Playdate (console)

Playdate is a handheld video game console developed by Panic Inc. The device features a mechanical crank and a black-and-white screen. The console was announced in May 2019 and was released in April 2022.

Hardware

The device is compact, square, and yellow, featuring a black-and-white 1-bit display and various input controls: a D-pad, two game buttons (A and B), a foldable mechanical crank used for gameplay in select titles, a sleep switch, and a menu button. Designed in collaboration with Swedish consumer electronics company Teenage Engineering, it incorporates a Memory LCD screen made by Sharp that visually resembles e-paper. This technology enables each pixel to retain its state (black or white) without constant refreshing, resulting in faster refresh rates, lower power consumption, and a wide 170° viewing angle.

Internally, the Playdate operates on two microcontrollers. The STM32F746, powered by an ARM Cortex-M7F CPU clocked at 168 MHz with an 8 KB L1 cache, manages the console’s core functions, including firmware, graphics, and audio. The processor uses an external 16 MB low-power pseudo-static RAM chip on the motherboard. The ESP32-D0WDQ6 handles Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The Playdate includes 4 GB of eMMC flash storage for games and system data.

The device also includes built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, a mono speaker, a microphone, and a headphone jack with microphone input support. While it contains the necessary hardware for audio over Bluetooth, current software revisions do not yet support this feature.

Accessories

Panic has announced two accessories for the device. A purple cover was released simultaneously with the device's 2022 launch, and later offered in aqua and yellow. Panic also released a cover that mimics the look of a pizza box.

A yellow "stereo dock" that charges the Playdate and functions as a speaker and a penholder was announced in 2021, but in 2024 the device was shelved.

Games

Distribution

Playdate comes with Season One: a collection of 24 games. Every week, two new games of Season One appear on the user's console. The price of Season One is included in the price of the console. The order of released games was unknown until the week they were released, and were revealed to players when they automatically downloaded.

On March 7, 2023, the Catalog on-device and on-web store was added. Playdate owners can purchase and download games directly from the device.

On October 31, 2024, Panic announced that Season Two would be released in 2025.

Developers

Games for the Playdate have been produced by Panic as well as indie game developers such as Keita Takahashi, Zach Gage, Bennett Foddy, Lucas Pope, Shaun Inman, and Chuck Jordan. Panic stated that they were interested in games created by underrepresented developers and that there were games from women and LGBTQ developers in Playdate's first season.

Games are created using an openly available proprietary software development kit (SDK) that includes a simulator and debugger. The SDK is compatible with both C and Lua programming languages. It is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Simpler tile-based games can be created using Pulp, a more-approachable game development tool from Panic. The device is an open system and allows sideloading additional games that are not part of a season.

Accolades

The game ''YOYOZO'', developed by Matt Sephton, was included in ''Ars Technicas "Best Video Games of 2023" list, appearing alongside titles such as '' Super Mario Wonder'', '' The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom'', ''Baldur's Gate 3'', and others.

Season 1 (April–July 2022)

Season 2 (May–July 2025)

Season Two has started on May 29, 2025. It can be purchased via either the on-device Catalog store or the official Playdate website for US$39. There will be a total of 12 games delivered in batches of two per week. Unannounced prior to Season Two's premiere, all subscribers have gained access to a black-and-white video streaming service, ''Blippo+'' via the Playdate device.

Reception

Pre-release

On May 22, 2019, Panic announced Playdate. Initial impressions were centered around how unusual the device was, from the crank, its 1-bit screen, and its odd method of delivering games to players. About the crank, TechCrunch noted, "It's not necessary for every game, though, so don't worry if it seems too weird."

A year before the Playdate announcement, Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser sent an email to an indie video game event, also named Playdate, suggesting that the organizers consider tweaking or changing its name to avoid future confusion. The following day, Sasser retracted the request, stating "My intention was always to find a way for our Playdates to co-exist ..but we remain fine with you using the name Playdate." On January 29, 2020, the team behind the event (now named "Playdate Pop Up") announced that Panic was joining the event as a sponsor and would assist the event in petitioning for nonprofit status; however, the LA Zinefest event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Release

Playdate was initially set for release in early 2020, but preorders were delayed until July 29, 2021. Panic sold through its initial order of 20,000 units set to ship in 2021 within the first 20 minutes of its preorder. Playdates started shipping to customers on April 18, 2022.

Playdate was generally well-received upon its release, with criticism notably around the lack of a backlit screen and long shipping times. ''The Verge'' praised its initial library of games, stating "What's on offer in the initial batch of games is great," and "even in this crowded landscape, Playdate offers something entirely unique." ''IGNs review stated, "the screen's lack of a backlight can be a frustrating limitation. But you know what? The Playdate charmed me and I am now fully under its spell." Input Mag wrote, "It really seems like every opportunity Panic found to do something special, it took it."

On April 18, 2023, Panic confirmed to ''The Verge'' that the Playdate has sold more than 53,000 units to-date, with 27,000 of those units shipped. Panic expected fulfillment of their existing 26,000 preorders by the end of 2023.

On May 1, 2023, Panic announced via Twitter that 53,368 Playdates had been pre-ordered so far, with 20,000 games downloaded from their on-device store Catalog.

On February 13, 2024, Panic tweeted that over 70,000 Playdates had been sold.

Notes

References

External links

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{{Panic Inc.
Handheld game consoles
Monochrome video game consoles
2020s toys
2022 in video gaming
Products introduced in 2022
ARM-based video game consoles