Fantastic review. I keep going back and forth on ordering one. It’s not quite a novelty and it’s not quite a full on modern handheld, but it’s incredibly compelling as a concept. If it were half the price I’d have pulled the trigger already I think, but for the price of an Analogue Pocket, it’s a bit of a big ask.
Thanks for the feedback! I don’t think the price is going to drop any time soon and it’s one of those things that ends up costing more second hand. If the games interest you I’d say get it. Obviously it can’t do as much as the Analogue Pocket, but unless you have a large cart collection, the Pocket ends up being mostly an emulation device for many and you could get a cheap Miyoo to do that. And then you’d be able to afford the Playdate. Pretty much all the Playdate games are exclusive to the console as well
This needs to get some one on one fighting games and also a few ports of Doom, Sonic and Resident Evil. Not even joking. It needs those genres and specific games
i absolutely love mine and i'm glad i have it, but i'm not going to lie - it's not something most people are going to spend a ton of time playing. the ideal demographic for this thing would be someone who's really interested in retro style games, game development, and unique gaming experiences, or someone who just wants to try something new and has some money to burn. this definitely isn't going to replace your PS5/xbox/switch/PC, it's more like a supplement to them. tons of great options for those moments when you have 15-60+ minutes to kill - waiting for your car at the carwash, waiting at the DMV, pooping, plane or train rides, etc.
I feel like there's a sub section of gamers who sort of fell out of gaming after the handheld market died. Like, I'm not really looking for a "console experience" on a handheld. I just want some 2d shoot em up or platformer to chip away at in my down time. AAA games are too much. It's kinda like reading a comic vs reading a novel
They could easily do a season two that you have to buy - maybe it’s games you can get separately but costs more individually and comes out later than if you buy the season. Likewise the season 1 games could be replaced on the new units sold and those games could be on the catalogue at a slightly higher price than if they were split up
Great overview, you’ve nailed covering all the aspects. Good to see Pulp get some love too. I’m a fan (clue’s in the name/channel) of all the games you mention and many more besides. I’ve found myself appreciating some of the classic games like Chess and Quadrino, Cross Words, Pac-Man etc. The screen really does these older title justice and the portability is wonderful. Currently very happy with Supaplex - it’s a port but I’m reminded of Boulder Dash. Sweet! For the future, I’d like to see the Spectrum stuff come over. Surely Atik Atak, Ant Attack, maybe Kinght Lore? Dreaming… For now, 2024 looks like it will have plenty of games coming along, with ~1000 kicking about to explore already.
Would be nice of them, if they would adjust the price of it. At the current pricing, it's pretty crazy. And if you're not from USA, you're going to pay double for it, including the shipping, taxes, customs, vat and so on.
you have to keep a couple of things in mind regarding the playdate - 1) while yes, it's primarily a tiny gaming device, it's also a dev tool. the openness of being able to make and share games on the device itself is a big selling point for a lot of people. it's a good entry into game development. 2) it's a niche product for a niche market. 3) this is panic's first device. they're new to producing physical products, so they likely underestimated how much it would cost them to manufacture it. 4) they're a pretty small team with a presumably limited budget. it might not be feasible for them to make them any cheaper at the moment.
I see how thinking of it as retro initially is natural but now that I had a few months with it, I have to say, it's really not (and you seem to have noticed it but still struggle to part with the concept). Thinking more of how to categorize it, I feel that lofi indie suits it best.
Also, I don't think there will be a Playdate Pro, 2 or any follow up. I don't think Panic thinks about it as this ongoing iterrative console. If they wanted, they could have easily had better specs, backlight etc. They were not limited by existing or available tech. There is a great episode of the Playdate podcast where the authors tell the story of the console. It's episode 1 actually.
Yeah I definitely agree it’s indie. But it’s also definitely retro in its design and presentation, and they lean into that. It’s like how Shovel Knight is an indie game that in most ways looks like a NES game, but couldn’t ever be produced on an actual NES. Same with games like Donut Dodo or Cash Cow DX.
@@nerdzone I guess time will tell if there’s ever a follow up. I like that they made something with limited specs as it encourages creativity with the limited hardware. I don’t think they’d announce a follow up until just when they ready to start production on a follow up though as it’d kill sales of the original
@@nerdzoneI can c them making a follow up someday with simple improvements like a backlight or MAYBE at most optimistic a haptic engine but I don’t c them trying to make the console more powerful as that’d defeat the purpose
Seems pretty cool and I think I would like it, but its too expensive. Maybe I'll get it if they release a season 2, but at this point it doesn't seem like its gonna happen
The audio was slightly out of sync in this vid, and also: when comparing 2 things, the word is (e.g. more/less) "than" something, not "then" something.. ;-)
I wish it was cheaper, even up to half the price, but I wouldn’t say it’s just a gimmick. There are plenty of games that make good use of the crank which I don’t think could translate to another control method
@@GeekBattleGaming I was interested in getting one until I saw the price. It might be worth it and the lowest price they can sell it for? I think I would rather spend the money on maybe a AVS console since my brother gave me some NES games.
@@1blktalon yeah it could be cheaper, but they’re made in small quantities so the price is higher. I think it’ll come back down in price at some point or it’ll start to get cheaper second hand now that they’re not backlogged on orders.
maybe for a mainstream gamer. but this isnt for mainstream gamers. its for devs and geeks who wont mind the screen color or not. color would take more power anyways.
Fantastic review. I keep going back and forth on ordering one. It’s not quite a novelty and it’s not quite a full on modern handheld, but it’s incredibly compelling as a concept. If it were half the price I’d have pulled the trigger already I think, but for the price of an Analogue Pocket, it’s a bit of a big ask.
Thanks for the feedback! I don’t think the price is going to drop any time soon and it’s one of those things that ends up costing more second hand. If the games interest you I’d say get it. Obviously it can’t do as much as the Analogue Pocket, but unless you have a large cart collection, the Pocket ends up being mostly an emulation device for many and you could get a cheap Miyoo to do that. And then you’d be able to afford the Playdate. Pretty much all the Playdate games are exclusive to the console as well
This needs to get some one on one fighting games and also a few ports of Doom, Sonic and Resident Evil. Not even joking. It needs those genres and specific games
I would love to see some survival horror on there!!!
i absolutely love mine and i'm glad i have it, but i'm not going to lie - it's not something most people are going to spend a ton of time playing. the ideal demographic for this thing would be someone who's really interested in retro style games, game development, and unique gaming experiences, or someone who just wants to try something new and has some money to burn. this definitely isn't going to replace your PS5/xbox/switch/PC, it's more like a supplement to them. tons of great options for those moments when you have 15-60+ minutes to kill - waiting for your car at the carwash, waiting at the DMV, pooping, plane or train rides, etc.
I feel like there's a sub section of gamers who sort of fell out of gaming after the handheld market died. Like, I'm not really looking for a "console experience" on a handheld. I just want some 2d shoot em up or platformer to chip away at in my down time. AAA games are too much. It's kinda like reading a comic vs reading a novel
I hope for a season 2. For me, that would mean they have success, which would mean for us, long term support :)
They could easily do a season two that you have to buy - maybe it’s games you can get separately but costs more individually and comes out later than if you buy the season. Likewise the season 1 games could be replaced on the new units sold and those games could be on the catalogue at a slightly higher price than if they were split up
Great overview, you’ve nailed covering all the aspects. Good to see Pulp get some love too.
I’m a fan (clue’s in the name/channel) of all the games you mention and many more besides. I’ve found myself appreciating some of the classic games like Chess and Quadrino, Cross Words, Pac-Man etc. The screen really does these older title justice and the portability is wonderful. Currently very happy with Supaplex - it’s a port but I’m reminded of Boulder Dash. Sweet!
For the future, I’d like to see the Spectrum stuff come over. Surely Atik Atak, Ant Attack, maybe Kinght Lore? Dreaming…
For now, 2024 looks like it will have plenty of games coming along, with ~1000 kicking about to explore already.
Wow I’m not sure what spectrum stuff they could bring directly over, but certainly there could be spiritual successors and similar games made.
Would be nice of them, if they would adjust the price of it. At the current pricing, it's pretty crazy. And if you're not from USA, you're going to pay double for it, including the shipping, taxes, customs, vat and so on.
you have to keep a couple of things in mind regarding the playdate - 1) while yes, it's primarily a tiny gaming device, it's also a dev tool. the openness of being able to make and share games on the device itself is a big selling point for a lot of people. it's a good entry into game development.
2) it's a niche product for a niche market.
3) this is panic's first device. they're new to producing physical products, so they likely underestimated how much it would cost them to manufacture it.
4) they're a pretty small team with a presumably limited budget. it might not be feasible for them to make them any cheaper at the moment.
I've heard the slow download/install time is more to do with the speed of the CPU vs speed of the WiFi.
That makes sense as my wifi is usually super fast. Maybe on a Playdate Pro they’ll improve on this
Season Two was Announced!
I see how thinking of it as retro initially is natural but now that I had a few months with it, I have to say, it's really not (and you seem to have noticed it but still struggle to part with the concept). Thinking more of how to categorize it, I feel that lofi indie suits it best.
Also, I don't think there will be a Playdate Pro, 2 or any follow up. I don't think Panic thinks about it as this ongoing iterrative console. If they wanted, they could have easily had better specs, backlight etc. They were not limited by existing or available tech. There is a great episode of the Playdate podcast where the authors tell the story of the console. It's episode 1 actually.
Yeah I definitely agree it’s indie. But it’s also definitely retro in its design and presentation, and they lean into that. It’s like how Shovel Knight is an indie game that in most ways looks like a NES game, but couldn’t ever be produced on an actual NES. Same with games like Donut Dodo or Cash Cow DX.
@@nerdzone I guess time will tell if there’s ever a follow up. I like that they made something with limited specs as it encourages creativity with the limited hardware. I don’t think they’d announce a follow up until just when they ready to start production on a follow up though as it’d kill sales of the original
@@nerdzoneI can c them making a follow up someday with simple improvements like a backlight or MAYBE at most optimistic a haptic engine but I don’t c them trying to make the console more powerful as that’d defeat the purpose
Seems pretty cool and I think I would like it, but its too expensive. Maybe I'll get it if they release a season 2, but at this point it doesn't seem like its gonna happen
season 2 releasing to the comunity together os foing to be amazing...as intended for season 1
The audio was slightly out of sync in this vid, and also: when comparing 2 things, the word is (e.g. more/less) "than" something, not "then" something.. ;-)
Im really intrigued to get one, tell me i won't regret it! Just tell me that
Can someone confirm or deny GTA5 port?
Of course not! Skyrim weirdly is likely though 😅
💀
@@switcheezy Its a no go?
overpriced gimmic console, absolutely not worth it
I wish it was cheaper, even up to half the price, but I wouldn’t say it’s just a gimmick. There are plenty of games that make good use of the crank which I don’t think could translate to another control method
@@GeekBattleGaming I was interested in getting one until I saw the price. It might be worth it and the lowest price they can sell it for? I think I would rather spend the money on maybe a AVS console since my brother gave me some NES games.
@@1blktalon yeah it could be cheaper, but they’re made in small quantities so the price is higher. I think it’ll come back down in price at some point or it’ll start to get cheaper second hand now that they’re not backlogged on orders.
Ok. Thanks for the reply.
Great just what the market needed an unperfected retro gaming device. A HD color display is all it would take to perfect how stupid.
It’s old school in an unperfected way 😄
maybe for a mainstream gamer. but this isnt for mainstream gamers. its for devs and geeks who wont mind the screen color or not.
color would take more power anyways.