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Games

Playdate, the Console With a Crank, Gets July Preorder for $179, Game Details (arstechnica.com) 54

Posted by msmash from the up-next dept.
On Tuesday, Playdate, the portable, one-bit gaming system with an analog crank as a primary control option, took one more step toward being a bonafide thing you can buy and crank to your heart's content. From a report: The diminutive portable system's creators at Panic (publishers of games like Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game) hosted their first-ever Playdate Update video today, and they confirmed that the hardware will launch to paying customers "later this year," with preorders beginning "in July" starting at $179. That price will include the system's complete "first season" of Playdate-exclusive games, and Panic had originally pledged to include 12 games in all with the purchase price. Today's presentation included a welcome surprise: double the included games. Now, Playdate owners can expect to get two games a week as free downloads over a span of 12 weeks (which, if my calculator is correct, means 24 games in all). Panic remains committed to its plan to "surprise" system owners with free downloads of entirely new games, so today's video didn't include lengthy game reveals. In the meantime, we've been given 21 of the Season One games' titles, along with a list of participating developers (embedded at the article's end). The indie-heavy developer list includes Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy), Nels Anderson (Firewatch), Giles Goddard (1080 Snowboarding), Bennett Foddy (Getting Over It), and Zach Gage (Spelltower), along with tons of lesser-known devs whose work has impressed us over the years at various cons and events.
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Playdate, the Console With a Crank, Gets July Preorder for $179, Game Details More

Playdate, the Console With a Crank, Gets July Preorder for $179, Game Details

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  • Replacable (Score:3)

    by The New Guy 2.0 ( 3497907 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @12:23PM (#61466436)

    Can't wait for the two-bit version to come out.

  • Euphemisms. (Score:3)

    by Ostracus ( 1354233 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @12:24PM (#61466440) Journal

    Playdate...better known as a good use for the OTHER hand.

  • Not so many caps

    DOES THE CRANK CHARGE IT OR NOT ?

    Not so many capsNot so many capsNot so many capsNot so many capsNot so many caps

  • The crank doesn't charge the battery.
    I'm sure it could have been possible, at least as an option.

    With a 180 MHz CPU and a non-backlit display, I'm quite sure that even the small amount of power generated by a crank (~5W) is sufficient, especially if the wireless features are turned off.

  • I've been waiting for new 1 bit graphics games.

  • ObQuestion (Score:4, Funny)

    by Mycroft-X ( 11435 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @12:52PM (#61466522)

    But can it play DOOM?

    Also hot grits.

  • Finally (Score:4, Funny)

    by GlennC ( 96879 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @01:10PM (#61466578)

    A gaming device designed for a real fishing video game...or perhaps a "reel" one! :)

  • I mean I know what an 8-bit game system is. It's a system with an 8-bit word for instructions.

    But what is a 1-bit game system? A system that can only hold boolean flags?

  • Looks like 1 bit means 1 bit monochrome video.

    The crank- I had an LCD fishing game that had a crank to reel fish in.

    Not only were the graphics "1 bit" (on/off state with no gradient), but they were fixed segments, like a cheap digital watch.

  • not enough joy?

  • Its the Ouya again (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DarkRookie2 ( 5551422 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @01:32PM (#61466648)
    Who is this for really? Especially at $180.
    I can get a 3DS for less, hack that, and load a GB emulator, and play grey scale games that. Or an old phone. Or an old laptop.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by fleeped ( 1945926 )
      It's for the cheapskate hipster home barrista with the manual coffee grinder, having honed their skills in cranking and having a new device to show it off.
    • After a quick search, it looks that you could for less $180 get a rPi and all the pieces to turn it into a retro handheld if you want. rPi gets a bonus for being an actual computer made to teach kids code and electronics.
      You could even add your own crank if you want.

    • Re:Its the Ouya again (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @02:14PM (#61466738) Homepage

      This thing looks like it should be in the impulse bins at the checkout queue at Best Buy for $29.95. Also, the lack of ergonomics, ugh. IMHO, my favorite way to play retro games is in emulation, with a modern Xbox controller. Some stuff about the past just sucked, and old school controllers that killed your hands are not an experience I'm keen to relive.

      I really don't understand this obsession with retro gaming consoles designed to replicate the bad ergonomics of the past. It was a total dealbreaker for me when it comes to the PiBoy DMG [experimentalpi.com], too.

    • Re:Its the Ouya again (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <slashdot&worf,net> on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @03:33PM (#61466972)

      Who is this for really? Especially at $180.
      I can get a 3DS for less, hack that, and load a GB emulator, and play grey scale games that. Or an old phone. Or an old laptop.

      It's an experimental game platform. That's all. It's how people try different control methods - the crank is there to see what developers come up with.

      If you just want to play traditional video games, there are far better ways to do it, including the dozens of $20 consoles on Amazon doing the same things.

      Why should Nintendo be the one only trying new ways to play games?

      it's also what makes it different from Ouya. Ouya was just a low powered game console that hooked to your TV, a way to play mobile games at home. This is just quirky and different an a way to see what developers can do.

      Many of the videogames we liked in the past were that way because of hardware limitations forcing developers to get creative. Well, here's that as well - developers have an interesting control method to play with (granted, many will use it as a gimmick, but some will find innovative ways to use it) and a black and white screen means graphics are a more interesting challenge.

      • Still way too expensive just to be a gimmick. Not much of one. You could do the same by using the D-Pad.
        Nintendo failed with their gimmicks. Are motions controls a thing? No but for maybe a few specific titles. I don't see Nintendo or Sony releases a second screen attachment. I have not play a PC game that uses multiple windows, but I am sure they are out there.
        People can release bad looking games monochrome games nowadays if they want. No need for a fancy console for it. I meant it is like the Ouya in th

        • Nintendo failed with their gimmicks.

          Just to be clear, are you referring to the 75+ million units sold 3DS, the 85 million units sold Switch, the 100+ million units sold Wii, or the 150+ million units sold Nintendo DS, all of which were sold at a profit, as a failure? Inquiring minds want to know.

          Nintendo may not have as much cachet as Sony or Xbox in hardcore gaming circles, but your head’s in the sand if you think they failed with their gimmicks. The fact that they move on quickly once the novelty wears off or the market moves on does

          • You can sell all the hardware you want, buy when your game library is 99.999% trash it really means nothing to me. When the best games on the console were first party titles where the gimmicks fucked with the game. Metroid Prime 3 and Skyward Sword are both games better served by a conventional control scheme.
            How many people have booted up their Wii or WiiU in the last year to play a Wii or WiiU game? The only time I ever see anyone use these anymore is as a low end emu boxes.
            Again, where are the motion c

            • This quote moves the goalposts from "Nintendo failed with their gimmicks" to "Nintendo failed because I don't like them". But let's set that aside.

              when your game library is 99.999% trash it really means nothing to me.

              We don't judge consoles by their bad games; we judge them by their good games, by the ones we actually play. If what you just said is the actual standard you're using to judge consoles, you either hate all consoles or you aren't being honest with yourself, because the vast majority of games on all consoles have been trash for as long as I can remember. At most, t

  • ... of a "crank handle"?

    Me thinks this retro thing has gone a tad too far ...

  • I don't get all the haters, I mean sheet! This looks really good to me. I never buy shit but this made me laugh, the videos showed really impressive and fun people, they are working with teenage engineering, and it appeals to people who are tired of all the "hot" crap gaming (or who just aren't thrilled by the shoot em up mentality) and would rather have a "cool" (low stress on the eyes, it doesn't heat up your face to play it) interface with simple games that showcase inventiveness and joy instead of crazy

  • How many bits? (Score:3)

    by BoogieChile ( 517082 ) on Tuesday June 08, 2021 @10:23PM (#61468046)

    That's not a 1-bit console.

    This [youtube.com] is a 1 bit console.

  • I was really looking forward to the release of the new console and waited so much that I was already tired of video games. Moreover, the main releases will be later. Who else has Cyberpunk 2077 disappointed? So far I have switched to sports betting with Parimatch bet cy [parimatch.com.cy] because it is much more interesting there now than in fifa (have you seen what is happening in the European leagues? A very unexpected season).

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