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Playdate - A new tiny handheld system coming next year for $149


TwinIon

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2 hours ago, ort said:

Part of me wants this thing and loves that it exists, but a bigger part of me knows I'll play with it for like 45 minutes and it will end up in a drawer.

 

I get the same exact feeling. Who knows, you guys could be surprised and get a solid handheld out of it.

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The stream had like 5,600 people in it at one point. I wasn't watching that closely... but 5,000 viewers has to be considered very low.

 

Bullet points...

 

They made a charging and stereo dock (no price announced)

24 Games included, 2 will be downloaded automatically per week for 12 weeks

There's going to be a simple game builder that runs in a web browser and lets you make your own RPG style mini-games

Pre-orders start in July, they expect to be able to meet demand, there won't be a large initial shipment, units will go out as they are built

$179

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While I think this will have some cool indie games and test concepts the price is too high for what it is. So I think interest will be cool out of the gate I think interest will drop off by the end of the first season. It feels like this should be more $80-$120, not their current asking price (yeah I know chip shortages and low production runs).

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If they could guarantee that there would be a steady stream of small goofy fun games and that they would be crazy cheap I might be interested in this. If it was $99 bucks and then you paid $5 a month for a game a week... that would be cool.

 

As it stands today, I bet that we get the initial launch, then probably a season 2 of games, which will probably cost way more than most will expect (like $50 for 12 games or something crazy like that) and then all support will stop forever and that will be the end. Maybe a tiny pocket of modder nerds will start doing a few fun things with this...

 

I can't see any sort of way this thing actually becomes some sort of hit product. Even a niche indy hit. In a world where smartphones exist, it's hard to see how this is a compelling product once you get past the novelty of it's very existence.

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  • 10 months later...
  • 1 year later...

This thing kinda fucking rules. Got mine today out of the blue, 2 long years after ordering it.


It's smaller than I thought, the magnetic case it pretty fucking cool there's metal circles on the back, the magnetic case has magnets that protrude and also go into these holes, very clean and nothing actually needs to be slipped on or anything.

The main thing is I never looked at any footage (and only saw a few screenshots) as I wanted to be surprised. I knew it was monochrome but I was thinking like Game Boy-ish. Having that high framerate super well animated intro was really damn cool.

 

I've copied the time for the animation here:

 

 

Currently trying my second one. First one was a real simple surfing game using the crank. Second one has been a little pseudo-RPG about photographing birds while also being a loser who just moved into town. Good stuff!

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3 hours ago, Brian said:

I have been waiting forever for the dock to come out to buy the device. I think it would be a cool clock on my desk at work. The supply issue this company has is something else. 

Yeah I think that they're pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to getting their parts from their suppliers since some of the things they use are always in high demand, so it's sloooow going, made worse after Covid hit and they had to switch out a part or two. I never knew it had a dock coming! That thing is neat looking but I can't see myself using it too much... but I'll still pick it up if I can. The actual device on the other hand, has been great!

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28 minutes ago, Xbob42 said:

Yeah I think that they're pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to getting their parts from their suppliers since some of the things they use are always in high demand, so it's sloooow going, made worse after Covid hit and they had to switch out a part or two. I never knew it had a dock coming! That thing is neat looking but I can't see myself using it too much... but I'll still pick it up if I can. The actual device on the other hand, has been great!

It’s a bummer. You would think by now that these issues would be ironed out.  Instead, you have long wait times for the device. It’s also been 2 years since the dock announcement and it still isn’t out. 

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It's a shame for sure, you can tell there's so much passion and love and attention to detail in it, much more than a lot of these lame half-assed handhelds coming out of weird Chinese companies that seem to be able to bypass supply issues.

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  • 5 months later...

holy shit it actually came yesterday I guess! I happened to check my mail and was not expecting it for a couple weeks and bam!

 

It actually arrived here quicker than it took for @Xbob42 TO ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION

 

Its charging now but the case is great and my goodness do I ever love how this cute mother fucker looks in person.

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Quickly found out that the flashlight on my phone is quite hand for this! I’m kind of torn on the no backlight thing. On one hand the display does look great and it has good battery life and an always on clock which is cool and it’s definitely nostalgic as a former Gameboy and NGP owner (in fact, neogeo pocket is what this device most reminds me of overall). On the other I do just like being able to see the display without fussing about.

 

Beyond that it’s a really cool little thing and I enjoy both of the first games I got, especially as a California games fan. I spent about $20 on the store and got a handful of games to check out also. Pretty excited to try Root Bear.

 

I didn’t realize the catalog is just a small portion of what is out there, there are 400+ games now! I’ll definitely have to set up side loading tomorrow to get Celeste on it.

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20 minutes ago, AshsToAshs said:

I might pull the trigger on getting one of these soon. Made by a local Portland company too :)
 
@stepee any game recommendations?

 

Only had it a few days but I did get a few catalog games and I can definitely highly recommend Yoyozo and A Balanced Brew (great demo for the crank) Root Bear is also a fun diversion for $3 and Skew seems pretty ace as well and looks super cool. I also got Gun Trails but that is just way too difficult of a shump for me though I’m still playing it, just not progressing at all. And the other game I got 99 cent joke I don’t quite understand yet :P

 

I like both of the first games it came with as well. 

 

 

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I got the time traveling dating game which seems great and I was looking forward to as one of the two games for the week from season1. But the other game is some weird mario paint like music thing? I don’t really consider it a game so it’s kinda lame that it’s one of them. Would make more sense as freebie on the shop or something for whoever is into that sorta thing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got two absolute bangers last week with Lost your Marbles which is kind of an interactive comic/rotate the stage around the marble puzzle game and Pick Pack Pup which fucking RULES and is like a tetris attack game with a dog story and an extra element of grouping things as packages and shipping them out which makes it more skill based. 

 

Back to one good release and one kinda lame release this week. Flipper Lifter, a crank controlled game with penguins going up and down an elevator and you need to try to efficiently move them to the right floors is very good and my sorta jam. Echoic Memory however is a “game” where you listen to music then pick between four samples and pick which one matches. Eh.

 

Im now on 8 games from the season and really like 6 of the 8 though so I’m pretty happy! Yozo and Balanced Brew are still the standouts from the 6 catalog games I’ve tried. But I’m warming up to Skew as well. Gun Trails is still just too difficult with too much bullet hell for this display. Root Bear is just a little too simple of a concept. A joke that is worth 99 cents is perhaps not.

 

I still need to set up side loading and get some more stuff on here but two releases a week is enough honestly. I actually bring this out with me sometimes and it’s nice to sit outside in the sun and play a bit.

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@Xbob42 you try side loading yet? It rules! The process is way more efficient than I imagined. You just go to itch.io where there seems to be like hundreds of free games and download whatever and then simply go to the play date website and drag them into the side load section!

 

Then BAM they show up in your games available to download list like they are part of your library. No usb connection required for any of it. Very cool, very slick.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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