Playdate
Playdate with the crank in an open position
Also known asAsheville (code name)[1]
DeveloperPanic Inc.
TypeHandheld game console
Release dateApril 18, 2022
Introductory price
Units sold53,368[3]
CPU
Memory16 MB
Storage4 GB flash storage[2]
Display
  • 2.7-inch, 400×240 1-bit (173 ppi)
  • Sharp Memory LCD
Connectivity
Dimensions76 × 74 × 9 mm[5]
Mass86 grams
Websiteplay.date

Playdate is a handheld video game console developed by Panic. The device features a mechanical crank and a black-and-white screen.

The console was announced in May 2019 and was released in April 2022.[6][7]

Hardware

Playdate with the crank tucked away into the side slot

The device is small, square, and yellow and features a black-and-white 1-bit display, a 4-way directional pad, two game buttons, and a mechanical crank, which can be tucked away when not in use.[8]

It was designed in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, a Swedish consumer electronics company.

Playdate uses a Sharp Memory LCD screen visually similar to e-paper displays.[9] Each pixel can remember its state (black/white) without needing to be refreshed, resulting in faster refreshing and lower power usage with a wide 170° viewing angle.[10]

Accessories

Panic has announced two accessories for the device. A purple cover was released simultaneously with the device's 2022 launch. A yellow "stereo dock" that charges the Playdate and functions as a speaker and a penholder does not yet have a release date.[11]

Games

Distribution

Playdate comes with Season One: a collection of 24 games.[2] Every week, two new games of Season One appear on the user's console. The price of Season One is included in the price of the console.[12] The order of released games was unknown until the week they were released, and were revealed to players when they automatically downloaded. It's unclear if there will be a Season Two.[13]

On 7 March 2023, the Catalog on-device and on-web store was added. Playdate owners can purchase and download games directly from the device. [14]

Developers

Games for the Playdate have been produced by Panic as well as indie game developers such as Keita Takahashi, Zach Gage, Bennett Foddy, Shaun Inman, and Chuck Jordan.[6][15] Panic stated that they were interested in games created by underrepresented developers and that there were games from women, queer, trans and non-binary developers in Playdate's first season.[16]

Games are created using an openly available proprietary software development kit (SDK) that includes a simulator and debugger. The SDK is compatible with both C and Lua programming languages.[17] It is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Simpler tile-based games can be created using Pulp, a more-approachable game development tool from Panic.[18] The device is a open system and allows sideloading additional games that are not part of a season.[19]

Season 1 (April–July 2022)

No. in season Title Developed by Ref.
1 Whitewater Wipeout Chuhai Labs [20][21]
2 Casual Birder Diego Garcia [21]
3 Crankin's Time Travel Adventure uvula (Keita Takahashi, Ryan Mohler), Matthew Grimm, Shaun Inman [15][22][21]
4 Boogie Loops May-Li Khoe, Andy Matuschak [21]
5 Lost Your Marbles Sweet Baby Inc [20][21]
6 Pick Pack Pup Nic Magnier, Arthur Hamer [21]
7 Flipper Lifter Serenity Forge [21]
8 Echoic Memory Samantha Kalman, Everest Pipkin, Carol Mertz, Rachelle Viola [21]
9 Omaze Gregory Kogos [21]
10 DemonQuest 85 Alex Ashby, Lawrence Bishop, Duncan Fyfe, Belinda Leung, Jared Emerson-Johnson [21]
11 Zipper Bennett Foddy [15][22][21]
12 Hyper Meteor Vertex Pop (Mobeen Fikree, Robby Duguay, h heron) [21]
13 Questy Chess Dadako [21]
14 Executive Golf DX davemakes [22][23][21]
15 Saturday Edition Chris Makris, A Shell in the Pit (Gord McGladdery, Alfonso Salinas) [21]
16 Star Sled Panic [24]
17 Spellcorked! Jada Gibbs, Nick Splendorr, Ryan Splendorr, Tony Ghostbrite, A Shell in the Pit (Em Halberstadt) [21]
18 Inventory Hero Panic [24]
19 Snak Zach Gage [15][21]
20 Sasquatchers Chuck Jordan, Jared Emerson-Johnson [15][21]
21 Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke Nels Anderson, Christina "castpixel" Neofotistou [21]
22 Battleship Godios TPM.CO Soft Works [21]
23 b360 Panic [22][21]
24 Ratcheteer Shaun Inman, Matthew Grimm, Charlie Davis [21]

Reception

Pre-release

On May 22, 2019, Panic announced Playdate.[25] Initial impressions were centered around how unusual the device was, from the crank, its 1-bit screen, and its odd method of delivering games to players. About the crank, TechCrunch noted, "It's not necessary for every game, though, so don't worry if it seems too weird."[26]

A year before the Playdate announcement, Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser sent an email to an indie video game event, also named Playdate, suggesting that the organizers consider tweaking or changing its name to avoid future confusion.[27] The following day, Sasser retracted the request, stating "My intention was always to find a way for our Playdates to co-exist [...] but we remain fine with you using the name Playdate."[28] On January 29, 2020, the team behind the event (now named "Playdate Pop Up") announced that Panic was joining the event as a sponsor, and would assist the event in petitioning for nonprofit status, however, the LA Zinefest event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29][30]

Release

Playdate was initially set for release in early 2020, but preorders were delayed until July 29, 2021.[31] Panic sold through its initial order of 20,000 units set to ship in 2021 within the first 20 minutes of its preorder.[32] Playdates started shipping to customers on April 18, 2022.[33]

Playdate was generally well-received upon its release, with criticism notably around the lack of a backlit screen and long shipping times.[34] The Verge praised its initial library of games, stating "What's on offer in the initial batch of games is great," and "even in this crowded landscape, Playdate offers something entirely unique."[35] IGN's review stated, "the screen's lack of a backlight can be a frustrating limitation. But you know what? The Playdate charmed me and I am now fully under its spell."[36] Input Mag wrote, "It really seems like every opportunity Panic found to do something special, it took it."[37]

On April 18, 2023, Panic confirmed to The Verge that the Playdate has sold more than 53,000 units to-date, with 27,000 of those units shipped. Panic expected fulfillment of their existing 26,000 preorders by the end of 2023.[38]

On May 1, 2023, Panic announced via Twitter[39] that 53,368 Playdates had been pre-ordered so far, with 20,000 games downloaded from their on-device store Catalog.

References

  1. ↑ Guichet, Alex (June 3, 2019). "Playdate News Roundup: June 2019 - First Gameplay Footage, Processor Specs, and The Talk Show appearance". The Missing Quests. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Playdate [@playdate] (June 4, 2021). "PPS: three things we're authorized to leak now ① Playdate's final price is $179. ② We've doubled the internal storage to 4GB. ③ And! We've DOUBLED the number of Season One games. No joke. 24 games come free with your Playdate. More in the update!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Playdate on Twitter: It's hard to believe, but Playdate has been shipping for one year now!". Twitter. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Playdate's tiny hand-held with a crank is big on charm". Engadget. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  5. ↑ Lambie, Ryan (June 13, 2022). "Don't Panic!: How the Playdate injects a bit of whimsy into handheld gaming". Wireframe magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Edge Staff (May 22, 2019). "Playdate, a new handheld console backed by indie royalty, unveiled in new issue of Edge magazine". gamesradar. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  7. ↑ "First Playdate orders begin shipping today". Engadget. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  8. ↑ Fahey, Mike (May 22, 2019). "The People Who Published Firewatch Are Now Making A Game Console With, Uh, A Crank". Kotaku. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  9. ↑ Mrgan, Neven [@mrgan] (May 25, 2019). "@McLeanBen @playdate Believe it or not, the Sharp Memory LCD is quite expensive—much more so than a typical display today 😆 But we like its unique look, and making something different is our motivation!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Sharp Memory in Pixel Displays - Sharp". www.sharpsma.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Panic's Playdate handheld will be available for pre-order in July". Engadget. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ Webster, Andrew (May 22, 2019). "Playdate is an adorable handheld with games from the creators of Qwop, Katamari, and more". The Verge. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  13. ↑ Peters, Jay (April 26, 2022). "Panic isn't sure if people will like the Playdate's seasonal model". The Verge.
  14. ↑ ""Catalog, Playdate's On-Device Store, Launches Today With New Games During The Latest Playdate Update" - Games Press". www.gamespress.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Simpkins, Jen (May 23, 2019). "Small Wonder". Edge. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  16. ↑ Gach, Ethan (May 29, 2019). "Crank Gaming Handheld's Creators Trying To Make Amends For Poorly Worded Email". Kotaku. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Playdate, a tiny game console with a big pedigree". Boing Boing. May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  18. ↑ Mrgan, Neven (August 30, 2021). "Playdate Pulp: Zero to video game in 60 Seconds". Game Developer. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  19. ↑ Playdate [@playdate] (May 27, 2019). "@White_LotusPA @devilsgarage It WILL be open. You will always be able to side load games onto it, no jail breaking required" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  20. 1 2 Edge, 2020. Left Turn. (353), p.9.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 ✨ Playdate Update —6/8/2021. Panic. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via YouTube.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Playdate [@playdate] (May 22, 2019). "But here's the trick: every game is a secret. They're all included with system, and they will be delivered to you each week, for a few months. Our dream is simple: that you wake up on new game day excited to see what you can play next. https://t.co/gq6woriP4h" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  23. ↑ "This New Gaming Handheld Has a Crank (!!) And Looks Cool as Hell". Waypoint - Forum. May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  24. 1 2 "Playdate. Pre-orders begin in July". play.date. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  25. ↑ Campbell, Colin (May 22, 2019). "Handheld games device Playdate looks adorable and innovative". Polygon. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Panic's Playdate is a pint-sized gaming machine with a 'season' of 12 intriguing titles". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  27. ↑ Klepek, Patrick (May 28, 2019). "That Gaming Handheld With a Crank Asked a Queer Games Showcase to Change Its Name". Waypoint. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  28. ↑ Cabel [@cabel] (May 28, 2019). "@alienmelon @PlaydateGS @playdate My intention was always to find a way for our Playdates to co-exist joyfully. I was worried we would overshadow yours. That sounded entitled — I'm sorry. I thought your idea to add "pop up" was great, but we remain fine with you using the name Playdate. Please, keep using it. https://t.co/Ysxd8m7GXA" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 8, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  29. ↑ The Playdate Pop Up 2020 Team (January 29, 2020). "Welcome to 2020 - The Playdate Pop Up Blog". Retrieved March 21, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  30. ↑ Playdate [@PlaydateGS] (April 1, 2020). "As you may have already seen, the LA Zine Fest is cancelled which means Playdate Pop Up is as well. You can read our full statement here: https://t.co/5FUtevhrt3 https://t.co/Qp7rBoGos4" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 16, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  31. ↑ Igor Bonifacic (October 30, 2020). "$149 Playdate handheld is 'ready to go,' orders start in early 2021". Engadget. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Panic sells 20,000+ Playdate handhelds in under 20 minutes". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  33. ↑ Playdate [@playdate] (April 18, 2022). "Oh! A new Playdate Update video is here! It recaps the great developer things we've released this year, like Pulp and the Playdate SDK. Please enjoy it. https://t.co/LXkuR8Isnk There's one extra important bit in the update. Playdates in Group One will begin shipping… …today. https://t.co/T58YihE6f3" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  34. ↑ "The Playdate Packs Hours of Gaming Fun in Your Pocket". Wired. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  35. ↑ Webster, Andrew (April 18, 2022). "Playdate review: all it's cranked up to be". The Verge. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  36. ↑ Macy, Seth G. (April 18, 2022). "Playdate Review". IGN. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  37. ↑ Campbell, Ian Carlos (May 26, 2022). "Review: You'll love the Playdate, if you can find one". Input. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Panic says it's sold more than 50,000 Playdate handhelds". The Verge. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Playdate on Twitter: It's hard to believe, but Playdate has been shipping for one year now!". Twitter. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
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