MAKE A DATE WITH RETRO FUN
THESE days, it’s quite hard to be surprised by the goings on in the world of technology. Phones largely look the same, games consoles are treading water, and there’s not much to choose between the various smartwatches on the market.
So I raise a glass this week to the company that decided that what we really need is a new hand-held gaming platform that features, among some more traditional control methods, a pop-out crank.
The Playdate is the brainchild of Oregon-based Mac and iOS software creators Panic, in collaboration with Swedish synthesiser magicians Teenage Engineering.
It’s a new hand-held gaming device, and it looks… unusual. It has a very simple 2.7in 400x240 pixel monochrome screen, a four-way d-pad, two buttons, and the crank.
At first I thought this might be to charge the device, but no, it’s another controller. Some games for the device use nothing but the crank to control the gaming action, while some do not use it at all.
There’s a speaker as well, on this perfectly square bright yellow device, and not much else. It’s a retro homage to the Game Boy and yet it feels completely modern.
One of the most innovative features is the games; there are 12 of them, and they’re all included in the price, but they don’t all come with the game on day one. They will be delivered wirelessly at a rate of one per week.
Perhaps the most exciting element of the whole project is the group of developers involved: Bennett Foddy (Getting Over It), Keita Takahashi (Katamari Democracy), and Zach Gage (SpellTower, Ridiculous Fishing, and Really Bad Chess).
Playdate won’t hit the market until early next year, costing $149. Orders will be open later this year, but get your name down now at https://play. date. Stock will be very limited.