Playdate, a weird hand-cranked console

Playdate is a very weird console, that, at the moment of its announce, catched the attention of many. To surprise about it it was its peculiar characteristics: it’s very small and it has a strange crank that will become the driving engine of all the title that we will play.

Playdate, the console presented by Panic

Panic is the producer that presented, some months ago, Playdate, a console as much weird as revolutionary, that found the way to catch all the attention on itself.

Panic became famous as creator of programs for Mac. By the way, it decided to try even in the world of the videogames and it did, at first, with two indie titles: Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game.

Lastely, it tried even in the world of the consoles and it did, this time, in a big way. Playdate is unique. Small and yellow it remebers, somehow, an old gameboy.

But Playdate is unique, weird and revolutionary. It was thought for a close group of videoplayers that will have the possibility to play to strange indie games, on an unique console.

What do we know about Playdate

Like we said, Playdate very resembles an old gameboy color, and on it it was, without any doubt, inspired.

It’s very small but functional. With a black and white screen and big buttons. But there is even something new and unusual, that we never saw before on a portable console. A big crank on the right side to use with all the titles thought for it.

The developers say it’s “something very different in the world of the videogames”, therefore “The yellow colour prompty makes the console seems affordable, friendly and impossible to lose”.

Like we say, the console is very small. Infact, it’s only 74 x 76 x 9 mm, while the screen has 2,7 inches, black and white, without backlight.

On the console there are then two buttons and a diretional pad. Lastely, there is this small iconic crank, “let’s think about the crank as an analogic pad, but that you can rotate endlessly”.

It’s not a gameboy

Even though the resemblance, which is ruled especially about the colour, the developers asked to the users to not be fooled.

“In surface, you might be tempted to compare the screen, let’s say, with the Game Boy. But the display of Playdate is much different: it doesn’t have grind lines, no blur, it’s extremely clear and it has a higher resolution. It seems strange to say it, but: it’s really a premium black and white screen”.

Not only the crank

Playdate gives a serie of weird functions that aren’t only about the crank.

The console has the WiFi and the Bluetooth, an USB-C door and a jack for the headphones. But it’s not that the weird things of Playdate. The console, infact, is even a pen holder with a Playdate pen included. It as then the speaker Bluetooth integrated in the dock station.

Together with Playdate it will be released a radio called PoolSuite FM, that will dedicated playlists and albums for the users of the console.

The Playdate Stereo Dock, so, will work as a charge station for the portable console, but even as a bluetooth speaker and, that’s very bizzare, as a pen holder.

Release of Playdate and games

Playdate is available for the pre-order already since july, at the price of 149 dollars.

Together with the console there will be released 12 exclusive videogames, that will be released every week for three months.

The titles are specifically made for Playdate. Panic didn’t releave as much about the 12 videogames, but we know that they call together a team of indipent designers, to create exclusive contents.

We know that the first videogame that will be released together with the console is Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, created by Keita Takahashi. Like we said the crank will be the main thing of all the titles. In Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, the crank will control the flow of the time.

This post is also available in: Italiano