I ordered my Playdate last week, and it arrived today. I am having a blast with it so far. Highly recommend it. The build quality is really solid, and the software is snappy and fast. Seriously, get yourself one of these.
Link for reference. https://play.date/
Looks like a cool bit of fun. I’d buy one if it weren’t triple the price I’d pay.
To be fair the price includes 10 or so original indie titles which if you go by the store front’s average game pricetag ($5.36) that accounts for $53.6 worth. (And that’s really not fair to some of the games I’ve played)
Correction: The first season of games that come with the device total out at 24 so going off of that original 5.36 average you’d actually have about $129 give or take worth of game value, leaving the actual Playdate device at a $71 purchase for the device itself.
That is a fair point.
That’s… Odd to say the least. 8 hours active battery life doesn’t sound great and it seems kinda gimmicky in general. Can someone sell me on it? When would I want to play this?
It is quite a gimmick, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing tbh. Its neat if you’re a hobbyist dev in particular to expand the way you think about input vs in game design so that when faced with things such as analog triggers, gyro controls or touch surfaces you got a better intuitive thought process.
I will however say that to me, the main use ends there. A neat gimmick in particular for gamedevs.
Does it even have touch capability? Though I could see the logic if there is some way to develop in a way that allows easily exporting to both the Playdate and Android.
Also I’d say a lot of those features are easier had with a Steam controller (or perhaps other gamepad). Granted they are not sold anymore, but I got one in the fire sale and likely a lot of people did as well due to being dirt cheap (PC Gamer says 48 million, 10% of sessions).
I was originally going to reply to @essell on agreement on cost, but the only real substance was
- It’s not really for me for a lot of reasons (I don’t need portability, I don’t like buying things generally+use what I have)
- I haven’t worked my way up to real creation yet (due to a lot of problems) but my desired aesthetic is more like these things I’ve made animated 2D eye (note:imgur links only work if opened in a private window for me) or 3D plant with only vertex colors.
It’s not a full dedicated gaming console that you’re spending hours and hours playing. It’s a toy that’s great for quick sessions and it’s really fun to develop games for. It’s very well made and the software is great.
It’s not a fair comparison to existing handhelds. It’s niche, and definitely not for everyone. Personally, I love it and think it’s just a unique toy that’s fun to show people. If you’d need to get X hours of gameplay to make it “worth” it to you, it probably isn’t your style.
8 hours active battery life doesn’t sound good?
Sounds like a lot, to me.
In between waiting for new games from season one, don’t forget to check out all the cool free games and ports you can sideload from itch.io! I love the port of the original Celeste.
I have that one already, and it’s great. But yeah, the Playdate category on itch.io has 900 entries. It’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest.
I can’t bring myself to spend 200$ on it, no matter how many praises I read. It doesn’t matter that they’re including 20 games, they’re all pretty short and switch lite costs 200$. I believe I’d buy one around 100$, if I ever see a 2nd hand for that price
It’s an enthusiast device. As a gamedev myself, it’s super fun to make little games for, and then you can easily show your friends/family. The limitations and unique input (the crank) lead to some awesome and interesting games.
I don’t really view it as a serious gaming device. It’s great for 5-20 minute sessions but it is basically a toy. I think if you’re interested in experimental indie games, it’s a great little device that’s absolutely worth it. It shouldn’t be directly compared to a “normal” game console because, frankly, it isn’t.
Looks interesting , but it has a $200 price tag and while I love old school games, I can buy a $30 gadget that has hundreds of the old games I used to play.
Also, the crank should be able to charge it, that would help with the price tag, you could throw it in a bug out bag
I have a playdate and have seen this sentiment a lot.
Imo the charging mechanic would ruin the usability of the crank in many of the games. Some games require rapid cranking and having a charging mechanic would not only be another point of future mechanical failure, but also slow it down too much.
It’s also worth noting that the device also has a gyroscope so it can detect tilting, shaking etc as well. It’s very versatile for it’s size. It’s NOT an emulator (though it can run an emulator), it’s a fully original handheld console.
$200 is a fair price because that includes something like 15-20 games. Every game for the playdate is original and hasn’t existed before it came out.
The playdate is not meant to replace an emulator and buckets of roms. It’s its own game console with lots of great new games made by passionate devs.
I’ve played more of the 24 pack-in games than I’ve ever spent time actually playing with the multiple emulator station consoles I’ve set up over the years. I love seeing what new games devs put out on the catalog, too. No in-app-purchases or any such BS, so devs just have to try and make a game that’s worth your couple bucks up front.
The creative constraints of the 1-bit color and limited inputs push games in fun directions too. The crank is amazing as an analog rotation input, which has been missing from game consoles since the early 80s. Steering and aiming with the crank is so fluid and intuitive that it really adds to immersion.
It’s not the kind of thing everyone’s going to get $200 of value out of, but if it happens to be up your alley its truly incredible.
From my understanding, it’s meant to be more like an art piece than a simple games emulator.
The season is really fun, enjoy!
It’s an awesome little device! You’ve got plenty of games to work through, but if you feel like trying a side loaded one, give my game Pogo Arc a try: https://thesambassador.itch.io/pogo-arc
Thanks! I’m sideloading it now. I’ll let you know what I think of it.
Panic Software used to sell a cool tshirt with their logo. It was one of my favorite shirts but shrunk before I knew how to do laundry correctly.
