And I don't think that there's going to be a long-term development plan for it, as it says on the site, they have 12 games lined up that will be released for it over a year or so and that will probably be it.

There's no four or five year plan here, it's a neat little experiment designed to create a small community aimed at discovering, enjoying and discussing these 12 games over the period they're released.

It's reductive maybe, but by taking something like this so back to basics, there's a freedom in what the developers can experiment with, I'm really interested to see what kind of finger-torture game someone like Bennett Foddy can create with than side-crank.

johnny_ultimate · 23-05-2019 3:53pm

super_furry wrote: »

It's reductive maybe, but by taking something like this so back to basics, there's a freedom in what the developers can experiment with, I'm really interested to see what kind of finger-torture game someone like Bennett Foddy can create with than side-crank.

It reminds me in a somewhat less extreme way of experiments such as the Dogme 95 / mumblecore movements in film, or Steven Soderbergh limiting himself to an iPhone camera. Put in place a series of restrictions (technical or otherwise) and see what emerges in the process. Done well, they can be really rewarding and interesting creative exercises - so definitely keen to see what emerges out of these dozen games.

kunst nugget · 23-05-2019 4:00pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

It reminds me in a somewhat less extreme way of experiments such as the Dogme 95 / mumblecore movements in film, or Steven Soderbergh limiting himself to an iPhone camera. Put in place a series of restrictions (technical or otherwise) and see what emerges in the process. Done well, they can be really rewarding and interesting creative exercises - so definitely keen to see what emerges out of these dozen games.

Hmmm, they were all done using existing technologies and didn't involve the end viewer paying over the odds for a gimmicky way of looking at them.

[Deleted User] · 23-05-2019 4:52pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

It reminds me in a somewhat less extreme way of experiments such as the Dogme 95 / mumblecore movements in film, or Steven Soderbergh limiting himself to an iPhone camera. Put in place a series of restrictions (technical or otherwise) and see what emerges in the process. Done well, they can be really rewarding and interesting creative exercises - so definitely keen to see what emerges out of these dozen games.

sort of like recreating a jackson pollock work by farting paint through a tube?

basically sounds like a great way to burn up some cash for the creators imo

brevity · 23-05-2019 4:53pm

I think it looks kinda cool anyways. Something a bit different than what’s out there. The companies that are involved are not scam artists so I’m a bit surprised at the hostility towards it. To each their own I guess.

K.O.Kiki · 23-05-2019 5:22pm

I just think it's got too many design flaws to be feted in the manner it is.
Being different is fine, but there's a fine line between "different" and "gimmicky" and that crank easily passes it.
I also have doubts about its longevity - which ties into this being a gimmicky, throw-away product.

If the screen was e-ink I might understand the black-and-white, but to me it's a mixture of cheap and "so retro" bollix.

I also really loathe the business model - Season Pass for games, limited edition (scarcity).
Maybe if it was open-source it'd have some value beyond a collector's item for youtubers to brag about.

johnny_ultimate · 23-05-2019 6:40pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I also have doubts about its longevity

TBH if I ordered this I’d assume it’d be for the 12 games and that anything beyond that would be a bonus. The designers pretty much straight up acknowledge this:

Will there be more seasons? Or a game store?

It all depends on interest and sales. But we hope so!

megaten · 27-05-2019 11:51am

Only way I'd be interested in this if it was open for people to develop their own games.

brevity · 27-05-2019 12:51pm

megaten wrote: »

Only way I'd be interested in this if it was open for people to develop their own games.

I think it is.

https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1131733213083136001?s=20

super_furry · 28-05-2019 10:39am

I'm going to get one. I've always have a thing for weird handhelds and have owned everything from a GP32 to a Dingoo A320 to a GP2X all the way to a GPD XD.

Either way I want an American Civil War game where you use the crank to fire a gattling gun.

Playdate - A new handheld console

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