Playdate: handheld game system by Panic and Teenage Engineering

[joeyluck]

Looks pretty cool

https://play.date

[BRIGGS]

Yes, but can it run Crysis?

[slic]

Perfect for people who don’t own a phone!

[VariableX]

is this just another sign we are in the last throws of capitalism?

stuff we dont need
stuff we dont want
stuff we already have

all rolled into one and somehow still coolish?

[DaveyG]

That's bizarre and it's never going to fly at that price.
But at least it can function as a very expensive clock...

[zoidkirb]

They've sold quite a few already.
20,000 units, sold out in 20 minutes, not bad.

[slic]

Hipsters will buy anything TE are involved in!

[joeyluck]

I think the concept is pretty cool. And the crank looks like fun The video is well done. All things considered (with TE being involved), the price isn't terrible. I actually thought it would be higher based on TE's pricing. By the way, some of the Pocket Operators went up in price... So yeah, considering that some Pocket Operators are $99 now, this at $179 seems ok... Maybe the company, Panic had something to do with keeping the price from being too ridiculous.

[slic]

Are you going to have to keep buying 'seasons' to keep playing the games and/or to get new games? Only 26 weeks is included in the price I think.
(it could be the Reason+ of Gameboys )

[joeyluck]

Are you going to have to keep buying 'seasons' to keep playing the games and/or to get new games? Only 26 weeks is included in the price I think.
(it could be the Reason+ of Gameboys )

Yeah that part wasn't clear. They said that's how many games are available now. But then considering some people won't be getting them until later. It would be funny if the games stopped coming and there was no option to renew and you had to buy a new one

[slic]

Yeh, if you want constant free cool little games on a device that is probably already in your pocket, try $5 on an Apple Arcade subscription....

[bxbrkrz]

Why not. Good luck luckydate!

[integerpoet]

One subtlety of which folks might not be fully aware is the developer story.

Every unit is a development unit. You don't have to beg the company for a special super-expensive unit in order to develop games. If you're not a game developer, you might not realize how important this is. It's huge.

And although the company will distribute games, this won't be a "walled garden". They say: "From day one, you’ll be able to sideload games on to the Playdate and choose to sell your game separately any way you wish." Again, if you're not a game developer, you might not realize how important this is. It's huge.

It's thought that a large portion of the initial sales have gone to developers eager to experiment. Especially small indie developers, who tend to have interesting ideas which can't be stifled by bureaucracy.

So one of the important aspects of this device is its (potential, eventual) third-party ecosystem.

By the way, it also has an audio input. Who knows what cute things might happen in the music creation space here?

Clearly, the first hardware has limitations, but the platform has a lot of potential.