I would rather pay for the games separately or subscribe to the game service than blow it all on the games and device at once. It really drives up the cost of the unit
It would also be great if hardware was just FREE! Launching new hardware as a small company that has never developed any hardware before ISN’T cheap or trivial. Nintendo has enormous pricing leverage with suppliers because of their reputation, production volume, and decades of experience managing supply chains. Nintendo can issue a PO for millions of dollars to any supplier, and the supplier would have no qualms about getting paid due to established credit. A small company doing it for the first time has none of those things, so they likely need to pay for everything upfront, and inherits an enormous amount of risk by doing something like this. Supply chain and assembly is a gnarly task for a small company without credit and established relationships. Panic has only ever been an indie Mac software developer that began dabbling in indie game publishing. For their first crack at launching a hardware platform, I’d say they’ve done a damn good job. We, as users and enthusiasts, should support these kinds of gambles in the gaming industry if we ever want to see small companies take these kinds of risks. I truly hope the PlayDate succeeds because frankly Panic deserves success and I don’t want to see the industry continue to stagnate around 3 companies. Same goes for the Steam Deck. Experiments with new hardware products is vital for keeping the industry interesting and healthy.
@@Millahtime Dude, you can tell when a product is going to tank, just like Google stadia, Nvidia, NGage, and all those hip and cool handhelds than never went anywhere.
Let me get this straight. They specifically designed a game console with a *crank controller,* but as of this video, they didn't put any *fishing games* in it!? That's like designing a console you control with a DDR pad and having it only play FPSes.
According to Panic, the screen is the most expensive component in the whole console, and they would have saved money by using a regular back-lit color LCD. They went for this particular Sharp Memory LCD tech because they liked the look of it. There is a lot of info about the design process of that thing in their podcast.
@@primepikachu5 Probably the latter, but apparently it is a passion project more than anything. The whole console was designed around that particular reflective screen. They mentioned the Game And Watch as their source of inspiration (as in the original from the 80s), so I get why they would go that route.
As retro gamers we all like a certain degree of nostalgia, but after a certain point this “member berry” stuff goes too far. Might as well require double AA batteries too if they want to be that “authentic.” That kind of screen is fine for calculators, but for gaming? Just no.
i think that the screen is terrible they could've achieved the same effect with a gpu shader very stupid especially if it raised the cost and is why i cant even buy one. when they make the color screen backlit version of this ill buy it day one
@@someguy3186 Yeah, no one should have nostalgia for something that sucked ass. Who has positive memories related to the lack of a backlight? Like what? Oh man, It's so awesome I get to relive the horrible experience of having to try an adjust the lamp in my room at night to the exact right position to play my gameboy before giving up after 10 minutes because I can only just barely see what the hell I was doing. It's like being nostalgic for burning through 6 AA batteries for 3-5 hours of play on a game gear. It's something that was objectively bad, we can leave that in the past.
I can see me having a ton of fun with this in small quiet times. Just quick relax from busy day. It’s just the price is the big issue. Obviously there are other things like No backlighting etc. but the price is the big one. I definitely hope future versions (if made) become cheaper over time, because if it does, I’m definitely willing to get this, since I don’t want to play games that require much time commitment etc. most times now and just play something small and ‘relaxing’
@@fastestdino2 and Nintendo's game and watch that only has one NES game and one game and watch game is $50. This has far more in depth games and you can cast it to your PC, create and share games for it, and it is made by a small company, not a giant like Nintendo.
That thing would probably have a quarter of the battery life if it used a typical backlit LCD, a frontlit screen with an off switch would've been ideal. Transflective LCDs are a wonderful battery saving tech for mobile products, and I wish at the very least more smart watch manufacturers would use them.
Using the crank to actually charge the device is unrealistic, but I think keeping the B&W display and adding a manually-switchable EL panel or some LED lighting would make a huge difference without draining the battery too much. US$180 is just way too much, though. Even though it comes with 24 games, I'm only interested in 2 or 3 of them.
It's not unlikely we're gonna see a "travel/night kit" for this thing down the line that includes a hefty battery pack and a little light, just like those weird gameboy light/battery kits of old...!
If I recall correctly they use what is called a "memory lcd", a very low power screen designed by sharp as an alternative to e-ink, having lower power consumption on things that had regular updates (e-ink has zero consumption while still, but shoots through the roof when updating), plus much, much better refresh speed. Originally it was meant for things like price tags (so it relied on the place bneing very well illuminated), so it was not meant to incorporate backlighting. My guess is that they had access to a readymade screen so adding backlighting was not an option, and "frontlighting" it would have added a lot of thickness, plus that ugly depth effect where the screen feels sunk beneath the protective glass. Given that this device is clearly design over function, they probably though "if they want to see the screen, they better pack a reading light" :D
This just feels like a cute novelty, like if it was $50 I would consider buying it, but it’s almost the price of a switch lite, how can you even compare the two.
@@gir5o1 A switch console exclusive seems like much more advanced games, here you could argue spending $20 and getting the NES and SNES games would be a better deal.
@@Hyperbolic_G The price might not matter to you, but for someone like me, who only has a limited budget to spend on their hobby of gaming each month while supporting a family, paying bills, etc.. then yeah it does matter.
@@CommodoreFan64 So if it was reasonably priced right now, would you buy it? The thing is garbage with that screen at any price which is the point im making.
In a day and age where projects like this are hit and miss in terms of delivery... here's one that actually made it all the way, and the games look fun. Seems they're making this "seasonal" game delivery concept work. It's difficult to get hardware to the market and even more so to create a software ecosystem for it... so props to Playdate for pulling it off.
When I first saw that thing, I was like "WTF!?" - and then I thought the crank could be used to charge up the device. Then I thought about my GBP that I just backlight modded and was turned off by the non-lit display.
I genuinely thought the crank was to power the thing and the point was you never had to charge it. Maybe I'm just stupid but the fact that the crank is just an alternate control method makes it way less cool than what I made up in my head lol.
Same. Would you be able to power a device like this with a crank like that? Feel like even with the non lit screen it would require a fair amount of crank.
@@jameseden9380 Yes, you can power torches with old fashioned filament bulbs using a crank, so i'm sure you could top a battery on this a bit with a bit of crank.
Same. Also look at how much the device moves as he uses the crank as a controller. A simple knob would accomplish the same thing without wiggling the devive in your hands while trying to keep track of a small nonbacklit screen. A hand crank to charge the device would be far better than a crank as a controller.
The visual effect of black-and-white pixel art animating as smoothly as something modern is very cool and some of these games look quite fun, but the the price and lack of a backlit screen is probably still a dealbreaker for me
The sharp memory display in these things are a huge selling point to me, and it's the thing that enables the huge battery life, high speed refresh, and good visibility in the bright places I'd like to be hanging out.
Considering how much money I dropped on custom backlit screens for my Game Boy's, the lack of one on the PlayDate is no-go for me :| Gonna have to wait for v2!
Which is good, right? Plenty of headroom for fancy games with smooth animations. Personally I'm not a fan of monochrome. Basic GBA style colors would have been better.
@@AmstradExin i don't understand how *anything* can be that big if everything is 1-bit(technically it'd be 2 bit to have transparency, but still). I don't know if people realise how absolutely tiny 1-2 bit graphic are to store, it was a trick they used on some old 16 bit where'd they'd store tiles that way and then palette swap them.
This looks super cool honestly, backlight would be clutch... I was thinking the crank would charge the unit itself! Then not having a backlight made sense.... still very very interesting. The 180 price is high, but if it eventually gives you dozens of games that are decent quality, it's pretty worth it.
Cranks to charge can be used, but they require some gear conversions to make your movement generate electricity efficiently. That means it would not be as smooth as the one they have it and it could make it hard or unfun to play. And also it would make a lot of noise. The crank they added is very smooth, with precision sensors. I don't think they could add a feature to charge with that same crank
@@astropgn yeah I'm not an engineer I was just giving my remarks that when I first saw it had a crank and a non backlit screen my first thought was "you crank it to charge it maybe, thats why it is saving energy with the screen". But as I also said, its not! Thanks for clarifying though.
Wow a lot smaller than I thought it would be! Also like others I thought/assumed there was a backlight on it. Crazy to not have that in a modern product!
They said they want to recapture the old school feel. I feel like MJR is missing the point of the play date almost entirely. It's NOT a smartphone, it's it's own niche product.
@@holdencollins1462 I agree with the old-school feel and the reflective screen is something I lust after in any device I can get, I just love it when they don't need to be lit to be seen. Still, locking you out of that forcefully is kinda crap, I doubt anyone loved all of the the Game Boys up until the SP _because_ they couldn't be seen without external light. If the screen technology makes it impossible to put a light through the back, put one on the front, simple as that. Amazon has been doing it on the Kindle Paperwhite since 2012 with impressive results, and I doubt they were the 1st either. (EDIT: like the GBA SP AGS-001, but I do mean as well as the Paperwhite quality wise)
As a person who never heard of this, when you presented it with the game where you have to light it up with a crank, I thought it was the first dynamo-powered handheld, and thought, "Oh wow, that makes sense Portland would come up with that."🤣 (I'm in Eugene btw, the "younger sibling of Portland" as it were.)
It's funny I hadn't even thought about lighting at all with this until this review. The marketing always showed it in perfect light or was also seen through my phone or pc screen so I didn't give it a second thought. The Size seems ok but man if they just tweaked that software a bit to make it work with the smaller screen it would be great. Seems overall pretty neat so I hope they keep iterating on the product to hit that sweet spot.
I feel like this was a really solid review of the Playdate by the comments. The margins of who wants it and who don't are very healthy on each side, and I _really_ think that shows just how objective the review was. I want one if it comes down in price. I'd worried about the backlit screen part because I remember buying early E-Readers that had the exact same problem, however it looks from the video that it might reflect much better and with nicer contrast than the Gameboys of the past (which sometimes were muddy even in direct light). I'd also like to see if there's any real hits on the device, since I haven't heard or seen any yet. This review is exactly the sort I was looking for!
Heyyyy what a neat idea! The amount of production that's gone into the graphics is cool too. Hope indies have a chance to get super creative with this!
That crank reminded me of emergency radios and lamps. Where you can just turn the crank for a time to produce enough electricity for the device to function for a limited time. I was hoping it was used for something similar here too, but using it as game input is neat as well.
That's what I thought it was at first when I saw him cranking it really fast. One of those cranks to provide electricity. Then as I got further into the video and saw him turning it slowly it back and forth, that's when I realized it was being used to control the games.
that´s what i thought when i first saw this months ago too. kind of useless garbage but at least it has a little gimmick and a novelty factor you don´t see on other hand helds. maybe i´ll get one for 30-40 bucks. that´s would´ve made the non backlit screen alright with me too, since it would be befitting of it´s main crank powered usp and not just some hipster bullshit. but seeing that this costs 180 bucks plus the crank is just a completely pointless gimmick without any real function, makes this completely pointless.
Looks like a really nice device. It's such a shame about the none backlit screen. Reminds me of trying to play my advance with a flexible light stuck in it.
It would be nice if the crank was ALSO a kinetic power charger. I know they have wind-up radios and this would be awesome to power while on a car ride without any cables, just by cranking. Use your energy/calories to power the device. The technology is there but not sure how efficient that would be.
It's not efficient at all. The RPM's you need to generate any significant amount of electricity is very high, and that's also with a large amount of copper wiring and sizable magnet. Including even a small hand cranked generator into this would at least double it's thickness and probably the price as well.
@@digiquo8143 not true necessarily I have a battery pack that has solar charge, hand crank or plug in and has multiple lights built in as well but you don’t have to turn crank fast to make power. yes it would make device thicker but depending on design can change how crank charge works
That reflective screen is a beauty frankly, I've always loved some good sunlight visibility that doesn't battle the sun for who's the brightest, instead using all light around in it's favor. Lack of a light would definitely be because of battery life concerns and maybe quality too, I imagine that screen would require a front light instead, much like the Kindle e-readers (to not say the much older GBA Advance SP AGS-001, since things have certainly improved a lot until front lit e-readers). This could be done tho, let the user chose if they want to save battery or light up the screen. I imagine the handling of the device is hampered mostly by something that has been ongoing for far too long: the obsession with thickness. Just freaking make things thicker and rounder, you can hold those properly. The reason game controllers don't cramp your hands is because they are such shape, large and rounded enough to be held by grips. The PS Vita and PSP don't cramp my hands. The 3DS and 2DS do. Flat, thin and "sharp" corners just don't feel good on the hand.
When I first saw it I thought it was a lower power hand crank able handheld. When I found out what it really was I was honestly disappointed. But still intrigued
I am amazed that this sold even one copy. Not only is it nothing more than a gimmick, it's a bad gimmick. And not having a backlit screen is fairly unforgivable. If it ends up being a profitable system let me know, I've got an idea for a gameboy with the rest of bop-its controls.
The fucking BRAND is a deal breaker. avoid those idiots. TI is NOT GOOD. They are... sinister and deceptive. (in my opinion, and fictional thoughts...)
I recently rediscovered your channel through recommended feed after like, 12 or 13 years and the amount of dopamine that going through all your videos has given me is actually insane right now. Just wanted to share. Thank you for all the memories and the ones still left to create! ❤️
I'm not sure how I didn't realize they weren't going to have either a backlit or at least frontlit screen. Would have been really cool if they went with an Indiglo/GameBoy Light type screen at least.
Nice review! I'm a old school game dev and I think I will put some time to develop 2 or 3 games to this device, there's a lot of nice ideas to do with this crank.
That crank reminds me of this old Radica fishing game I once had. It was an LCD handheld kinda like the old Tiger games and surprisingly required a bit of motion controls to cast the bait. It rumbled when a fish was on so you knew when to pull back to set the hook, and had a fishing reel crank on one side to bring the caught fish in.
I loved those things it was the only things to keep me entertained at my grandmas... ((besides one of those old hand held racing games called digital derby that the road went around like a treadmill and the car was essentially a picture lol))
Man no backlight...I loved the 90s also but no backlight is something I don't miss lol what did surprise me is the variety of game types that's pretty neat but the price and no backlight is going to keep me from buying it. awesome review man 🤘
designed by Portland hipsters, puts nostalgia/gimmick over QoL... yeah nah sucks because it does look so cool otherwise, a simple bluish blacklight and a bit more height would have made a world of difference.
Backlight is good when it’s dark but these devices aren’t meant to be used by 30 year olds trying to relive childhood in their basement they’re meant to be used by people who go outside and walk a lot that’s why they’re portable lol
@@TheFloodFourm You're right, it's not like every other handheld console made in the past 25 years has had a backlit screen or anything. But I guess this is the first handheld that's meant to be portable, and all the others are meant to be played in a dark basement.
Given the limitations of this device, the price point seems absurd. You can get a powerful emulation handheld for that kind of money, able to play thousands of games. I can see the appeal of having a quirky little thing like that, but it doesn't justify its cost. It's a hard pass for me.
Super intriguing. Something I might have been crazy enough to buy, even at that price point, but no backlight??!! No. Nope. To me, that is such a deal breaker.
Initial impressions, I actually hope it progresses and gets a second or third generation. Maybe the hand crank becomes a flat, 3DS like joy stick pad or something. An open store to developers, colour screen maybe eventually. Stuff like that. I don’t know.
Holding my Switch without a custom grip hurts and I imagine this thing would be agony. I know they would never do this but the crank reminds me of a fishing pole and it would be nice if it had more of a Wii nunchuk shape. Something for us big handed people. But there are so many other reasons this thing is a dealbreaker for me anyway.
The games actually look fun and like they make good use of the crank. I could see myself buying it if it cost half of what it does now. $180 is just too much for me
I knew they wouldn't understand what their fanbase/market even is I'm almosst into the Playdate but it feels like it's not even great for making your own games as a non-programmer and playing them alone. What I love that they did is make an electronic with a lot of DESIGN. It looks really cool and has a lot of animation and themeing potential.
I appreciate the honest review. I was skeptical about this device when it was announced years ago. It looks like it does what we expected it to do. In the end, I'll stick with classic gaming and Switch.
The backlight won't be a big cost nowerdays. however having the backlight on takes a lot of battery and you can't just have it be togglable since backliight LCD's are much darker than non-backlight with the backlight turned off. getting a big battery whould have caused lots of probblems. Also, personally I visually preffer non-backlit diplays oftern.
I am curious why the preference of non-backlit displays? The only time I remember using one was with my original Game Boy Advance but I don't remember what the advantages of using a non backlit display are over a backlit one.
The Sharp Memory LCD is the most expensive component in the whole console, they would have saved money by using a normal backlit LCD. The comments talking about the lack of a backlight are totally missing the point. This is basically a shiny e-ink screen with high refresh rate, like an Amazon Kindle except silver. Its totally different technology and intention compared to an LCD.
I'd have to slightly disagree... They're not really missing any point if they would have preferred a backlit screen though. I get that the designers intended to use this screen, but it doesn't change the fact that people are now very accustomed to being able to see modern lit screens and prefer them. I respect trying to do something different, but people are either going to like the difference or not. No "missing the point" going on here.
@@THESaSquaSHIsMe There's the flip side. Using this screen in interior or exterior daylight will be far more visible than any LCD or OLED could possibly be. Its why I read with a Kindle instead of an iPad. You should see one of these Sharp Memory LCDs in person, they're super cool, like an ebook screen but super shiny
@@KoolAidManOG Ebooks have backlights now though, and have for years. Justifying the lack of a backlight by comparing it to similar screens that have backlights is a bit odd. The screen looks great, so why not maximise its useability?
@@BigDoniel Technically speaking they are front lights, I should know because I have one. Maybe a future version will have a frontlight, but as it stands this is clearly going to be something that would get better usage outdoors.
Backlighting is definitely a needed improvement here! I agree about the taller aspect too, I like the form factor of the actual gaming part but think the bottom could use some extension for gripping. Perhaps we could even see some kind of grip texturing or molding on the back? It's also a great device for hobbyist devs, as it's extremely easy to make and play your own games.
The Playdate seemed kind of neat until I realized it's about the same price as a Switch Lite. To be competitive, the Playdate would have to be priced more like last year's Game&Watch, which was $50 and had a color screen.
@@ToyKeeper It's just not possible though. They are super expensive to produce because they are not produced _en masse_ like the Switch, not to mention that Nintendo (and Microsoft, and Sony) sell their devices at a loss and a make all their profit by selling games. As expensive as it is, the device is being sold for as cheap as possible.
It's expensive to produce and they're selling for as cheap as they can without going bankrupt. If that's what you call overpriced, welp, guess we have a different definition of that word. People keep bringing up the Switch Lite, and forget that Nintendo sells their consoles at a loss and profit from game sales. I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch Lite is being sold for less than half of what it costs to manufacture.
@@QuotePilgrim Many sources report Nintendo makes a healthy profit on each Switch. I think you were spot-on with the part about Teenage Engineering not trying to be competitive though. This is the same company which sells a white t-shirt for $490. Most of their tech items sell for at least twice the price of anything else in their class... and the Playdate is no exception. Because it's a fashion company, not a tech company.
I had kinda heard about it, can't afford the price tag at the moment and really it just felt like a curiosity... Interesting but yea, there's some bugs that really shouldn't have even been in version 1. We've had 20 years of complaining about non backlit screens, so that's just... way too simple a thing to know to fix....
only black and white as well. screen smaller than the original gameboy. low resolution. can only play 24 mysterious games. can't even play retro games. must connect to the internet to download the 24 games that you own, have to wait 1 week to get 2 games every week. you don't even know the games you're getting. could be good or crap. storage is only 4 GB even though it's freaken 2022. there's a gimmick crank that gives your hand a cramp after a while. also the screen shakes as you're rotating the crank (because the whole unit shakes) making it hard to see what's going on in the small screen. who in the right mind would buy this? i get it's a cool idea and they're trying to different. but why this? why not a slightly bigger unit, with colored backlit HD screen, with 24 pre-downloaded known games (not mysterious) with new games you can get from their online store for free or to buy. and add a micro-SD card slot to expand the storage space. instead of the crank, use a wheel like the mouse middle wheel. and add a 3.5mm headphone jack. that'd be a device worth buying
@@bradford433 Well yes, a backlight would be nice, though it would drastically cut the battery life I imagine, but it seems like a fair compromise that makes it VERY easy to use outdoors, whereas most handhelds and phones are pretty hard to see in the sun. They could have put some tiny LED on the side of the display that would shine inward if you turned them on, but maybe that resulted in weird glare with the reflection screen, idk..
this seems like an art piece with a modern retro throwback aesthetic. the lack of backlight combined with the art style gives it almost an e-ink look. It wouldn't look as good with the backlight
Yes but looking nice vs practicality is a crucial difference. It can look nice all day long but if it has no backlight then a majority of the time it'll be useless unless you can find a good spot in the house to play it.
The screen looks great head-on but at that price point -0- chance I'm getting this. Either v1 at half off or v2 with a better screen. MJR - Great content per usual.
I imagine it's not backlit for the same reason the Gameboy isn't backlit. It extends the battery life quite a bit. Interested in what people will do with this thing Chiptune-wise. That crank looks like a cool opportunity when it comes to music. Hoping there's a tracker/hand cranked music maker for this thing at some point.
It would benefit from being twice the height, they could fix basically all the issues. Larger, backlit screen, bigger battery, more comfortable to hold, etc. Hope to see an improved version
@@alexnolasco1339 that's a great point. It's not like any of this stuff isn't easily fixable. Maybe they're really sold on this being retro in that the handhelds of the 80s and 90s often had severe limitations, be it the non-backlit screen of the Gameboy or the short battery life of the Atari Lynx. Sure, make it retro, but at the same time realize that it's 2022 and there's some stuff no one, not even me, a guy who's been gaming since the 80s, has any nostalgia for.
If they release one with a backlight and expandable storage, I'd get one. Especially if it's not yellow. I don't expect much from the Seasons, but I am willing to try development and I'm looking forward to freeware and ports.
One perhaps completely overkill but really cool application I've seen for this is as a Flipnote Studio from DSi viewer. Obviously at almost $200 that's the cost of a 3DS XL so not really worth it, but its still a cool idea, would love to see how well that application works out.
It's easy to see what they were thinking - "Well announce the back-lit version with a bigger screen as soon as sales diminish." I'm just waiting to see if this takes off enough for third-party external accessories to start popping up that you can attach to play it in the dark, or magnifiers to make the screen bigger.
exactly what i was thinking too, make a new version of it with a backlit screen and be like "you asked and we listened". like of course they thought of that when they were making it. they'll probably also make an xl version too
From what I've heard about the makers of the console, it was never made with the intent to appeal to big demographics, and was pretty much just made as a fun experiment. A lot of the constraints may actually be self-imposed on the makers. It'd be cool seing an updated model.
I think there's a significant misunderstanding with backlighting here. This thing is like the original Kindle- not for the reason that it's not backlit, but because the entire device is built around a new, sort of unusual/exotic screen technology. That cool fast-refreshing reflective screen is a very unique screen technology that has different characteristics than every other device we have and wouldn't really work with a backlight. The screen is a big reason the entire device exists, if you're not into the novelty and nerdy quality of that- the same reason you'd get a nixie clock, then yeah, don't get it.
@@SparkY0 If you had ever tried to play a game on a Kindle screen, you would understand how unique this screen is. Unfortunately, it makes the device too expensive because it's new and exotic.
The kindle was literally an electronic book. You still needed a light to see it. Kindle sold lights to go with it, and eventually built one with a glow option. This device mimmicks the gameboy, but everyone who bought a gameboy also bought a worm light or one of the magnification screens with a light on it. And as 8 year olds, we weren't too picky about having to sit under a lamp to see it, or hold a flashlight under our chin. But we are adults now, and expect products to be well thought-out and not create hassle. There is no reason they do not also have a glow light, front lit option, or literally anything meaningful to go along with this device. It's incomplete except as a novelty item. Which is fine, but even the super niche community that wants this product, will be sorely wondering where the fucking worm light is, and will have to go to barnes and noble to buy a book light for it. That's missed income for playdate, and a bad experience for the customers to not have something built for the device readily available.
This seems like someone designing in a technology because they thought it was cute without really asking if it was the best choice. The outstanding point of those memory LCDs is that they are completely static and the display state is stored inside the pixel driver on the glass. The practical impact of this is that if you have a static image that's not being updated then the current consumption is measured in microamps. They can also in principle (unlike e-ink displays) be updated very quickly. These are nice features - but in a typical game application where there are frequent screen updates the advantages immediately evaporate - you still have to maintain the screen state in external RAM (presumably in your MCU) but in addition to this you either need to update the whole frame or maintain some sort of "dirty area" list so you can update the affected areas in blocks. If you are constantly updating large portions of the screen then the power consumption advantage over the "dumb LCD" approach where you just store the image in internal RAM and send it out each frame drops to pretty much zero. Also note that you can get very thin frontlights for these displays, so the lack of any illumination has to be considered a deliberate choice.
What a lame excuse. "Actually this screen is more advanced because it lacks functionality." No it's honestly a piece of crap. This is a handheld game console, not an electronic book. You need light to play a game.
This little thing is definitely on my radar... But I will wait for the backlighted version. Price is high, but originality and quality come at a fair price.
A few years ago, shortly before covid, I was looking for a non backlit Gameboy Color or GBA so I could play games when I took my kid to the park. I can't really see my Switch or 3DS in bright sunlight. I bet these designers had the same thought. I get that 95% of people or more would like back light, but a small portion will be happy to be able to play this outside!
I think the non-backlit screen is more of a retro throwback than anything else, since I'm guessing they had to have it made specifically for the Play Date (it also does wonders for the battery life). But as charming as this is, it's a pass for me. You need more than just charm to succeed these days. It does seem too small to play comfortably for adult hands, and you certainly confirmed my worry. When I first saw this announced, I thought the crank was some sort of manual method of charging the device and it was going to be a super eco-friendly handheld, lol.
Nah these are portable devices, portable means most likely out of the house, outside. Idk if you’ve ever tried using something with a backlight outdoors in broad daylight but it doesnt work that well lol
Honestly I started a gaming company when the first Apple Watch came out and was excited at the wheel. This crank here is the exact same thing. We put out a few games before getting back to reality.
On one hand, I like the crank because it is so unique and designing a game with the crank in mind could lead to interesting new ideas. On the other, I can't actually think of an implementation where the crank is superior to just spinning an analog stick, or instead using a knob/dial which would surely be more comfortable and reliable.
Agreed. If had a knob on the side that you could spin with your thumb, I think that could help with stability when spinning as your would still be able to hold with both hands (for the most part). Perhaps could mod it, but the crank is the gimmick.
@@kfcnyancat Good call, you are probably correct there. But I still think a knob that can be turned with two or three fingers would be better than the crank which requires the wrist.
Love the look of this, seems a bit on the pricey side but it looks like more than just a novelty with some of the game titles being well thought out in terms of crank usage.
I recently powered on my GBA again for something other than rom dumping. Took one look at the screen and wondered how the heck I used to play it so dang much (I kinda miss my SP though lol, that thing was nice). Oh well, back to the Anbernic I went. Backlit screens are a godsend.
This feels like the hardware/console version of those indie walking simulators that get made by teams that "OOPS! All artists!" and 0 game designers, you know what I'm talking about: small girl MC, not very many mechanics, themes of anxiety and depression, and 90% of the reviews are about art instead of content. This thing: all novelty, no practicality
It's a really cute little device and the games do look fun, but I just can't justify that price, esp. without a backlight. I hope they do well enough to make a mk.2 though, I'd like to see a refined version of it.
First off, I enjoyed your video and subscribed. I got my order in before the price went up. Yes, the price is going up by $20 at some point soon. But that's true of everything these days, isn't it? I was late hearing about it, and at first I understandably balked at the cost. But like you said, it comes with 24 games, so that takes a bit of the sting out (for me, at least). What made me decide to get it is the fact that the dev tools are free, and I really want to make some games specifically for this device. I'm a 55-year-old lifelong gamer, and I've always wanted to make my own games, but don't have the right mind for programming. I'm looking forward to this.
I was relieved when you said it had sideloading. That saves the whole device. I can't wait for people to make emulators for this that can run NES games or something, and having a game development engine basically makes this like a PICO-8 style fantasy console, but real. Edit: almost forgor, can't wait for someone to make a raytracing engine for this thing.
Just download an emulator on your phone or your computer or anything else. Heck you can download emulators to the PSP. I'm sorry but this just seems like member berries for people who absolutely need something trendy and hipster rather than anything practical.
@@abikegavin9641 it isn't for emulators. It has games that are only for it with tons of people developing for it. The entire point of it is to be fun, not the best console ever made.
The screen looks pretty nice and the games seem to make good use of the monochrome display, but no backlight is really a thing in this day and age. I can still remember using my gameboy back in the day and the amount of lamp accessories for it. Makes me hope for a second version that is a bit bigger and backlit.
@Russell White Genuinely curious, what do you have against the Playdaye? Do you not like indie games or small companies trying new things? I just don't get why anyone would be predispositioned to hate the device before it has even come out. If its not your thing just don't look at all the reviews and comments of people excited for it?
It definitely looks fun, I think I'll pick this up if it ever gets exported in my country, I just wish if they wanted to save battery life for backlight, they could have put an on and off switch for the backlight kinda like the GBA SP
Really interesting device. But the lack of backlight is unacceptable. Couple that with the price? I am out on this. Maybe pick one up down the road second hand.
I'm really curious to what the homebrew scene will turn out to be, and probably more importantly, how long the crank will last/how easy it is to replace (or really, how easy it is to replace any parts in it). Also, fantastic review. Never seen your channel before but this was well written and really indepth.
This seems like a really cool gadget, but for that kind of price, it's probably not for me. When it comes to tiny novelty handhelds, I'll just stick to my Arduboy, which has given me a lot of quality gaming time!
I wonder if the devs of this handheld thought of putting in one of those calculator style solar panels to let it get some extra charge for optional backlight? (I'm making this suggestion based on having no idea how that would realistically work. I know calculators have them, but calculators use such small amounts of power and are not backlit. A tiny solar panel might not supply enough power to make much difference in battery consumption for this device.)
When you were talking about the backlight issue, I remember playing those retro brick games. I had one that opened up like a briefcase. One of my school classmates haf one that was like a fold up mobile phone that had a folding antenna that had a tiny low power LED which was enough to let them play in dark. The playdate could put an external LED like that too.
No back light is an instant pas from me. I remember buying a gba sp just for a back light, then an ags 101 and most recently an analog pocket all just to be able to see the dam games I'm playing
If you listened to the podcast they explain that they discovered / experimented with the display before even coming up with the idea of a gaming console, the whole thing was designed around this specific screen, and there isn't a compatible version with a backlight.
Wow, the games look really cool! I almost lost all hope in that product due to all delays etc... I also thought that the crank will be just a gimmick, but now that device is finally shipping and the games I already saw, it looks like they are implementing it pretty well at the moment, but I still kinda can't get pass the price, to be honest, I'd pay $99 max, comparing the offers of handhelds at the moment... It really is a mixed bag at the end and tough to decide
I really like the look of this thing, and as an indie dev, the community aspect and public SDK really intrigues me. I would buy this thing in a heartbeat if it weren't for the price, and the format of game delivery. Labeling the initial 24 games as "season 1" leads me to assume there will probably be more seasons, and I doubt they will be free like season 1. Also I am worried they might pull some shenanigans with community made games, seeing as how you have to upload and verify them via their site. Cool idea. Insane price point and (potentially) greedy business model.
How the hell did they sell 118 million gameboy units if the backlight was a dealbreaker? That's not even including the first gen of the GBA which didn't have a backlight either.
As a side thing, your comparison of the crank to the D-pad is why consolers are at a disadvantage against PC gamers. Of all the input methods, D-pads may as well just be a button. They scroll, there's no 1:1 input. When I clicked this vid I thought the crank looked hilarious. But to be honest, I think it's a unique and accurate input method which gaming should have made use of long ago.
Awesome review man! I feel like this might go the way of the Cybiko (if you guys ever got that handheld over in the US?). That was a pretty hefty price tag over here and came with 100’s of free downloadable games, some of which were actually really fun, it just ended up dying out because other handhelds just had the better specs and longer lifespans. It’s a shame because that, much like the Playdate, have some decent original ideas, but originality vs price is always a tough one to balance. At first this intrigued me, now, not so much
The fact you can drag game files onto it from your pc is actually kind of huge, because it means once this overpriced thing is dead and $30 on ebay people might be able to make new games for it.
i dont think that'll easily be the case, as seen in the video, the device *downloads* its games from the internet. and sideloading is done through its account management interface. it's a locked down ecosystem if you look at it. unless they allow raw developer file sideloading via USB or a FTP server over a local network. what happens if the servers go down along with the device? i hope the developers thought of that and are working on a future firmware update that allows sideloading via usb or ftp.
As someone who has been following this handheld since announcement, I think the biggest selling point for me personally was that you would be able to make your own games. They made the SDK free for everyone and already out now, and every system will be able to sideload out of the box. Definitely hope to snag one up used for less than retail, was already a bit weary before it got bumped up to $180.
A thorough and honest review 👍 I know from experience that nostalgic retro games are nice for 5 minutes, but beyond that I'm not likely to spend much time playing them. Can't help but feel it would have been better to invent the crank as a smartphone accessory and develop a few apps for it 🤔
It’d be a neat novelty console if it were something like 70 dollars, but 180 is just insane. For only 20 dollars more, you can get a switch light
I would rather pay for the games separately or subscribe to the game service than blow it all on the games and device at once. It really drives up the cost of the unit
It would also be great if hardware was just FREE! Launching new hardware as a small company that has never developed any hardware before ISN’T cheap or trivial. Nintendo has enormous pricing leverage with suppliers because of their reputation, production volume, and decades of experience managing supply chains. Nintendo can issue a PO for millions of dollars to any supplier, and the supplier would have no qualms about getting paid due to established credit. A small company doing it for the first time has none of those things, so they likely need to pay for everything upfront, and inherits an enormous amount of risk by doing something like this.
Supply chain and assembly is a gnarly task for a small company without credit and established relationships. Panic has only ever been an indie Mac software developer that began dabbling in indie game publishing. For their first crack at launching a hardware platform, I’d say they’ve done a damn good job. We, as users and enthusiasts, should support these kinds of gambles in the gaming industry if we ever want to see small companies take these kinds of risks. I truly hope the PlayDate succeeds because frankly Panic deserves success and I don’t want to see the industry continue to stagnate around 3 companies. Same goes for the Steam Deck. Experiments with new hardware products is vital for keeping the industry interesting and healthy.
@@Millahtime I don't get why people don't understand this.
@@Millahtime You support this kind of gambling (great analogy by the way) if you want to. I'll pass on this.
@@Millahtime Dude, you can tell when a product is going to tank, just like Google stadia, Nvidia, NGage, and all those hip and cool handhelds than never went anywhere.
Let me get this straight. They specifically designed a game console with a *crank controller,* but as of this video, they didn't put any *fishing games* in it!?
That's like designing a console you control with a DDR pad and having it only play FPSes.
Pretty sure a fishing game was announced. They had a Direct-like announcement video a couple months back
@@fullriver1234 Better late than never, I suppose!
I was looking for this comment and thinking the exact same thing :D
there will be a fishing game :)
Or a console with a steering wheel without any racing games.
The visual style of this thing's software is just gorgeous.
I was confused about the design until you said it was built in Portland and suddenly everything makes sense.
TE was also involved.... Form over function is their specialty.
"Hipster idiot-land" has a ring to it.
Being from Oregon, I can safely say most of us are fed up with Portland lol.
That’s what I said. 🤣
@@CalQaida 😂👌🏻
According to Panic, the screen is the most expensive component in the whole console, and they would have saved money by using a regular back-lit color LCD. They went for this particular Sharp Memory LCD tech because they liked the look of it. There is a lot of info about the design process of that thing in their podcast.
Idk if that's stupid or playing to their audience really well
@@primepikachu5 Probably the latter, but apparently it is a passion project more than anything. The whole console was designed around that particular reflective screen. They mentioned the Game And Watch as their source of inspiration (as in the original from the 80s), so I get why they would go that route.
As retro gamers we all like a certain degree of nostalgia, but after a certain point this “member berry” stuff goes too far. Might as well require double AA batteries too if they want to be that “authentic.” That kind of screen is fine for calculators, but for gaming? Just no.
i think that the screen is terrible they could've achieved the same effect with a gpu shader very stupid especially if it raised the cost and is why i cant even buy one. when they make the color screen backlit version of this ill buy it day one
@@someguy3186 Yeah, no one should have nostalgia for something that sucked ass. Who has positive memories related to the lack of a backlight? Like what? Oh man, It's so awesome I get to relive the horrible experience of having to try an adjust the lamp in my room at night to the exact right position to play my gameboy before giving up after 10 minutes because I can only just barely see what the hell I was doing.
It's like being nostalgic for burning through 6 AA batteries for 3-5 hours of play on a game gear. It's something that was objectively bad, we can leave that in the past.
I can see me having a ton of fun with this in small quiet times. Just quick relax from busy day.
It’s just the price is the big issue. Obviously there are other things like No backlighting etc. but the price is the big one.
I definitely hope future versions (if made) become cheaper over time, because if it does, I’m definitely willing to get this, since I don’t want to play games that require much time commitment etc. most times now and just play something small and ‘relaxing’
Get wario ware
Can you not game on your iPhone?
@@bitcoinfox376 iphone sucks
no Teenage Engineering product is ever going to be cheap, unfortunately... :(
Flaws aside, the UI design on this thing is SO good. Looks gorgeous.
No surprise. Panic has decades of experience there.
Yeah but it's almost 200 dollars.
@@fastestdino2 Flaws aside
@@fastestdino2 more reading comprehension pls
@@fastestdino2 and Nintendo's game and watch that only has one NES game and one game and watch game is $50. This has far more in depth games and you can cast it to your PC, create and share games for it, and it is made by a small company, not a giant like Nintendo.
That thing would probably have a quarter of the battery life if it used a typical backlit LCD, a frontlit screen with an off switch would've been ideal. Transflective LCDs are a wonderful battery saving tech for mobile products, and I wish at the very least more smart watch manufacturers would use them.
Well, they could have maybe used the crank as a backup charging system or something like that
They could have sized up the screen, body and battery (for a light) and the crank charge should be restricted to the locked mode or something
Using the crank to actually charge the device is unrealistic, but I think keeping the B&W display and adding a manually-switchable EL panel or some LED lighting would make a huge difference without draining the battery too much. US$180 is just way too much, though. Even though it comes with 24 games, I'm only interested in 2 or 3 of them.
@@tylern6420 it would be 10 times thicker for the charging system
It's not unlikely we're gonna see a "travel/night kit" for this thing down the line that includes a hefty battery pack and a little light, just like those weird gameboy light/battery kits of old...!
If I recall correctly they use what is called a "memory lcd", a very low power screen designed by sharp as an alternative to e-ink, having lower power consumption on things that had regular updates (e-ink has zero consumption while still, but shoots through the roof when updating), plus much, much better refresh speed. Originally it was meant for things like price tags (so it relied on the place bneing very well illuminated), so it was not meant to incorporate backlighting.
My guess is that they had access to a readymade screen so adding backlighting was not an option, and "frontlighting" it would have added a lot of thickness, plus that ugly depth effect where the screen feels sunk beneath the protective glass. Given that this device is clearly design over function, they probably though "if they want to see the screen, they better pack a reading light" :D
It's probably a case of "we expect you to be touching grass when playing this.
This just feels like a cute novelty, like if it was $50 I would consider buying it, but it’s almost the price of a switch lite, how can you even compare the two.
I mean can you imagine how much a switch light would be if it came with 24 console exclusives?
@@gir5o1 A switch console exclusive seems like much more advanced games, here you could argue spending $20 and getting the NES and SNES games would be a better deal.
@@gir5o1 yeah but these "games" are kinda shovelware, snake etc.. some are cool .
Do americans always call the switch lite, switch light?
@@ashborn5943 no, I just was typing fast and used the wrong lite.
The price, the size, and no backlit screen is deal breaker for me on this one.
Agreed! I wouldn't want it.
The price doesn't matter, but the lack of a backlight is embarassing and really shows how hard this company is trying to squeeze us.
@@Hyperbolic_G The price might not matter to you, but for someone like me, who only has a limited budget to spend on their hobby of gaming each month while supporting a family, paying bills, etc.. then yeah it does matter.
@@CommodoreFan64 So if it was reasonably priced right now, would you buy it? The thing is garbage with that screen at any price which is the point im making.
@@Hyperbolic_G Maybe if this was under $50 I'd consider it, and give the flaws a pass calling it a novelty, otherwise no!!
In a day and age where projects like this are hit and miss in terms of delivery... here's one that actually made it all the way, and the games look fun. Seems they're making this "seasonal" game delivery concept work. It's difficult to get hardware to the market and even more so to create a software ecosystem for it... so props to Playdate for pulling it off.
I've been looking for a good "Picking Up Penguins in Elevators" sim for literally YEARS now. I'm glad someone finally stepped in to fill that void.
After Microsoft Penguinvator 2002 there really hasn't been any good options.
Ever heard of attack of the mutant penguins?
@@flammenwaffle7976 It's not a cohesive title without those elevators. I have high standards, I know.
Have you tried snakes and ladders? It's sort of the pen and paper prototype for penguins and elevators.
When I first saw that thing, I was like "WTF!?" - and then I thought the crank could be used to charge up the device. Then I thought about my GBP that I just backlight modded and was turned off by the non-lit display.
you can't even charge the device with the crank
Why the fuck would you be able to charge it with the crank lmaooo
@@dissraps Tell me you don't understand kinetic energy without telling me.
@@dissraps take a science class kid. A crank can release energy when turned. My dad had torch with a crank it didn't need batteries
Same reaction
I genuinely thought the crank was to power the thing and the point was you never had to charge it.
Maybe I'm just stupid but the fact that the crank is just an alternate control method makes it way less cool than what I made up in my head lol.
lol yes
Same. Would you be able to power a device like this with a crank like that? Feel like even with the non lit screen it would require a fair amount of crank.
@@jameseden9380 Yes, you can power torches with old fashioned filament bulbs using a crank, so i'm sure you could top a battery on this a bit with a bit of crank.
the gimmicky crank is no different than spinning a joystick in circles
Same. Also look at how much the device moves as he uses the crank as a controller. A simple knob would accomplish the same thing without wiggling the devive in your hands while trying to keep track of a small nonbacklit screen. A hand crank to charge the device would be far better than a crank as a controller.
Many people seem like they feel obligated to move this thing. It’s nice to hear some honest, legitimate cons as well.
The visual effect of black-and-white pixel art animating as smoothly as something modern is very cool and some of these games look quite fun, but the the price and lack of a backlit screen is probably still a dealbreaker for me
The sharp memory display in these things are a huge selling point to me, and it's the thing that enables the huge battery life, high speed refresh, and good visibility in the bright places I'd like to be hanging out.
Considering how much money I dropped on custom backlit screens for my Game Boy's, the lack of one on the PlayDate is no-go for me :| Gonna have to wait for v2!
lol... you expect it to make it that far? These will be on clearance by xmas
Waiting for a v2 that may never exist
@@evodgamehunter4290 lol doesn't hurt me either way xD
@@ZombieZifiction 😢
@@evodgamehunter4290 lol the pre-orders sold out within minutes and people have pre-orders that won't ship for months. Don't hold your breath
That's a lot of MCU power for a screen with a "whopping" 12KB screen buffer.
Well, I bet it's alot of animation. Hence the size of these games....
Which is good, right? Plenty of headroom for fancy games with smooth animations. Personally I'm not a fan of monochrome. Basic GBA style colors would have been better.
What's the marvel cinematic universe got to do with any of this?
speed, not power, dolt
@@AmstradExin i don't understand how *anything* can be that big if everything is 1-bit(technically it'd be 2 bit to have transparency, but still). I don't know if people realise how absolutely tiny 1-2 bit graphic are to store, it was a trick they used on some old 16 bit where'd they'd store tiles that way and then palette swap them.
This looks super cool honestly, backlight would be clutch... I was thinking the crank would charge the unit itself! Then not having a backlight made sense.... still very very interesting. The 180 price is high, but if it eventually gives you dozens of games that are decent quality, it's pretty worth it.
No
@@SqwertSoda yeah I'm with you. No back light in 2022? That's embarrassing.
Cranks to charge can be used, but they require some gear conversions to make your movement generate electricity efficiently. That means it would not be as smooth as the one they have it and it could make it hard or unfun to play. And also it would make a lot of noise.
The crank they added is very smooth, with precision sensors. I don't think they could add a feature to charge with that same crank
@@SqwertSoda OH WOW EXPERT OPINION MY B DUDE
@@astropgn yeah I'm not an engineer I was just giving my remarks that when I first saw it had a crank and a non backlit screen my first thought was "you crank it to charge it maybe, thats why it is saving energy with the screen". But as I also said, its not! Thanks for clarifying though.
Wow a lot smaller than I thought it would be! Also like others I thought/assumed there was a backlight on it. Crazy to not have that in a modern product!
They said they want to recapture the old school feel. I feel like MJR is missing the point of the play date almost entirely. It's NOT a smartphone, it's it's own niche product.
@@holdencollins1462 I mean, of course they have some nice sounding excuse. It's still ridiculous.
I really like the display and could imagine my eyes having no trouble with the clear reflective look, but the price is rough
@@holdencollins1462 I agree with the old-school feel and the reflective screen is something I lust after in any device I can get, I just love it when they don't need to be lit to be seen.
Still, locking you out of that forcefully is kinda crap, I doubt anyone loved all of the the Game Boys up until the SP _because_ they couldn't be seen without external light.
If the screen technology makes it impossible to put a light through the back, put one on the front, simple as that. Amazon has been doing it on the Kindle Paperwhite since 2012 with impressive results, and I doubt they were the 1st either. (EDIT: like the GBA SP AGS-001, but I do mean as well as the Paperwhite quality wise)
@@jackiechun6540 the gameboy was $90 when it came out in '89, adjusted with inflation that's $200 in today's money.
I wondered about ergonomics with the crank. I bet slapping a pop socket for phones on the back would help a lot.
I was just going to suggest the same thing.
This man went to damn MIT
As well use the crank as a way to recharge the battery
For $180 it really should just work, shouldn't it?
Or making a USB crank for phones lol
As a person who never heard of this, when you presented it with the game where you have to light it up with a crank, I thought it was the first dynamo-powered handheld, and thought, "Oh wow, that makes sense Portland would come up with that."🤣 (I'm in Eugene btw, the "younger sibling of Portland" as it were.)
Same! I was confused when he mentioned charging it
Thought the same
Eugene represent!
It's funny I hadn't even thought about lighting at all with this until this review. The marketing always showed it in perfect light or was also seen through my phone or pc screen so I didn't give it a second thought. The Size seems ok but man if they just tweaked that software a bit to make it work with the smaller screen it would be great. Seems overall pretty neat so I hope they keep iterating on the product to hit that sweet spot.
Just need to play it outside or get a Worm Light.
@@DauntlessDamian i could totally see myself cranking this thing on a hike
Need a worm light for that extra authentic feel lol
I feel like this was a really solid review of the Playdate by the comments. The margins of who wants it and who don't are very healthy on each side, and I _really_ think that shows just how objective the review was.
I want one if it comes down in price. I'd worried about the backlit screen part because I remember buying early E-Readers that had the exact same problem, however it looks from the video that it might reflect much better and with nicer contrast than the Gameboys of the past (which sometimes were muddy even in direct light). I'd also like to see if there's any real hits on the device, since I haven't heard or seen any yet. This review is exactly the sort I was looking for!
Heyyyy what a neat idea! The amount of production that's gone into the graphics is cool too. Hope indies have a chance to get super creative with this!
That crank reminded me of emergency radios and lamps. Where you can just turn the crank for a time to produce enough electricity for the device to function for a limited time. I was hoping it was used for something similar here too, but using it as game input is neat as well.
That's what I thought it was at first when I saw him cranking it really fast. One of those cranks to provide electricity. Then as I got further into the video and saw him turning it slowly it back and forth, that's when I realized it was being used to control the games.
that´s what i thought when i first saw this months ago too. kind of useless garbage but at least it has a little gimmick and a novelty factor you don´t see on other hand helds. maybe i´ll get one for 30-40 bucks. that´s would´ve made the non backlit screen alright with me too, since it would be befitting of it´s main crank powered usp and not just some hipster bullshit. but seeing that this costs 180 bucks plus the crank is just a completely pointless gimmick without any real function, makes this completely pointless.
i indeed thought this was how it was going to be powered!!!!!! and it was the gimmicky way of saving battery life????
That would be a way better use, this is really silly. a Dynamo charger makes worlds more sense
Reminds me of the spinners from arcade games like Tempest, Arkanoid and Discs of Tron.
Looks like a really nice device. It's such a shame about the none backlit screen. Reminds me of trying to play my advance with a flexible light stuck in it.
It would be nice if the crank was ALSO a kinetic power charger. I know they have wind-up radios and this would be awesome to power while on a car ride without any cables, just by cranking. Use your energy/calories to power the device. The technology is there but not sure how efficient that would be.
It's not efficient at all. The RPM's you need to generate any significant amount of electricity is very high, and that's also with a large amount of copper wiring and sizable magnet. Including even a small hand cranked generator into this would at least double it's thickness and probably the price as well.
@@digiquo8143 That is good information. Thank you.
@@digiquo8143 not true necessarily I have a battery pack that has solar charge, hand crank or plug in and has multiple lights built in as well but you don’t have to turn crank fast to make power. yes it would make device thicker but depending on design can change how crank charge works
@@Thumper68 running a single led is significantly less power than even a cheap gaming computer with LCD screen.
@@michaelsorensen7567 ok who said anything about running a single led? Or running a gaming computer?
That reflective screen is a beauty frankly, I've always loved some good sunlight visibility that doesn't battle the sun for who's the brightest, instead using all light around in it's favor. Lack of a light would definitely be because of battery life concerns and maybe quality too, I imagine that screen would require a front light instead, much like the Kindle e-readers (to not say the much older GBA Advance SP AGS-001, since things have certainly improved a lot until front lit e-readers). This could be done tho, let the user chose if they want to save battery or light up the screen.
I imagine the handling of the device is hampered mostly by something that has been ongoing for far too long: the obsession with thickness. Just freaking make things thicker and rounder, you can hold those properly.
The reason game controllers don't cramp your hands is because they are such shape, large and rounded enough to be held by grips. The PS Vita and PSP don't cramp my hands. The 3DS and 2DS do. Flat, thin and "sharp" corners just don't feel good on the hand.
When I first saw it I thought it was a lower power hand crank able handheld. When I found out what it really was I was honestly disappointed. But still intrigued
I am amazed that this sold even one copy. Not only is it nothing more than a gimmick, it's a bad gimmick. And not having a backlit screen is fairly unforgivable.
If it ends up being a profitable system let me know, I've got an idea for a gameboy with the rest of bop-its controls.
And that is why the developers are making money on their product and you are just sitting their bitching with your dead end job.
Yeah, spinner means it can never be happily emulated. I'm not even clear how you'd develop for this platform.
The lack of backlight is definitely a deal breaker.
The fucking BRAND is a deal breaker. avoid those idiots. TI is NOT GOOD. They are... sinister and deceptive. (in my opinion, and fictional thoughts...)
How can anyone release a handheld device without a backlite these days?
Like wtf even the original gameboy had a backlite version
@@valletas
The lack of color is a deal breaker
I agree. Ever since the GBA SP came out in the early 2000s we have never looked back. It was a total paradigm shift.
From a developer point of view, I am excited for this because I love experimenting with concepts like this.
The Apple Watch has a crank, and I started a gaming company back when it first launched because all the games were terrible.
I recently rediscovered your channel through recommended feed after like, 12 or 13 years and the amount of dopamine that going through all your videos has given me is actually insane right now. Just wanted to share. Thank you for all the memories and the ones still left to create! ❤️
I'm not sure how I didn't realize they weren't going to have either a backlit or at least frontlit screen. Would have been really cool if they went with an Indiglo/GameBoy Light type screen at least.
I would have been happy to pay and extra $2 for a backlight lol
The reason it isn’t backlit or frontlit is because it would’ve been more expensive.
@@Omega_Mart_Employee_K1Z Nah, backlight-wise, it’s because it’s impossible to add a backlight to a Sharp memory display. They’re entirely opaque.
@@wiiu42 ooohhhh
oh indiglo would look soo cool on an old school gameboy
This thing is shaped soooo weird.
Probably too small for my big hands sadly and the price point is daunting.
Thanks for talking about it!
Nice review! I'm a old school game dev and I think I will put some time to develop 2 or 3 games to this device, there's a lot of nice ideas to do with this crank.
That crank reminds me of this old Radica fishing game I once had. It was an LCD handheld kinda like the old Tiger games and surprisingly required a bit of motion controls to cast the bait. It rumbled when a fish was on so you knew when to pull back to set the hook, and had a fishing reel crank on one side to bring the caught fish in.
I loved those things it was the only things to keep me entertained at my grandmas... ((besides one of those old hand held racing games called digital derby that the road went around like a treadmill and the car was essentially a picture lol))
We know where your profile pic is from...
Man no backlight...I loved the 90s also but no backlight is something I don't miss lol what did surprise me is the variety of game types that's pretty neat but the price and no backlight is going to keep me from buying it. awesome review man 🤘
designed by Portland hipsters, puts nostalgia/gimmick over QoL... yeah nah
sucks because it does look so cool otherwise, a simple bluish blacklight and a bit more height would have made a world of difference.
Backlight is good when it’s dark but these devices aren’t meant to be used by 30 year olds trying to relive childhood in their basement they’re meant to be used by people who go outside and walk a lot that’s why they’re portable lol
@@TheFloodFourm You're right, it's not like every other handheld console made in the past 25 years has had a backlit screen or anything. But I guess this is the first handheld that's meant to be portable, and all the others are meant to be played in a dark basement.
not for me , you can get a switch for 200
@@TheFloodFourm umm..ok? 🤣 hope the rest of your day gets better?
From the quick look, seems like an option to change the crank with a knob can help with some of the games
Given the limitations of this device, the price point seems absurd. You can get a powerful emulation handheld for that kind of money, able to play thousands of games. I can see the appeal of having a quirky little thing like that, but it doesn't justify its cost. It's a hard pass for me.
Console and 24 games is a good price.
@@David-uc6sg Nope.
@@David-uc6sg Nah. "Console" is a bit of a stretch if you're comparing it with what we mean when we say and hear "console".
$20 more and you can get a switch lite
Almost two thirds the cost of a series s
Super intriguing. Something I might have been crazy enough to buy, even at that price point, but no backlight??!! No. Nope. To me, that is such a deal breaker.
monika better.
@@imgladnotu9527 😭
Wait till the tinkering community get their hands on these. Maybe they will make a mod that uses a backlight or some sort
@@EmberGyaru Yuri better
@@GentleMannOfHats 🥰
Initial impressions, I actually hope it progresses and gets a second or third generation. Maybe the hand crank becomes a flat, 3DS like joy stick pad or something. An open store to developers, colour screen maybe eventually. Stuff like that. I don’t know.
I was just thinking the same thing that they can add on a pad with extra buttons etc.
Holding my Switch without a custom grip hurts and I imagine this thing would be agony. I know they would never do this but the crank reminds me of a fishing pole and it would be nice if it had more of a Wii nunchuk shape. Something for us big handed people. But there are so many other reasons this thing is a dealbreaker for me anyway.
You’re a real gamer and that should be enough of a dealbreaker.
@@ActionJacksonForever haha true... true!
The games actually look fun and like they make good use of the crank. I could see myself buying it if it cost half of what it does now. $180 is just too much for me
I knew they wouldn't understand what their fanbase/market even is
I'm almosst into the Playdate but it feels like it's not even great for making your own games as a non-programmer and playing them alone. What I love that they did is make an electronic with a lot of DESIGN. It looks really cool and has a lot of animation and themeing potential.
At first I thought that the crank was used to generate electricity! That would be a real reason to buy!
@Gabriele Squaratti optional.
That’s what I assumed it was - a crank to charge the battery, like some emergency weather radios have.
I appreciate the honest review. I was skeptical about this device when it was announced years ago. It looks like it does what we expected it to do. In the end, I'll stick with classic gaming and Switch.
The backlight won't be a big cost nowerdays. however having the backlight on takes a lot of battery and you can't just have it be togglable since backliight LCD's are much darker than non-backlight with the backlight turned off. getting a big battery whould have caused lots of probblems. Also, personally I visually preffer non-backlit diplays oftern.
Yeah it seems fun, if the price drops I'll get it for the joy of it all
I am curious why the preference of non-backlit displays? The only time I remember using one was with my original Game Boy Advance but I don't remember what the advantages of using a non backlit display are over a backlit one.
@@casedistorted There aren't any advantages , he's trying to appear cool
@@Goliath1337 haha oh, well that makes sense. I can assume 99% of what people do in the world is to try and appear cool.
The Sharp Memory LCD is the most expensive component in the whole console, they would have saved money by using a normal backlit LCD.
The comments talking about the lack of a backlight are totally missing the point. This is basically a shiny e-ink screen with high refresh rate, like an Amazon Kindle except silver. Its totally different technology and intention compared to an LCD.
I'd have to slightly disagree... They're not really missing any point if they would have preferred a backlit screen though. I get that the designers intended to use this screen, but it doesn't change the fact that people are now very accustomed to being able to see modern lit screens and prefer them. I respect trying to do something different, but people are either going to like the difference or not. No "missing the point" going on here.
@@THESaSquaSHIsMe There's the flip side. Using this screen in interior or exterior daylight will be far more visible than any LCD or OLED could possibly be. Its why I read with a Kindle instead of an iPad.
You should see one of these Sharp Memory LCDs in person, they're super cool, like an ebook screen but super shiny
@@KoolAidManOG Ebooks have backlights now though, and have for years. Justifying the lack of a backlight by comparing it to similar screens that have backlights is a bit odd. The screen looks great, so why not maximise its useability?
@@BigDoniel Technically speaking they are front lights, I should know because I have one. Maybe a future version will have a frontlight, but as it stands this is clearly going to be something that would get better usage outdoors.
Backlighting is definitely a needed improvement here! I agree about the taller aspect too, I like the form factor of the actual gaming part but think the bottom could use some extension for gripping. Perhaps we could even see some kind of grip texturing or molding on the back? It's also a great device for hobbyist devs, as it's extremely easy to make and play your own games.
Battery life.
I think just adding a pop socket or ring grip like you see on phones would solve the issue.
Honestly, I think the device is really cool, just pretty darn overpriced like all of other Teenage Engineering's offerings.
The Playdate seemed kind of neat until I realized it's about the same price as a Switch Lite. To be competitive, the Playdate would have to be priced more like last year's Game&Watch, which was $50 and had a color screen.
@@ToyKeeper It's just not possible though. They are super expensive to produce because they are not produced _en masse_ like the Switch, not to mention that Nintendo (and Microsoft, and Sony) sell their devices at a loss and a make all their profit by selling games.
As expensive as it is, the device is being sold for as cheap as possible.
@@ToyKeeper And besides I don't think they're trying to be competitive. It's intentionally made for a niche market.
It's expensive to produce and they're selling for as cheap as they can without going bankrupt. If that's what you call overpriced, welp, guess we have a different definition of that word.
People keep bringing up the Switch Lite, and forget that Nintendo sells their consoles at a loss and profit from game sales. I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch Lite is being sold for less than half of what it costs to manufacture.
@@QuotePilgrim Many sources report Nintendo makes a healthy profit on each Switch. I think you were spot-on with the part about Teenage Engineering not trying to be competitive though. This is the same company which sells a white t-shirt for $490. Most of their tech items sell for at least twice the price of anything else in their class... and the Playdate is no exception. Because it's a fashion company, not a tech company.
I had kinda heard about it, can't afford the price tag at the moment and really it just felt like a curiosity... Interesting but yea, there's some bugs that really shouldn't have even been in version 1. We've had 20 years of complaining about non backlit screens, so that's just... way too simple a thing to know to fix....
$180 for a non-backlit screen? I can't believe they thought that was in any way acceptable in this day and age.
only black and white as well. screen smaller than the original gameboy. low resolution. can only play 24 mysterious games. can't even play retro games. must connect to the internet to download the 24 games that you own, have to wait 1 week to get 2 games every week. you don't even know the games you're getting. could be good or crap. storage is only 4 GB even though it's freaken 2022. there's a gimmick crank that gives your hand a cramp after a while. also the screen shakes as you're rotating the crank (because the whole unit shakes) making it hard to see what's going on in the small screen.
who in the right mind would buy this?
i get it's a cool idea and they're trying to different. but why this? why not a slightly bigger unit, with colored backlit HD screen, with 24 pre-downloaded known games (not mysterious) with new games you can get from their online store for free or to buy. and add a micro-SD card slot to expand the storage space. instead of the crank, use a wheel like the mouse middle wheel. and add a 3.5mm headphone jack. that'd be a device worth buying
It's a reflection screen. It takes the light and reflects it back to mimic backlight. Works well.
@@watch_kitty I watched the video. As soon as he left a light area it was a crapshoot. Completely unreasonable.
@@bradford433 Well yes, a backlight would be nice, though it would drastically cut the battery life I imagine, but it seems like a fair compromise that makes it VERY easy to use outdoors, whereas most handhelds and phones are pretty hard to see in the sun.
They could have put some tiny LED on the side of the display that would shine inward if you turned them on, but maybe that resulted in weird glare with the reflection screen, idk..
@@EileenTheCr0w All im saying is 180 dollars and nothing to light it up in the dark
this seems like an art piece with a modern retro throwback aesthetic. the lack of backlight combined with the art style gives it almost an e-ink look. It wouldn't look as good with the backlight
Having a backlight that you can turn on or off would be great.
Yes but looking nice vs practicality is a crucial difference. It can look nice all day long but if it has no backlight then a majority of the time it'll be useless unless you can find a good spot in the house to play it.
The screen looks great head-on but at that price point -0- chance I'm getting this. Either v1 at half off or v2 with a better screen. MJR - Great content per usual.
Don’t worry with bidenflation it will be $250 next week
I imagine it's not backlit for the same reason the Gameboy isn't backlit. It extends the battery life quite a bit. Interested in what people will do with this thing Chiptune-wise. That crank looks like a cool opportunity when it comes to music. Hoping there's a tracker/hand cranked music maker for this thing at some point.
It would benefit from being twice the height, they could fix basically all the issues. Larger, backlit screen, bigger battery, more comfortable to hold, etc. Hope to see an improved version
@@alexnolasco1339 that's a great point. It's not like any of this stuff isn't easily fixable. Maybe they're really sold on this being retro in that the handhelds of the 80s and 90s often had severe limitations, be it the non-backlit screen of the Gameboy or the short battery life of the Atari Lynx. Sure, make it retro, but at the same time realize that it's 2022 and there's some stuff no one, not even me, a guy who's been gaming since the 80s, has any nostalgia for.
If they release one with a backlight and expandable storage, I'd get one. Especially if it's not yellow. I don't expect much from the Seasons, but I am willing to try development and I'm looking forward to freeware and ports.
One perhaps completely overkill but really cool application I've seen for this is as a Flipnote Studio from DSi viewer. Obviously at almost $200 that's the cost of a 3DS XL so not really worth it, but its still a cool idea, would love to see how well that application works out.
I think it's going to result in the company getting in hot water with Nintendo. Forcing them to take that thing out.
I miss flipnotes :( really good memories from my childhood, best thing the dsi had going for it by far
@@GatorRay maybe it will not be in the official store but you can download anything that you want
I also saw a person doing a gameboy emulator, so thats another thing. Personally im excited for all the things im seeing the community doing
@@ManuelRoddy Good point.
I'd definitely pay an easy $100 dollars for one of these, but certainly not at $180.
It's easy to see what they were thinking - "Well announce the back-lit version with a bigger screen as soon as sales diminish."
I'm just waiting to see if this takes off enough for third-party external accessories to start popping up that you can attach to play it in the dark, or magnifiers to make the screen bigger.
exactly what i was thinking too, make a new version of it with a backlit screen and be like "you asked and we listened". like of course they thought of that when they were making it. they'll probably also make an xl version too
From what I've heard about the makers of the console, it was never made with the intent to appeal to big demographics, and was pretty much just made as a fun experiment. A lot of the constraints may actually be self-imposed on the makers. It'd be cool seing an updated model.
I think there's a significant misunderstanding with backlighting here. This thing is like the original Kindle- not for the reason that it's not backlit, but because the entire device is built around a new, sort of unusual/exotic screen technology. That cool fast-refreshing reflective screen is a very unique screen technology that has different characteristics than every other device we have and wouldn't really work with a backlight. The screen is a big reason the entire device exists, if you're not into the novelty and nerdy quality of that- the same reason you'd get a nixie clock, then yeah, don't get it.
What's so special about the screen?
@@SparkY0 If you had ever tried to play a game on a Kindle screen, you would understand how unique this screen is. Unfortunately, it makes the device too expensive because it's new and exotic.
The kindle was literally an electronic book. You still needed a light to see it. Kindle sold lights to go with it, and eventually built one with a glow option.
This device mimmicks the gameboy, but everyone who bought a gameboy also bought a worm light or one of the magnification screens with a light on it. And as 8 year olds, we weren't too picky about having to sit under a lamp to see it, or hold a flashlight under our chin.
But we are adults now, and expect products to be well thought-out and not create hassle. There is no reason they do not also have a glow light, front lit option, or literally anything meaningful to go along with this device. It's incomplete except as a novelty item. Which is fine, but even the super niche community that wants this product, will be sorely wondering where the fucking worm light is, and will have to go to barnes and noble to buy a book light for it.
That's missed income for playdate, and a bad experience for the customers to not have something built for the device readily available.
This seems like someone designing in a technology because they thought it was cute without really asking if it was the best choice. The outstanding point of those memory LCDs is that they are completely static and the display state is stored inside the pixel driver on the glass. The practical impact of this is that if you have a static image that's not being updated then the current consumption is measured in microamps. They can also in principle (unlike e-ink displays) be updated very quickly.
These are nice features - but in a typical game application where there are frequent screen updates the advantages immediately evaporate - you still have to maintain the screen state in external RAM (presumably in your MCU) but in addition to this you either need to update the whole frame or maintain some sort of "dirty area" list so you can update the affected areas in blocks. If you are constantly updating large portions of the screen then the power consumption advantage over the "dumb LCD" approach where you just store the image in internal RAM and send it out each frame drops to pretty much zero.
Also note that you can get very thin frontlights for these displays, so the lack of any illumination has to be considered a deliberate choice.
What a lame excuse. "Actually this screen is more advanced because it lacks functionality." No it's honestly a piece of crap. This is a handheld game console, not an electronic book. You need light to play a game.
This little thing is definitely on my radar... But I will wait for the backlighted version. Price is high, but originality and quality come at a fair price.
A few years ago, shortly before covid, I was looking for a non backlit Gameboy Color or GBA so I could play games when I took my kid to the park. I can't really see my Switch or 3DS in bright sunlight. I bet these designers had the same thought. I get that 95% of people or more would like back light, but a small portion will be happy to be able to play this outside!
Wasn't the backlight able to be turned off on the color?so why couldn't you turn it off on this
@@agentbarron3945 The GBC didn't have a backlight. Backlit LCDs suck batteries.
@@agentbarron3945 The Advance SP (the foldable one) had a a backlight toggle.
I think the non-backlit screen is more of a retro throwback than anything else, since I'm guessing they had to have it made specifically for the Play Date (it also does wonders for the battery life).
But as charming as this is, it's a pass for me. You need more than just charm to succeed these days. It does seem too small to play comfortably for adult hands, and you certainly confirmed my worry. When I first saw this announced, I thought the crank was some sort of manual method of charging the device and it was going to be a super eco-friendly handheld, lol.
Nah these are portable devices, portable means most likely out of the house, outside. Idk if you’ve ever tried using something with a backlight outdoors in broad daylight but it doesnt work that well lol
@@TheFloodFourm Good one! That one had me laughing! Gamers going outside, that's some funny stuff right there 😁
Honestly I started a gaming company when the first Apple Watch came out and was excited at the wheel. This crank here is the exact same thing. We put out a few games before getting back to reality.
On one hand, I like the crank because it is so unique and designing a game with the crank in mind could lead to interesting new ideas. On the other, I can't actually think of an implementation where the crank is superior to just spinning an analog stick, or instead using a knob/dial which would surely be more comfortable and reliable.
Agreed. If had a knob on the side that you could spin with your thumb, I think that could help with stability when spinning as your would still be able to hold with both hands (for the most part). Perhaps could mod it, but the crank is the gimmick.
Pong and Breakout. A D-Pad or analog stick will never feel as good as a radial control method.
@@kfcnyancat Good call, you are probably correct there. But I still think a knob that can be turned with two or three fingers would be better than the crank which requires the wrist.
cue: apple watch games
Love the look of this, seems a bit on the pricey side but it looks like more than just a novelty with some of the game titles being well thought out in terms of crank usage.
I recently powered on my GBA again for something other than rom dumping. Took one look at the screen and wondered how the heck I used to play it so dang much (I kinda miss my SP though lol, that thing was nice). Oh well, back to the Anbernic I went. Backlit screens are a godsend.
The Dreamcast VMU needs a hand crank
BAHWHAHAHAHAHAHA! My favorite comment so far! 😂
I still love that they tried to do something new and innovative. Haven't seen anything fresh in a while.
This feels like the hardware/console version of those indie walking simulators that get made by teams that "OOPS! All artists!" and 0 game designers, you know what I'm talking about: small girl MC, not very many mechanics, themes of anxiety and depression, and 90% of the reviews are about art instead of content.
This thing: all novelty, no practicality
So much potential with two buttons and a monochrome screen. No other device has rivaled the potential
This feels like the Shenmue 3 of hardware. Tons of anticipation, excitement and pre-orders and then... oh dear.
it's not that bad
It's a really cute little device and the games do look fun, but I just can't justify that price, esp. without a backlight. I hope they do well enough to make a mk.2 though, I'd like to see a refined version of it.
In a world where you can get a color smartphone a few years old for the same price, the screen and memory size seems obscenely priced
First off, I enjoyed your video and subscribed.
I got my order in before the price went up. Yes, the price is going up by $20 at some point soon. But that's true of everything these days, isn't it? I was late hearing about it, and at first I understandably balked at the cost. But like you said, it comes with 24 games, so that takes a bit of the sting out (for me, at least).
What made me decide to get it is the fact that the dev tools are free, and I really want to make some games specifically for this device.
I'm a 55-year-old lifelong gamer, and I've always wanted to make my own games, but don't have the right mind for programming. I'm looking forward to this.
I like that it's daylight-compatible. If I want an indoors gaming device, I'll use my steam deck. This is a neat 'chillin in the park/cafe' device.
at half the price i'd pick one up.
We have that. It’s called a phone
I was relieved when you said it had sideloading. That saves the whole device. I can't wait for people to make emulators for this that can run NES games or something, and having a game development engine basically makes this like a PICO-8 style fantasy console, but real.
Edit: almost forgor, can't wait for someone to make a raytracing engine for this thing.
I'm already looking for a Doom port.
Edit: found one.
They have their own game development software: Pulp.
They even have a place where you can share your games and even sell them!
Just download an emulator on your phone or your computer or anything else. Heck you can download emulators to the PSP. I'm sorry but this just seems like member berries for people who absolutely need something trendy and hipster rather than anything practical.
@@abikegavin9641 it isn't for emulators. It has games that are only for it with tons of people developing for it. The entire point of it is to be fun, not the best console ever made.
The screen looks pretty nice and the games seem to make good use of the monochrome display, but no backlight is really a thing in this day and age. I can still remember using my gameboy back in the day and the amount of lamp accessories for it.
Makes me hope for a second version that is a bit bigger and backlit.
I pre-ordered one when it first came out. I am still really excited for it if nothing else than for trying out and making my own games on it.
For real, a bunch of cry babies in the comments
@Russell White Genuinely curious, what do you have against the Playdaye? Do you not like indie games or small companies trying new things? I just don't get why anyone would be predispositioned to hate the device before it has even come out. If its not your thing just don't look at all the reviews and comments of people excited for it?
@@ZombieZifiction all the haters are the same one that buy COD very year lol
@@CaptainMonocle07 either can't afford it, jealous, or missed preorder window for this year
It definitely looks fun, I think I'll pick this up if it ever gets exported in my country, I just wish if they wanted to save battery life for backlight, they could have put an on and off switch for the backlight kinda like the GBA SP
Really interesting device. But the lack of backlight is unacceptable. Couple that with the price? I am out on this. Maybe pick one up down the road second hand.
I'm really curious to what the homebrew scene will turn out to be, and probably more importantly, how long the crank will last/how easy it is to replace (or really, how easy it is to replace any parts in it).
Also, fantastic review. Never seen your channel before but this was well written and really indepth.
This seems like a really cool gadget, but for that kind of price, it's probably not for me. When it comes to tiny novelty handhelds, I'll just stick to my Arduboy, which has given me a lot of quality gaming time!
Damn, if Soulja boy only waited a bit to get into consoles he could have easily promoted us to crank that
A crank control!! Now THAT should've been the Soulja Boy portable. Missed opportunity~
I wonder if the devs of this handheld thought of putting in one of those calculator style solar panels to let it get some extra charge for optional backlight? (I'm making this suggestion based on having no idea how that would realistically work. I know calculators have them, but calculators use such small amounts of power and are not backlit. A tiny solar panel might not supply enough power to make much difference in battery consumption for this device.)
When you were talking about the backlight issue, I remember playing those retro brick games. I had one that opened up like a briefcase. One of my school classmates haf one that was like a fold up mobile phone that had a folding antenna that had a tiny low power LED which was enough to let them play in dark. The playdate could put an external LED like that too.
No back light is an instant pas from me. I remember buying a gba sp just for a back light, then an ags 101 and most recently an analog pocket all just to be able to see the dam games I'm playing
yes its a game changer to have a back light. i first noticed on my ereader. The back light was very needed, especially during night
If you listened to the podcast they explain that they discovered / experimented with the display before even coming up with the idea of a gaming console, the whole thing was designed around this specific screen, and there isn't a compatible version with a backlight.
I really want one and I would love to develop for it. Such a unique device.
Wow, the games look really cool! I almost lost all hope in that product due to all delays etc... I also thought that the crank will be just a gimmick, but now that device is finally shipping and the games I already saw, it looks like they are implementing it pretty well at the moment, but I still kinda can't get pass the price, to be honest, I'd pay $99 max, comparing the offers of handhelds at the moment... It really is a mixed bag at the end and tough to decide
I really like the look of this thing, and as an indie dev, the community aspect and public SDK really intrigues me. I would buy this thing in a heartbeat if it weren't for the price, and the format of game delivery. Labeling the initial 24 games as "season 1" leads me to assume there will probably be more seasons, and I doubt they will be free like season 1. Also I am worried they might pull some shenanigans with community made games, seeing as how you have to upload and verify them via their site.
Cool idea. Insane price point and (potentially) greedy business model.
Not being back-lit was a deal breaker on the Gameboy poket in the 90s and it is certainly a deal breaker now.
How the hell did they sell 118 million gameboy units if the backlight was a dealbreaker? That's not even including the first gen of the GBA which didn't have a backlight either.
@@gir5o1deal breaker for me, had an original gb, I didn't upgrade to the pocket because of the backlight
This is a console for hipsters. Because Teenage Engineering was involved, the price is effectively double what it should be.
As a side thing, your comparison of the crank to the D-pad is why consolers are at a disadvantage against PC gamers. Of all the input methods, D-pads may as well just be a button. They scroll, there's no 1:1 input. When I clicked this vid I thought the crank looked hilarious. But to be honest, I think it's a unique and accurate input method which gaming should have made use of long ago.
Awesome review man! I feel like this might go the way of the Cybiko (if you guys ever got that handheld over in the US?). That was a pretty hefty price tag over here and came with 100’s of free downloadable games, some of which were actually really fun, it just ended up dying out because other handhelds just had the better specs and longer lifespans. It’s a shame because that, much like the Playdate, have some decent original ideas, but originality vs price is always a tough one to balance. At first this intrigued me, now, not so much
The fact you can drag game files onto it from your pc is actually kind of huge, because it means once this overpriced thing is dead and $30 on ebay people might be able to make new games for it.
Or someone can whip up a proper NES or Gameboy emulator for it.
i dont think that'll easily be the case, as seen in the video, the device *downloads* its games from the internet. and sideloading is done through its account management interface. it's a locked down ecosystem if you look at it. unless they allow raw developer file sideloading via USB or a FTP server over a local network.
what happens if the servers go down along with the device? i hope the developers thought of that and are working on a future firmware update that allows sideloading via usb or ftp.
@@imgladnotu9527 it allows sideloading over USB
People are already making games for it. The SDK is free to download for everyone.
As someone who has been following this handheld since announcement, I think the biggest selling point for me personally was that you would be able to make your own games. They made the SDK free for everyone and already out now, and every system will be able to sideload out of the box.
Definitely hope to snag one up used for less than retail, was already a bit weary before it got bumped up to $180.
I think the whole point of the non backlit display is to bring back that retro feel of simpler times. I personally don’t have an issue.
Great review! For what it is, and that lack of backlight, i would spend $75 on it
A thorough and honest review 👍 I know from experience that nostalgic retro games are nice for 5 minutes, but beyond that I'm not likely to spend much time playing them. Can't help but feel it would have been better to invent the crank as a smartphone accessory and develop a few apps for it 🤔