Huh, I'm not really sure what to think about this. There's a fair amount more info on the media/FAQ page as well as a short article (excerpt?) from Edge magazine, and a few more...
It's definitely interesting overall, but $150 USD is a lot to ask for very minimal capabilities (black and white, low resolution, few buttons) and there will still be so many unknowns at the time of purchase (what games you're getting, how long they'll be, what happens outside of the 12 included games, etc.).
I like the idea and I look forward to seeing what comes out of it, but I don't think I'd buy one myself.
Edit: it feels like the type of thing that ends up being (sometimes accidentally) built by indie game devs primarily targeted at other indie game devs. This was a pretty good twitter thread about that from a couple of weeks ago: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1126531195666411521.html
Yeah I'm not really sure what the point is. If I wanted a device like this to play games I would buy an original gameboy. The only way I could see this succeed is if they sell it not as a gaming...
Yeah I'm not really sure what the point is. If I wanted a device like this to play games I would buy an original gameboy. The only way I could see this succeed is if they sell it not as a gaming device but as an educational device where you make your own games and load them on to it.
I personally love small-run niche hardware projects and am pretty excited for this. I have some Teenage Engineering devices and they’re fun, and well made, so them being involved in this + the...
I personally love small-run niche hardware projects and am pretty excited for this. I have some Teenage Engineering devices and they’re fun, and well made, so them being involved in this + the random game drops and some seriously cool devs on board gives me confidence this will be a fun experience.
It’s not supposed to compete with Nintendo. It has a full SDK, slick design, and some entertaining and novel features (crank input, surprise OTA game delivery, etc).
I basically see this as the gaming equivalent of a coffee table book. It's a conversation piece that's meant to show to guests, spark curiosity, and encourage them to pick it up and check it out....
I basically see this as the gaming equivalent of a coffee table book. It's a conversation piece that's meant to show to guests, spark curiosity, and encourage them to pick it up and check it out. It's a totally different goal and addressable market than traditional gaming and I think it's a really neat idea. Fantastic industrial design too!
Time will tell what sorts of games they release on it. Perhaps a hand-crank fishing game? I, for one, would love some kind of pick-up-and-play Stardew Valley type farming sim.
I haven't been able to find anything about batteries on this though. For something that's meant to be an art piece, I would hope it has user replaceable, standard batteries (as in AA or AAA). Otherwise it's going to be a very pretty paperweight in about 4 years when the battery starts to age out.
The device is truly amazing. I know of nothing else that does things as well as the OP-1. I just wish someone would clone and mass produce one because the hardware is probably only a tiny fraction...
The device is truly amazing. I know of nothing else that does things as well as the OP-1. I just wish someone would clone and mass produce one because the hardware is probably only a tiny fraction of the cost.
Yeah, I was immediately reminded of those Pocket Operators when I saw this. Those, however, I get. And I want. This? It looks cool, but I'm not sure I understand it or the price point. But, it's...
Yeah, I was immediately reminded of those Pocket Operators when I saw this. Those, however, I get. And I want.
This? It looks cool, but I'm not sure I understand it or the price point. But, it's interesting enough to keep on my radar.
I'd be interested in picking one up just to toy with some development with it, but apparently the SDK is macOS-exclusive. Not surprising considering the company's history with the platform but.
I'd be interested in picking one up just to toy with some development with it, but apparently the SDK is macOS-exclusive. Not surprising considering the company's history with the platform but.
It's completely unsurprising, as you say. It also makes obvious sense for Panic. They have many partners in the macOS ecosystem, including Apple themselves. Developers for Apple platforms realise...
It's completely unsurprising, as you say. It also makes obvious sense for Panic. They have many partners in the macOS ecosystem, including Apple themselves. Developers for Apple platforms realise they're held to a certain standard of quality, as enforced by Apple. If anything, that's clearly risk reduction.
Eh. It's a high barrier to entry is what it is. If they were just putting some quality control on distribution that'd be one thing. Wouldn't make very much sense for something like this but that'd...
Eh. It's a high barrier to entry is what it is. If they were just putting some quality control on distribution that'd be one thing. Wouldn't make very much sense for something like this but that'd be one thing.
As it is, that restriction just means that very few random people can tinker around with this thing on their own if they get one. Like I said the restriction is totally understandable given their history with Apple but practically speaking it does make it a much less attractive devtoy.
I assume by "understandable" you mean "unsurprising", yeah? Because while I know very little of Panic, I still don't know why they'd limit an SDK to Mac only. Playdate looked to me like a good...
I assume by "understandable" you mean "unsurprising", yeah? Because while I know very little of Panic, I still don't know why they'd limit an SDK to Mac only. Playdate looked to me like a good candidate for small-fry, made-it-for-fun gamedev projects, but I've never really used a Mac and I've no intention of changing that, so that kinda sinks the idea for me.
I absolutely expect there must be a reason for this decision – maybe the SDK would be hard to port? – I'm just not sure what that reason is.
Panic are—and always have been—a Mac-exclusive company. They're on very good terms with Apple; and are one of the few small companies Apple will literally adjust their APIs for to meet Panics...
Panic are—and always have been—a Mac-exclusive company. They're on very good terms with Apple; and are one of the few small companies Apple will literally adjust their APIs for to meet Panics requirements.
The idea of the console following a television-style "season" with a new game each week adds the potential for this to be a neat little social event. Instead of just getting a handheld with some...
The idea of the console following a television-style "season" with a new game each week adds the potential for this to be a neat little social event. Instead of just getting a handheld with some new stuff to play, you can join with others online who are all playing the same game that week, talk shop about your experiences, and speculate about what's to come the following week. In the same way we had weekly Game of Thrones discussion threads, I'm sure plenty of communities will have Playdate discussion threads.
It's a cool idea, and if they're really clever, they'll have stuff in the games that links them together or into a larger picture to really drive online engagement. If it turned out the games were all part of some ARG or a shared universe, for example, it could be quite the phenomenon.
I don't see the market for this and I wouldn't be surprised if this bombs. It looks like they're trying to market towards retro hipsters by creating a premium black & white gaming system with a...
I don't see the market for this and I wouldn't be surprised if this bombs.
It looks like they're trying to market towards retro hipsters by creating a premium black & white gaming system with a really gimmicky crank control scheme. The one game they have showcasing this looks really stupid too.
Cheap Android, Linux and even Windows based gaming handhelds exist on the market for retro and even contemporary gaming purposes. These have great support for homebrew games, emulation and even games on their native platforms.
I don't see how anyone can justify paying $150 for something so gimmicky.
i feel like people in the very thread above yours made the case for why people might be willing to pay for it, honestly. it's a novel, indie focused experimental platform which has recruited...
i feel like people in the very thread above yours made the case for why people might be willing to pay for it, honestly. it's a novel, indie focused experimental platform which has recruited plenty of significant indie-dev talent to produce the games that will be on it, and the cost includes the platform plus all the games so in that respect it makes a lot of sense. it's obviously not going to be a best-seller and i'd be shocked if it garners significant traction as a platform unto itself, but it's also not trying to be something like that to begin with.
This looks interesting though I can't help but wonder if the platform and games were free/open source if that would attract more devs and increase the longevity of the platform.
This looks interesting though I can't help but wonder if the platform and games were free/open source if that would attract more devs and increase the longevity of the platform.
The Playdate doesn't exist to be whatever you're trying to make it into, at all. The Playdate is banking on interesting gaming experiences. And they're fulfilling that promise by announcing games...
The Playdate doesn't exist to be whatever you're trying to make it into, at all.
The Playdate is banking on interesting gaming experiences. And they're fulfilling that promise by announcing games from big indie names who have made games with innovative mechanics: Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy, Noby Noby Boy), Bennett Foddy (QWOP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy), and Zach Gage (Spelltower, Ridiculous Fishing, Really Bad Chess, Sage Solitaire).
The game-a-week for twelve weeks mechanic is also interesting—you don't know what's coming next, but each Monday, a new game is available for you to pick up and experience. And that makes your price comparison to a 2DS XL is incorrect. You don't have to pay for the games, they're included. Twelve games aren't factored into the cost of the 2DS.
It's an interesting concept, don't get me wrong and the games will most likely be good but I think that the price and hardware provided is simply not gonna interest many people when you can get a...
It's an interesting concept, don't get me wrong and the games will most likely be good but I think that the price and hardware provided is simply not gonna interest many people when you can get a 2DS for 79$ from someone known like Nintendo.
That's not really what the marketing seemed to imply to me but I guess if everyone is hitting me with a book for thinking that, I must be reading it wrong.
That's not really what the marketing seemed to imply to me but I guess if everyone is hitting me with a book for thinking that, I must be reading it wrong.
That's fine—if that list of names and games did nothing for you, it might not be for you. I personally have blown away hours of my life playing Bennett Foddy's QWOP, and Zach Gage's Pocket-Run...
That's fine—if that list of names and games did nothing for you, it might not be for you. I personally have blown away hours of my life playing Bennett Foddy's QWOP, and Zach Gage's Pocket-Run Pool is on the home screen of my iPhone. I want to see what they do with the Playdate, and that's what makes this so cool.
The crank has never been in gaming hardware like this, and these indie game designers haven't had access to hardware like this before. They're going to make something worth playing. Nintendo is irrelevant here.
I have very little interest in gaming—to the point where I posted this in ~tech accidentally because I had unsubscribed from ~games and forgotten it even existed. I have huge interest in this. I...
I have very little interest in gaming—to the point where I posted this in ~tech accidentally because I had unsubscribed from ~games and forgotten it even existed. I have huge interest in this. I might even buy it.
I don't care if it's twice the price of a Nintendo whatever. I'll never buy one of them. I will buy one of these because Panic have a reputation for producing excellent software, and this looks fascinatingly novel and fun.
This isn't a console for you, then. How many people have a Nintendo Switch? It's objectively very underpowered compared to the XBox One or the PS4 (the originals, not the current upgraded...
This isn't a console for you, then. How many people have a Nintendo Switch? It's objectively very underpowered compared to the XBox One or the PS4 (the originals, not the current upgraded versions.) Yet they've sold a buttload of them. That's because Nintendo has always prioritized game design (the mechanics and the feel) over graphical quality. This seems to be the same: a heavy emphasis on unique, innovative concepts that can take advantage of the portable form factor, the crank, and the hardware buttons in a way that Angry Birds (Seventh Edition, with more pigs) can't.
I for one want to support independent efforts to move game design back into the forefront of the game industry. Plus, the hardware looks excellently put together. I can't wait to see what they've done with it.
yeah. this isn't my sort of thing and i personally think it's kinda overpriced for what it seems to be, but it's a novel idea which is doing a lot of experimentation with game design and control...
yeah. this isn't my sort of thing and i personally think it's kinda overpriced for what it seems to be, but it's a novel idea which is doing a lot of experimentation with game design and control design, and i'm all for more interesting, unorthodox consoles/platforms of that type. there's really not a lot of variety in the console/platform industry right now (and there hasn't been for awhile, if ever) so i'll honestly take what i can get on that front, especially if it's trying to innovate.
So you're saying that Nintendo a company which is known for this kind of design can't compete with a new comer which has not proven itself yet, has significantly worst hardware and is asking for...
So you're saying that Nintendo a company which is known for this kind of design can't compete with a new comer which has not proven itself yet, has significantly worst hardware and is asking for the same price.
I do want to support independent efforts but this is just reckless in my opinion.
It's not "worse". It's different. In fact, they likely went out of their way to purchase black and white screens to create this system. If they'd tried to be a Nintendo killer, they will have...
has significantly worst hardware
It's not "worse". It's different. In fact, they likely went out of their way to purchase black and white screens to create this system. If they'd tried to be a Nintendo killer, they will have undoubtedly failed. By taking a different and interesting approach, they'll actually most likely succeed in their niche.
Huh, I'm not really sure what to think about this. There's a fair amount more info on the media/FAQ page as well as a short article (excerpt?) from Edge magazine, and a few more details/photos/screenshots on their Twitter.
It's definitely interesting overall, but $150 USD is a lot to ask for very minimal capabilities (black and white, low resolution, few buttons) and there will still be so many unknowns at the time of purchase (what games you're getting, how long they'll be, what happens outside of the 12 included games, etc.).
I like the idea and I look forward to seeing what comes out of it, but I don't think I'd buy one myself.
Edit: it feels like the type of thing that ends up being (sometimes accidentally) built by indie game devs primarily targeted at other indie game devs. This was a pretty good twitter thread about that from a couple of weeks ago: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1126531195666411521.html
Yeah I'm not really sure what the point is. If I wanted a device like this to play games I would buy an original gameboy. The only way I could see this succeed is if they sell it not as a gaming device but as an educational device where you make your own games and load them on to it.
I personally love small-run niche hardware projects and am pretty excited for this. I have some Teenage Engineering devices and they’re fun, and well made, so them being involved in this + the random game drops and some seriously cool devs on board gives me confidence this will be a fun experience.
It’s not supposed to compete with Nintendo. It has a full SDK, slick design, and some entertaining and novel features (crank input, surprise OTA game delivery, etc).
It’s not for everyone, but I’m keen.
I basically see this as the gaming equivalent of a coffee table book. It's a conversation piece that's meant to show to guests, spark curiosity, and encourage them to pick it up and check it out. It's a totally different goal and addressable market than traditional gaming and I think it's a really neat idea. Fantastic industrial design too!
Time will tell what sorts of games they release on it. Perhaps a hand-crank fishing game? I, for one, would love some kind of pick-up-and-play Stardew Valley type farming sim.
I haven't been able to find anything about batteries on this though. For something that's meant to be an art piece, I would hope it has user replaceable, standard batteries (as in AA or AAA). Otherwise it's going to be a very pretty paperweight in about 4 years when the battery starts to age out.
Honestly, this didn't seem remotely compelling until I read about Teenage Engineering. Their designs are just incredible.
I have wanted the OP-1 from teenage engineering for years but wow the price is insane. Its a tiny keyboard synthesiser that costs $1300 USD.
And despite that, it’s still on backorder. . . incredible
The device is truly amazing. I know of nothing else that does things as well as the OP-1. I just wish someone would clone and mass produce one because the hardware is probably only a tiny fraction of the cost.
Yeah, I was immediately reminded of those Pocket Operators when I saw this. Those, however, I get. And I want.
This? It looks cool, but I'm not sure I understand it or the price point. But, it's interesting enough to keep on my radar.
I'd be interested in picking one up just to toy with some development with it, but apparently the SDK is macOS-exclusive. Not surprising considering the company's history with the platform but.
It's completely unsurprising, as you say. It also makes obvious sense for Panic. They have many partners in the macOS ecosystem, including Apple themselves. Developers for Apple platforms realise they're held to a certain standard of quality, as enforced by Apple. If anything, that's clearly risk reduction.
Eh. It's a high barrier to entry is what it is. If they were just putting some quality control on distribution that'd be one thing. Wouldn't make very much sense for something like this but that'd be one thing.
As it is, that restriction just means that very few random people can tinker around with this thing on their own if they get one. Like I said the restriction is totally understandable given their history with Apple but practically speaking it does make it a much less attractive devtoy.
I assume by "understandable" you mean "unsurprising", yeah? Because while I know very little of Panic, I still don't know why they'd limit an SDK to Mac only. Playdate looked to me like a good candidate for small-fry, made-it-for-fun gamedev projects, but I've never really used a Mac and I've no intention of changing that, so that kinda sinks the idea for me.
I absolutely expect there must be a reason for this decision – maybe the SDK would be hard to port? – I'm just not sure what that reason is.
Panic are—and always have been—a Mac-exclusive company. They're on very good terms with Apple; and are one of the few small companies Apple will literally adjust their APIs for to meet Panics requirements.
That makes it unsurprising but its still a bad choice.
Maybe for you. Not for them.
The idea of the console following a television-style "season" with a new game each week adds the potential for this to be a neat little social event. Instead of just getting a handheld with some new stuff to play, you can join with others online who are all playing the same game that week, talk shop about your experiences, and speculate about what's to come the following week. In the same way we had weekly Game of Thrones discussion threads, I'm sure plenty of communities will have Playdate discussion threads.
It's a cool idea, and if they're really clever, they'll have stuff in the games that links them together or into a larger picture to really drive online engagement. If it turned out the games were all part of some ARG or a shared universe, for example, it could be quite the phenomenon.
I don't see the market for this and I wouldn't be surprised if this bombs.
It looks like they're trying to market towards retro hipsters by creating a premium black & white gaming system with a really gimmicky crank control scheme. The one game they have showcasing this looks really stupid too.
The D-pad looks oversized, incredibly rigid and really uncomfortable. It almost looks as bad as the D-pad that the pre-reveal designer mock-up of Google's Stadia controlller had. The position of the A and B buttons also feels silly especially when there is a crank to the side of them that will get in the way.
Cheap Android, Linux and even Windows based gaming handhelds exist on the market for retro and even contemporary gaming purposes. These have great support for homebrew games, emulation and even games on their native platforms.
I don't see how anyone can justify paying $150 for something so gimmicky.
i feel like people in the very thread above yours made the case for why people might be willing to pay for it, honestly. it's a novel, indie focused experimental platform which has recruited plenty of significant indie-dev talent to produce the games that will be on it, and the cost includes the platform plus all the games so in that respect it makes a lot of sense. it's obviously not going to be a best-seller and i'd be shocked if it garners significant traction as a platform unto itself, but it's also not trying to be something like that to begin with.
This looks interesting though I can't help but wonder if the platform and games were free/open source if that would attract more devs and increase the longevity of the platform.
The Playdate doesn't exist to be whatever you're trying to make it into, at all.
The Playdate is banking on interesting gaming experiences. And they're fulfilling that promise by announcing games from big indie names who have made games with innovative mechanics: Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy, Noby Noby Boy), Bennett Foddy (QWOP, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy), and Zach Gage (Spelltower, Ridiculous Fishing, Really Bad Chess, Sage Solitaire).
The game-a-week for twelve weeks mechanic is also interesting—you don't know what's coming next, but each Monday, a new game is available for you to pick up and experience. And that makes your price comparison to a 2DS XL is incorrect. You don't have to pay for the games, they're included. Twelve games aren't factored into the cost of the 2DS.
I think this is going to be a classic.
It's an interesting concept, don't get me wrong and the games will most likely be good but I think that the price and hardware provided is simply not gonna interest many people when you can get a 2DS for 79$ from someone known like Nintendo.
You're missing the point. This is closer to an art project than a mass-market console.
That's not really what the marketing seemed to imply to me but I guess if everyone is hitting me with a book for thinking that, I must be reading it wrong.
That's fine—if that list of names and games did nothing for you, it might not be for you. I personally have blown away hours of my life playing Bennett Foddy's QWOP, and Zach Gage's Pocket-Run Pool is on the home screen of my iPhone. I want to see what they do with the Playdate, and that's what makes this so cool.
The crank has never been in gaming hardware like this, and these indie game designers haven't had access to hardware like this before. They're going to make something worth playing. Nintendo is irrelevant here.
I have very little interest in gaming—to the point where I posted this in ~tech accidentally because I had unsubscribed from ~games and forgotten it even existed. I have huge interest in this. I might even buy it.
I don't care if it's twice the price of a Nintendo whatever. I'll never buy one of them. I will buy one of these because Panic have a reputation for producing excellent software, and this looks fascinatingly novel and fun.
This isn't a console for you, then. How many people have a Nintendo Switch? It's objectively very underpowered compared to the XBox One or the PS4 (the originals, not the current upgraded versions.) Yet they've sold a buttload of them. That's because Nintendo has always prioritized game design (the mechanics and the feel) over graphical quality. This seems to be the same: a heavy emphasis on unique, innovative concepts that can take advantage of the portable form factor, the crank, and the hardware buttons in a way that Angry Birds (Seventh Edition, with more pigs) can't.
I for one want to support independent efforts to move game design back into the forefront of the game industry. Plus, the hardware looks excellently put together. I can't wait to see what they've done with it.
yeah. this isn't my sort of thing and i personally think it's kinda overpriced for what it seems to be, but it's a novel idea which is doing a lot of experimentation with game design and control design, and i'm all for more interesting, unorthodox consoles/platforms of that type. there's really not a lot of variety in the console/platform industry right now (and there hasn't been for awhile, if ever) so i'll honestly take what i can get on that front, especially if it's trying to innovate.
So you're saying that Nintendo a company which is known for this kind of design can't compete with a new comer which has not proven itself yet, has significantly worst hardware and is asking for the same price.
I do want to support independent efforts but this is just reckless in my opinion.
It's not "worse". It's different. In fact, they likely went out of their way to purchase black and white screens to create this system. If they'd tried to be a Nintendo killer, they will have undoubtedly failed. By taking a different and interesting approach, they'll actually most likely succeed in their niche.