Preorder a Playdate
Playdate. © Panic.
Two years ago, we already reported about the Playdate game console, a project by Panic, the publisher of games such as Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game. Playdate is a mini console (74 x 76 x 9 mm) with a 2.7-inch monochrome LCD display (400 x 240 px, no backlight) and . . . a hand crank. The crank doesn’t recharge the battery – it’s a full-fledged game controller. The launch was originally scheduled for early 2020, but had to be postponed. Today, Panic confirmed that the console, priced at US$ 179, will ship later this year, with preorders in July. That’s US$ 30 more than announced two years ago, but the technical specifications have evolved since then too. The Playdate’s storage has doubled (4 GB) and so has the number of “first season” games (from 12 up to 24). It comes with two options: a protective case (US$ 30) and a whimsical “Stereo Dock” (price TBD), which is a Bluetooth speaker with a pen holder (!?) that makes your console look like an ’80s clock radio. Pulp, a development kit, will also be available (free) if you feel like writing games for the console.
Stereo Dock. © Panic.
Playdate. © Panic.
⇨ YouTube, “Playdate Update — 6/8/2021.”
⇨ Ars Technica, Sam Machkovech, “Playdate, the console with a crank, gets July preorder for $179, game details.”
2021-06-08
