Really cute device, but a bit pricey for what it is. I'd love to see what games people make for it. Hoping to see some Wario Land, Metroid, or Kirby type games.
Those smooth and satisfying animations scream of quality, even in black-n-white colors. He's right, the device seems to be built with charm in mind for every aspect, which is why it looks and probably _feels_ great 😇
@@cole1714 isn’t it $20 cheaper than a Switch Lite? That’s really tough to argue that it’s “cheaper than a console” when it has less potential than a console that’s only $20 more. Just my take.
the price is kinda reasonable cause it comes with 24 games and the console itself costs 90 to 100 dollars to produce its also a barrier to make sure only the people who fit into the niche that its aiming at will buy it cause everyone else wouldnt care that being said this thing should still get massive price cuts
This is a nice indie device- Panic! can’t afford to make like millions of these like Nintendo makes switches, so this price makes sense to me especially since you also get 25 games.
@@jknifgijdfui >the price is reasonable because it will ensure only people who fit into the niche will buy it my guy is gatekeeping over the fact he's willing to spend 180 on a system with 24 indie games and no back light lmaooo
@@cmmartti this isn't E-ink, and like the reviewer said you need to look at the screen straight-on to see anything, you need decent lighting, and you need to hope that lighting isn't reflecting off the screen into your face. It's closer to a Gameboy pocket than an E-ink ereader.
@@cmmartti the fact that it needs to be “angled” at all proves I’m right. There’s already reviews about how bad the lack of a backlight is. And no I’m not wasting money on this thing to test it myself.
Never heard of this and thought the crank was how you charge it up. Interesting to use it in games. Feel like it should also power it as back up at least lol
physically not possible if you consider how thin the device is and how wind-up chargers function. (You need to be rotating a magnet around a coil of wires).
Size issues not withstanding, it'd have to be a crank with some major resistance to generate sufficient power, meaning it'd be a workout to play a game with
It is a bit pricey for what it is, but it definitely looks cool. If it was $70-100 it would be a bit more appealing, but my guess is that the price is to justify the free games that you get with it.
Fun fact I've just learned: This was developed by Teenage Engineering, who also do those little Pocket Operator drum machines, and the fabled OP-1 midi controller.
A backlit screen is not reflective, it is transmissive. This is reflective in the same way that an Kindle ebook reader is reflective, except moreso because the finish of the Sharp Memory LCD display this uses is shiny silver instead of grey matte.
@@cawashka the price is With 200 dollars would you rather buy a tiny, simple system that is sold more as a novelty than a game console? Or a portable Nintendo console that can play breath of the wild, super mario odyssey, mario kart 8 and many others?
never heard of this until now but it looks pretty neat actually! for how small the screen is and how simple it looks, they games look like they run SUPER smoothly and it looks pretty clear
@@raymondc7567 "Sell well" is relative. Not all products are intended for millions of consumers. Panic is currently sitting at 50k pre-orders which is more than they had expected. So while you may not think 50k units is selling well, Panic is quite pleased.
@@CODE14464 Yeah ultimately this is why there are only 2-3 companies buying everything and barely anything else can break through. Them hitting a niche like this is basically all they can do.
@@CODE14464 They're not a small company. And there are tons of other companies who have better consoles with better hardware libraries at a much cheaper price point. Plus let's be real nobody gives a damn about how the price point is determined. Overpriced is overpriced.
179 bucks for a console without backlight, a tiny screen, poor viewing angles, and a useless gyrometer. Wow, it really IS the best hipster portable console. Just buy an Analog Pocket if you want a dose of retro gaming.
7:22 - 7:55 that's all you need to hear if you really don't understand why this exists, Panic isn't going for mass it's going for the niche gaming market, the "hyper" indie scene, stuff you useally don't see on modern platforms.
Just too expensive. If it was £80/$100 then I'd be tempted. Also, if you ideally need a nice bright, sunny day to play it then that doesn't bode well for anyone buying it in the UK. 😄
The processor isn't "40x faster than the original Gameboy" from 1989... I'm guessing it's over 1,000x faster. Only its clock frequency is 40x the Gameboy's 4.2 MHz. But clock speed is almost a non-factor in determining processor speed. In fact, newer processors have been optimized to reduce clock frequencies as higher MHz creates more heat and uses more battery.
This "console" belongs to 80s. Just a total grift to get hipster money. Costs under $10 to produce and sells for $180, it is as bad as the Daniel Wellington watches.
Developers who want to take on the challenge of its limiting and interesting hardware. Developers already make a ton of money, so the price isn't really a problem for them.
The steam deck software just isn’t there yet, it’s incredibly buggy and basic, no doubt in a few months it’ll be much better and deserving of a better score but now the 7 is right.
It’s interesting but it’s currently $199. And at that price point you can get a variety of different emulation handhelds that can run up to PS1 or 2 reliably
Too high of a price, no backlight, and every reviewer has said they get hand cramps. Did this get play tested before release? I’ll wait for the next version of the console
Ah, no backlight? Well tbh it won't matter that much because this seems like a cool little budget time killer. Whats the price? Wait 180 USD??? Yeah, nope.
For $180 you will get a device with a crank that cannot be used to charge it in a pinch or whatever, but you will get carpal tunnel from it, you get a 400x240 monochrome screen with no backlight. At least it's just as powerful as a switch, and 20 bucks cheaper. Perfect.
A cool design idea would had been to put a circular dial on the back that could work like the lever. That design would had been safer, that lever looks like it will break sooner or later.
with Randy Home's song in that one game and Poolsuite FM, Playdate will truly be known as the vaporwave console. Maybe people will be able to mod in a backlight too
Has anyone been seeing ads for the Snapdragon G3X? It's a handheld gaming system. It looks cool. And I'm not someone who's ever interested in handheld gaming.
Not a single game from a known developer? Only "mini games" that would normally be free on any other device, and for the price you could buy any version of gameboy with a bunch of Nintendo games that are actually worth playing
![How useful is a Game Boy with a CRANK? [Playdate]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5HOwIVj-T-k/mqdefault.jpg)
You just know someone's going to program the entirety of Doom in it
Fr 😂😂😂
Hold my beer
@@patrickyeary I'm rooting for you
Someone tried porting it a year ago and got the crank to control the chain gun
A crankable BFG
That would be perfect for a fishing game, reel in fish with the crank. Or a can opener simulator!
Golf game would be awesome.
Fishing would be amazing lol
A horror game that circles the use of a defective generator/flash-light combo
@@Ur_N0.1_fan genius
😂😂😂
Really cute device, but a bit pricey for what it is. I'd love to see what games people make for it. Hoping to see some Wario Land, Metroid, or Kirby type games.
just waiting for smb3 to be ported to it. we all know it's comming
do you know where to buy them?
@@yesnt5528on their official site
A Wario ware type game would be perfect for it
Those smooth and satisfying animations scream of quality, even in black-n-white colors. He's right, the device seems to be built with charm in mind for every aspect, which is why it looks and probably _feels_ great 😇
Painfully hipster and painfully expensive but it does look like a lot of fun.
...yeah but it's still expensive lol
It’s cheaper than a console or a PC upgrade, lol
Just remember that the price comes with 24 games
@@cole1714 isn’t it $20 cheaper than a Switch Lite? That’s really tough to argue that it’s “cheaper than a console” when it has less potential than a console that’s only $20 more. Just my take.
@@jepjep7373 lol
Seems like it delivers on what it promised.
Indeed
Being too overpriced and not having a basic necessity, a backlight?
@@tuf_dev why does everyone forget that it comes with 24 games?
@@11th_defender51 still not backlit
It gives you free carpal tunnel and hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, what's not to love?
This is awesome it reminds of one of those game systems that Wario would come up in warioware
There's a community-made warioware style game jam where each minigame was made by a different person
@@als_pals what is the name? That sounds awesome
@@als_pals sounds dope what's it called?
They beat Nintendo making a yellow handheld that plays a lot of (mini)games.
Could have been the first real-world "WarioWare" console for all we know.
“Rhythm heaven: Crank Concert”when?
$180, this price almost killed everything.
the price is kinda reasonable cause it comes with 24 games and the console itself costs 90 to 100 dollars to produce its also a barrier to make sure only the people who fit into the niche that its aiming at will buy it cause everyone else wouldnt care that being said this thing should still get massive price cuts
This is a nice indie device- Panic! can’t afford to make like millions of these like Nintendo makes switches, so this price makes sense to me especially since you also get 25 games.
It’s because of its useless R&D
@@jknifgijdfui Mini games. That on any other system or phone would be .99c each.
@@jknifgijdfui >the price is reasonable because it will ensure only people who fit into the niche will buy it
my guy is gatekeeping over the fact he's willing to spend 180 on a system with 24 indie games and no back light lmaooo
No backlight kills it, cool idea though.
Wait til "Playdate Color". Lol
@@cmmartti this isn't E-ink, and like the reviewer said you need to look at the screen straight-on to see anything, you need decent lighting, and you need to hope that lighting isn't reflecting off the screen into your face. It's closer to a Gameboy pocket than an E-ink ereader.
@@cmmartti you can read books way easier than this thing lmao
@@cmmartti the fact that it needs to be “angled” at all proves I’m right. There’s already reviews about how bad the lack of a backlight is. And no I’m not wasting money on this thing to test it myself.
Never heard of this and thought the crank was how you charge it up. Interesting to use it in games. Feel like it should also power it as back up at least lol
physically not possible if you consider how thin the device is and how wind-up chargers function. (You need to be rotating a magnet around a coil of wires).
Size issues not withstanding, it'd have to be a crank with some major resistance to generate sufficient power, meaning it'd be a workout to play a game with
Pardon me if my science doesn't make sense but bike dynamos are also not very resistant, only two magnets?
@@Monkixote you haven't seen the thinnest hand wind watch yet
@@exia41gundam you haven't learned the difference between electrical and mechanical energy yet.
It looks like a fidget toy. If you get bored or anxious, just click the buttons, turn the crank. You even get games for it.
A $179 fidget toy.
An extreemly expensive one
@@TheLover20xx 179 is like a pair of jeans
It is a bit pricey for what it is, but it definitely looks cool. If it was $70-100 it would be a bit more appealing, but my guess is that the price is to justify the free games that you get with it.
yea 180 with no backlight in 2022 lol no thanks
@@mauriceyoung5225Especially when you can get a switch light for 200 bucks.
This is definitely one of the consoles of all time
Yes it is a console in time
@@DR.DisInfect of all time lol
Why would you say something so controversial?
😂
@@Andrew-ww1hz lP
Fun fact I've just learned: This was developed by Teenage Engineering, who also do those little Pocket Operator drum machines, and the fabled OP-1 midi controller.
Love to see a interesting fishing game on this. The pixel graphics are so smooth
That's literally the only genre that works on the thing
“Super reflective” advertised as a selling point when there’s no backlight. What in hell
A backlit screen is not reflective, it is transmissive. This is reflective in the same way that an Kindle ebook reader is reflective, except moreso because the finish of the Sharp Memory LCD display this uses is shiny silver instead of grey matte.
For 180 bucks I’ll take Nintendo switch lite any day of the week
Lmao ya my thoughts exactly!
This thing is like a hipster version of a handheld gaming platform
these two aren’t comparable in the slightest
Get both 😃
@@cawashka they clearly are
@@cawashka the price is
With 200 dollars would you rather buy a tiny, simple system that is sold more as a novelty than a game console?
Or a portable Nintendo console that can play breath of the wild, super mario odyssey, mario kart 8 and many others?
Souja Boy really missed out by not putting a crank on his console...
That price point is insane.
Insanely expensive you mean, right?
@@PMantis013 Most definitely. I’d consider it at $69.99.
Its differently going to fail due to that price point. Its a shame it seems really cool, its just nowhere near worth $180.
switch lite is only 20 dollars more and thousand times better.
@@deshigamer4967 switch isn’t made by an indie company and can afford to be sold at a loss, not this. You guys are forgetting that.
the community being able to make games for it sounds really promising
No backlight is a dealbreaker, makes it way too hard to play especially for that price.
never heard of this until now but it looks pretty neat actually! for how small the screen is and how simple it looks, they games look like they run SUPER smoothly and it looks pretty clear
You would think tech is cheaper now. This thing doesn’t even have a backlight on it. The GBA SP cost almost half and you can play it in the dark.
@Tats Sacs It doesn't need a backlight because of the special screen type used of the 1bit colour images , sharp memory LCD
no backlight in 2022.......
I'd be pretty nervous about that crank breaking off at some point.
That's just an urban myth
Backlight should be an essential at this point.
It feels like a portable console -IGN
Me: Wow this thing looks just like a Gameboy Pocket!
IGN: It has no backlight.
Me: So, it IS a Gameboy Pocket
Except it's a worser gameboy pocket.
Nah a Gameboy pocket is way better. This play date is not going to sell well. Definately not gonna last long lol.
@@ASTR0TALKSPHILOSOPHY worser
@@raymondc7567 "Sell well" is relative. Not all products are intended for millions of consumers. Panic is currently sitting at 50k pre-orders which is more than they had expected. So while you may not think 50k units is selling well, Panic is quite pleased.
@@TheTommyCraft congratulations lol
if the price was normal or more in line with the limitations of the system then sure, but jesus it's 20 bucks shy of a switch lite
Niche product, high dev costs, small company = totally reasonable price
Geez when you put it like that 💀
@Privileged White Male so you dont want any new start ups lol? Support so they can grow so we can have more competition and fun products
@@CODE14464 Yeah ultimately this is why there are only 2-3 companies buying everything and barely anything else can break through. Them hitting a niche like this is basically all they can do.
@@CODE14464 They're not a small company. And there are tons of other companies who have better consoles with better hardware libraries at a much cheaper price point. Plus let's be real nobody gives a damn about how the price point is determined. Overpriced is overpriced.
179 bucks for a console without backlight, a tiny screen, poor viewing angles, and a useless gyrometer. Wow, it really IS the best hipster portable console. Just buy an Analog Pocket if you want a dose of retro gaming.
Insane the steamdeck got an 7/10 and this got 8/10 🤣
Did you watch the whole video? It's the console and all the games.
@@voodude1074 that would be more relevant if the games were valuable, it's not like we are getting 70$ games
Yea…no thanks lul
@@Fabi42069 That would make sense if it was the same person who reviewed both... but it wasn't soooo... yeah
7:22 - 7:55 that's all you need to hear if you really don't understand why this exists, Panic isn't going for mass it's going for the niche gaming market, the "hyper" indie scene, stuff you useally don't see on modern platforms.
Just too expensive. If it was £80/$100 then I'd be tempted. Also, if you ideally need a nice bright, sunny day to play it then that doesn't bode well for anyone buying it in the UK. 😄
wow, i've heard about this years ago and it's still in pre-order phase.
started shipping out not long ago!
my hand hurts just looking at it. pre-ordered!
There’s nothing “gimmicky” about the playdate it’s a genuinely fun experience and new experience
The processor isn't "40x faster than the original Gameboy" from 1989... I'm guessing it's over 1,000x faster.
Only its clock frequency is 40x the Gameboy's 4.2 MHz. But clock speed is almost a non-factor in determining processor speed. In fact, newer processors have been optimized to reduce clock frequencies as higher MHz creates more heat and uses more battery.
This "console" belongs to 80s. Just a total grift to get hipster money. Costs under $10 to produce and sells for $180, it is as bad as the Daniel Wellington watches.
@@jackwilson5542 niche products cannot benefit from economies of scale and game devs cost money who knew,
Im struggling to work out who this is for exactly, who are they aiming to sell this too especially at that price?
Shallow people who like status symbol stuff.
Hipsters lol
Developers who want to take on the challenge of its limiting and interesting hardware. Developers already make a ton of money, so the price isn't really a problem for them.
If it ever goes on sale I’ll consider picking it up, 170$ for a neat little console like this is not worth it in my opinion
Cant wait to get mine, looks super cool
$199 ?!?!?!??!?! rediculous not even emulation
2 things: put a pop socket on the back and if they don't make a fishing game, thatsa huge missed opportunity
People hating on this never imagined gaming as anything other than Call of Duty 29 with the latest graphics.
Kudos to Playdate for picking Lua/C combo for game developers
seriously it's only in black and white and it cost $180 and no thanks
This is incredible for visual novels as well!
Wow they gave this an 8/10 while the steam deck is 7/10 😂
Yeah IGN"s reviews on hardware is pretty bad. The Steam Deck has rave reviews from way more critical parties such as LTT and Phawx.
The nintendo switch had got a 7 too lol
@@JaysonBicBoi the switch is a 7 tho.
The steam deck software just isn’t there yet, it’s incredibly buggy and basic, no doubt in a few months it’ll be much better and deserving of a better score but now the 7 is right.
Different reviewer, different type of product, different set of criterias.
Imagine if the crank could power up the console 🤯
@@Kayttaja1524 It doesn't.
No backlight is the nail for me
Back in the 90s
you'll play with it for a week, and then it will lost in a drawer or purse.
With the price point and design it just seems like a novelty item.
It is basically a novelty. 100%. It's an item for the guys who are basically a mirror image of the "CONSOOOOOMER" meme
Cool but for $179.99 it almost sounds like a joke, just get a Switch Lite at that point or play on your phone if you want tiny quirky games.
To people complaining about price: don't forget that the price tag includes the games!
Yup shitty 2007 java mobile games
@@gv2212 if you don't like micro games that's fine. But some people do!
this would be a neat little thing you pick up for like $60 and play for a few days then forget about. at that price nah that's a pass.
That surfing game "Whitewater Wipeout" looks *suspiciously* familiar to "California Games: Surfing" for the Atari Lynx
Next Console : PlayDate Color
Then PlayDate Advance SP
I'm surprised that there aren't any fishing games that utilizes the crank.
Developers: *Please make a game called Crankenstien*
Sounds like the crank is cool but adds to the uncomfortable feel in hand over time.
This seems like it’s more for game developers than it is for consumers
It’s interesting but it’s currently $199. And at that price point you can get a variety of different emulation handhelds that can run up to PS1 or 2 reliably
You call me on the telephone, you feel so far away
You tell me to come over, there’s some games you wanna play
Can’t wait for mine! In group one 👍
Too high of a price, no backlight, and every reviewer has said they get hand cramps. Did this get play tested before release? I’ll wait for the next version of the console
Needs a pop socket on the back....
Speedruns with this will be wild!
It looks fun, I'd probably want check it out for maybe $50 max. Almost $200 is a joke though. That's Switch Lite territory.
1990 called, it wants its Game Boy back.
The power of marketing!
Now if only someone ported doom to it, it would be perfect.
They did, and programmed the crank to fire the rail gun
Ah, no backlight? Well tbh it won't matter that much because this seems like a cool little budget time killer.
Whats the price?
Wait 180 USD???
Yeah, nope.
For $180 you will get a device with a crank that cannot be used to charge it in a pinch or whatever, but you will get carpal tunnel from it, you get a 400x240 monochrome screen with no backlight. At least it's just as powerful as a switch, and 20 bucks cheaper. Perfect.
Yeah this thing should be like 110 bucks or something
lol it's clearly not a switch competitor, it's its own thing
requires ambient light 8/10 -IGN
A cool design idea would had been to put a circular dial on the back that could work like the lever. That design would had been safer, that lever looks like it will break sooner or later.
It would have been cool if the crank was used to power the unit.
with Randy Home's song in that one game and Poolsuite FM, Playdate will truly be known as the vaporwave console. Maybe people will be able to mod in a backlight too
No back light, no go what were they thinking.🤔
Just waiting for Bethesda to announce Skyrim on this.
Has anyone been seeing ads for the Snapdragon G3X? It's a handheld gaming system. It looks cool. And I'm not someone who's ever interested in handheld gaming.
Imagine a warioware based game for the console
Lack of backlight on a $180 handheld "experience" device is keeping me away.
It's actually a selling point for me, it's refreshing and reminds me of my gameboy days
a backlight isn't needed because it uses a 1bit sharp memory LCD for displaying black & white
Someone’s gonna port some Pokémon games to it, I’m positive
No backlight is a bummer.
No backlight, that's a major bummer. Would have been so awesome to play some games in bed before sleeping.
@Felix Bouffard a backlight isn't needed because it uses a 1bit sharp memory LCD for displaying black & white
Great review, thank you for showing all those different aspects of the console.
Thank you for the video.
No backlight and price are an automatic no for mes
Not a single game from a known developer? Only "mini games" that would normally be free on any other device, and for the price you could buy any version of gameboy with a bunch of Nintendo games that are actually worth playing
You need to do more research then as crankins time adventure is from the maker of katamari damacy.
But can it run Crysis?
Hey reviewer, what belt of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu are you? Those ears didn't get that way by themselves.
Still think it’s too expensive unfortunately.
Surely a fishing game with the crank
no backlight.. like.. seriously?
Missed opportunity to use the crank for dynamo charging.
That'll save cost on fuel of electric generator every now and then.
It will become a collectible, and be worth hundreds in a few years.
It worths a try. Looks great.
For $180, 🗑
Doom Doom Doom let me here you say way-ooh
what an expensive piece of accessory
$180?? Seriously? 🥴
At this point they're trolling😂
A preowned switch is the same price and it comes with a backlight. This is the ouya allover again.