# Playdate - new handheld gaming system, with a crank **URL:** \ **Category:** Video Games\ **Created:** [May 22, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531 "2019-05-22T23:52:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/1 "2019-05-22T23:52:01Z")
> **[Playdate. Pre-order now!](https://play.date/)** > > It’s yellow. It fits in your pocket. There’s a crank. It comes with 24 free games to get you started. Say hi to Playdate from Panic. > ---
**Author:** ![Dwayne](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/dwayne/32/331_2.png) [@Dwayne](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Dwayne)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/2 "2019-05-23T00:59:22Z")
I like the concept and want to support this but the price is really up there ($149 USD) when compared to other similar systems like PocketCHIP and ArduBoy ($79 and $49). The crank is really cool though and has a load of fun potential uses. ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/3 "2019-05-23T01:02:18Z")
It appears that you get 12 games from well known developers in the package. But international shipping and tax will likely make this too expensive for me. We’ll see. ps: PocketCHIP production has ceased/closed. ---
**Author:** ![apathetic](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/apathetic/32/4119_2.png) [@apathetic](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/apathetic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/4 "2019-05-23T02:07:01Z")
Yeah, that’s always what I thought my handheld gaming needed, a crank. At least the arduboy has a good tetris version… ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/5 "2019-05-23T02:20:30Z")
I’m surprised you’re not excited, I thought crankiness was your thing 😜 ---
**Author:** ![apathetic](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/apathetic/32/4119_2.png) [@apathetic](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/apathetic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/6 "2019-05-23T02:25:07Z")
> [@Peltz](#): > > I’m surprised you’re not excited, I thought crankiness was your thing 😜 :apathetic: Skeptical as I may be, that Keita Takahashi is making something with it makes it so I will have to not completely disregard it. ---
**Author:** ![fester](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/fester/32/16133_2.png) [@fester](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/fester)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/7 "2019-05-23T04:54:19Z")
Hmm, was kinda hoping it would be powered by the crank. Like my emergency weather radio. ---
**Author:** ![raskulous](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/raskulous/32/11773_2.png) [@raskulous](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/raskulous)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 5:05am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/8 "2019-05-23T05:05:48Z")
No colour, no backlight, a hand crank and $150 USD. Maybe I don’t understand the market, but I just have no clue what this is for. Who would buy it? Would it see any use outside of a week’s novelty? Call me crotchety, but I don’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![petpolitics](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/petpolitics/32/7604_2.png) [@petpolitics](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/petpolitics)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/9 "2019-05-23T06:07:14Z")
Looks like an expensive ArduBoy which itself seemed like a neat idea but $149US is too expensive a curiousity to risk it on ---
**Author:** ![D.Lo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/d.lo/32/4116_2.png) [@D.Lo](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/D.Lo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 6:13am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/10 "2019-05-23T06:13:57Z")
The engineering looks very nice. And I’m always interested in new input methods. Basically the first fully hipster console. ---
**Author:** ![harborline\_765](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/harborline_765/32/5947_2.png) [@harborline\_765](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/harborline_765)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 8:25am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/11 "2019-05-23T08:25:10Z")
I love the concept - the spirit of Game Boy lives on. It’s arrived at the right time I think, with GB turning 30. There’s quite a few factors in its favour, with there being demand for its quirkier games, a nostalgic proportion of its audience now having disposable income, and the decline of truly handheld game design now that even Nintendo only focuses on a portable home console on one end while serving the worst parts of mobile gaming on the other… Hopefully they execute well on the software and development side. It could echo the GB/NPC/Wonderswans etc from the era in game design spirit, but at the same time the screen resolution looks pretty high. But then again it seems like it’s designed for a modern world anyway - I’m sure it won’t require programming in assembler, and making good low res sprites is hard work, as is making games for 160 x 160 displays. There will probably be some input lag, and the display will probably be a permanently backlit one. > [@D.Lo](#): > > Basically the first fully hipster console. Heh, pretty much. Interesting that they are manufacturing in Malaysia going from the 3D renders, which is where Sony is still making their Walkmans. Makes it seem more bespoke given its small scale than a mass produced OEM-based piece of hardware. ---
**Author:** ![harborline\_765](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/harborline_765/32/5947_2.png) [@harborline\_765](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/harborline_765)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 8:59am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/12 "2019-05-23T08:59:46Z")
[Some info.](https://daringfireball.net/2019/05/playdate) The team at Panic wrote their own OS rather than using an off-the-shelf Linux variant, and the display doesn’t have backlighting. Sounds promising ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 10:17am UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/13 "2019-05-23T10:17:13Z")
You can play a Keita Takahashi’s game “Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure” on the homepage. So you can see that the gameplay can be quite interesting. It’s obvious (at least to me) that they’ve put a huge amount of work and consideration into this. The “season” surprise concept. The crank. The industrial design. The colour! Love that Nintendo Yellow colour. > [@fester](#): > > Hmm, was kinda hoping it would be powered by the crank. I think adding a dynamo would increase the size of it quite substantially? That’s my understanding. Press Release answers some common questions: [https://play.date/media/](https://play.date/media/) Apparently the screen looks great in all light because it’s reflective and black and white, light actually helps maintain the contrast. Resolution is 400x240 which is the same as 3DS top screen. I’m all for new ways to play. This reminds me of both Wii and DS in that regard. Hopefully it will lead to some great new game experiences, which as @harborline_765 points out even Nintendo are no longer interested in making. ---
**Author:** ![fester](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/fester/32/16133_2.png) [@fester](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/fester)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 12:50pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/14 "2019-05-23T12:50:39Z")
Well, I was (mostly) kidding and trying to make a late-night quip and coming up short. Looked the the kind of thing I’d add to my emergency kit, and a portable gaming device would be essential for my survival. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:26pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/15 "2019-05-23T14:26:47Z")
Is it insane I’m actually considering buying this? I love gimmicky handhelds. I’ve been playing a stock GBC lately with just natural light and really dig GBC native games that way even more so than on my GB Player through GBI. It’s clear the colors we’re not meant to be backlit. And I love playing the NGPC, DS and 3DS too. I think I may actually grab this for the novelty. Scratch that… didn’t really read enough about it. I’m not thinking of buying it. I’m GOING to buy it. The lead creator of Katamari Damacy is making a game for it. I’m sold on that alone. ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/16 "2019-05-23T14:46:51Z")
Wow, this thing is going to be _tiny_ ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:53pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/17 "2019-05-23T15:53:56Z")
> [@Peltz](#): > > tiny ![https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video_thumb/D7M2OfeVsAAaj-s?format=jpg&name=small](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/retrogameboards/original/2X/a/aa7a7a39131b6a5202ee384817eb98ebe24e7946.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Boylamite](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/boylamite/32/4764_2.png) [@Boylamite](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Boylamite)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/18 "2019-05-23T16:03:42Z")
Looks like a game and watch! Love it ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/matt/32/13124_2.png) [@matt](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/19 "2019-05-23T16:57:55Z")
One from the EDGE feature ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/retrogameboards/original/2X/6/63812310728f9a366a18f42433c0ac8daa42d6db.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Peltz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/www.retrogameboards.com/peltz/32/6142_2.png) [@Peltz](https://www.retrogameboards.com/u/Peltz)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 5:43pm UTC](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531/20 "2019-05-23T17:43:56Z")
I love it. Like around the size of an open GBA SP or so but shorter. [Next page](https://www.retrogameboards.com/t/playdate-new-handheld-gaming-system-with-a-crank/1531.md?page=2)