La console di Panic con tanto di manovella dedicata ai gamer che amano i prodotti di nicchia è in arrivo: cos’è Playdate e come sarà
Veronica Nicosia Giornalista scientifico
Laureata in astrofisica, giornalista scientifico e content editor SEO, scrive di tecnologia per magazine online e carta stampata. Nel 2020 approda a Libero Tecnologia
Una console dedicata non al mercato del gaming mainstream, ma ai giocatori di nicchia che apprezzano le piccole perle. Questa è Playdate, una nuovissima console con manovella realizzata da Panic e che sta già spopolando tra gli appassionati del videogioco.
La piccola console offre uno schermo in bianco e nero, pulsanti di controllo classici con croce direzionale e i due A/B, ma soprattutto una simpatica manovella. The latter is not only an aesthetic choice that winks at collectors, but is part of the control buttons and will allow users to have fun with one of the 24 games that will be released for Playdate. Among the developers of the games, then, is Lucas Popes, the creator of Return of the Obra Din. In addition, there will be no shortage of third-party games thanks to the development kit provided by the company Panic for its pocket console.
Playdate: the console from Panic
During the June 8 event, the softwarehouse Panic unveiled its Playdate portable console and announced pre-orders for users. The softwarehouse became known for its macOS and iOS apps until it approached gaming in 2016 with Firewatch and came up with the release of Untitled Goose Game. In 2019, Panic announced its new project: a handheld console equipped with a crank that is crucial for the gameplay of some games. Scheduled for release in 2020, but due to delays for the Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed and now Playdate is ready to launch and about to hit the market.
Playdate: features and games
Playdate is certainly not a next-gen console, but it has attracted attention for its Game Boy-like design with a decidedly vintage look and distinctive mustard yellow color. The dimensions are compact, with 74 mm wide, 76 mm high and 9 mm thick. One of its peculiarities is definitely the crank button, which in addition to the directional cross button and the A and B buttons offers expanded gameplay also thanks to dedicated titles.
From a technical point of view, Playdate is equipped with a 2.7-inch LCD display in black and white and without backlighting. To use it in the dark, therefore, you’ll need an external lighting source. The CPU is a Cortex M7 and the RAM is 16 MB. It also comes with a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB Type C socket for charging. The console is equipped with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, which allows you to download games and use them, and offers an internal memory of 4 GB.
Panic has planned for Playdate a series of 24 games, including Mars After Midnight by renowned developer Lucas Pope. At the moment there are 21 known titles and they won’t be released all at once, but according to a schedule yet to be defined.
Playdate: how much does it cost and when will it arrive
The cranked console was supposed to make its debut in 2020 at a price of $149 in the version with 2 GB of storage. Delays in implementation dictated by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, stretched the timeline and so Panic unveiled Playdate on June 8, 2021.
During the event, the option to pre-order Playdate was opened for $179 for the version with 4 GB of storage. Following the pre-order phase, actual production will begin, with the first deliveries of the mustard-colored console and its crank expected by the end of 2021.