I feel like this passage here perfectly describes the why of this situation.
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Introducing Playdate - A $179 black-and-white handheld with a dozen surprise games. Also, it has a crank.
- Thread starter Meg Cherry
- Start date
- Tech
Before I had a look at the website I thought the crank was used to charge the thing up!
Seems a bit niche. $150 for a black and white handheld that's likely not going to be hugely supported? I'm struggling to see how they're going to make it be anything beyond the next Ouya.
Seems a bit niche. $150 for a black and white handheld that's likely not going to be hugely supported? I'm struggling to see how they're going to make it be anything beyond the next Ouya.
Yep! Hardware might be a bit limiting but I wonder if they'll release their own music software for it.
Because we want to (and can) is a great reason to create a new gaming device - really hope it does well
I mean, I understand the price, it's not a huge production, nor a huge production company, it's very niche, it probably won't have the numbers of other handhelds, the quality from the pictures seems amazingly good.
but
yes, it's way too expensive for what it is to be anything else than a vanity item. Which is, honestly, probably as intended.
"We want to produce it because we love games" is fine, but "we want to play with it, because we love games" seems to fall under the table for most potential fans who can't justify 150 bucks for a high quality LCD game. This doesn't have "gamers" as a target group, think more along the line of fashionistas, apple customers and, well, the upper-class hipster crowd.
Fashionistas lol come on. It's definitely a niche product but that doesn't mean its appeal falls outside of normal gaming circles. You can enjoy stuff like this while also being a "normal real gamer" or whatever.
I can tell I've fallen too deep into the Game Boy modding scene recently because I don't find a thing wrong about sinking north of $100 on a black and white boutique handheld in modern times. I'm the customer they're targeting.
TBH I don't think this is going to reach that far beyond some variety of gamer or another. Not at first, anyway. This isn't actually something they're going to sell primarily at Urban Outfitters to 21 year olds who don't remember life before full color retina smartphones and fetishize a past they don't know. I can see why you'd say that, though.
Cabel, be honest. How many Uh Oa's had you had when you came up with this?😉
I love it. I love the haters, cause that means it'll be easier for me to get one when it launches.
Dammit, I just thought about how much I would have loved to see Ryan's reaction to this. 😢
I love it. I love the haters, cause that means it'll be easier for me to get one when it launches.
Dammit, I just thought about how much I would have loved to see Ryan's reaction to this. 😢
Love everything about this project, so here's hoping they will publish this thing in Europe. I'd love to get one! The yellow is just perfect for this.
It's retroness of it. It takes you back to the Game & Watch and the original monochrome Gameboy.
Totally not feeling this.feels like they are really wasting their resources on this. The Ouya had a better hook
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That makes it more interesting to me. It's a niche device for sure but it sure looks like a lot of love went into crafting it.
I know this is probably a lot more powerful than the GBA etc but I've always been hoping Nintendo would make a small limited handheld with retro style games for it. Kind of like the PICO-8 or something.
This is so cool.. with side loading its a definite purchase for me, I'm sure people will make awesome stuff for it.
This is so cool.. with side loading its a definite purchase for me, I'm sure people will make awesome stuff for it.
Less ? WIth limited number of units, the industrial cost is high for those things. Hardware is expensive.
And you have 12 games. They paid game dev to have those.
So, yes, 150$ is a high price, but not because they take a faire cut on that price. I am not even sure the whole project will be profitable for them.
If you're still around to answer questions:
You guys refer to the games coming to the device as a "season". Can we infer that this means there may be additional seasons?
On the topic of side-loading - how much memory does the device ship with, and is it expandable in any way?
If this thing was e-ink trust me they wouldn't be using that screen for a little gaming gizmo they'd be putting it in the next Kindle
I love quirky hardware engineering and applied design (the original Famicom is still one of my favorite consoles from a purely aesthetic point of view), but this just comes off as "hipster" in the worst kind of way, all "style" with little substance, none of the games seem substantial at all and seem to be trying too hard to be clever rather than just fun games. We'll see, but so far I am not feeling this.
Teenage Engineering is EU company (based in Sweden). Panic is responsible for software part mostly (I think).
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btw, the most coolest thing what Panic did so far - https://sign.panic.com/
more detailed info about this → https://panic.com/blog/the-panic-sign/
more detailed info about this → https://panic.com/blog/the-panic-sign/
I can't buy this at 150$, even if I really want it.
I understand the price. It's a little product made by passionate people that won't be produced in mass. You gotta pay those people + the 12 devs that made game for it. So the price is a fair price honestly.
I still hope to get one at some point. It's such a weird and amazing concept. It's not made to make money, it's just made in order to create something new and interesting. It's really really cool.
I understand the price. It's a little product made by passionate people that won't be produced in mass. You gotta pay those people + the 12 devs that made game for it. So the price is a fair price honestly.
I still hope to get one at some point. It's such a weird and amazing concept. It's not made to make money, it's just made in order to create something new and interesting. It's really really cool.
The price is fine - but I want to know how it will be supported. I could see trying new quirky games for a long time further down the road, but I don't want to buy something that is going to be extinct in 8 months.
