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History of video games/Platforms/Playdate

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  • The Playdate handheld game console.
    The Playdate handheld game console.

History

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Portland, Oregon - The city Playdate developer Panic is based out of.[1]

Background

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A Printrbot 3D printer of similar make to the one used to produce the prototype Playdate casing, though Panic did not use a hotend cooling fan as shown here.[2]

Playdate developer Panic originally made applications for macOS and iOS and later began publishing games.[3]

Development

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The first meetings that would eventually relate to the Playdate date back to 2012.[4] Development on the Playdate started by 2015.[5] Design of the system was originally inspired by the Nintendo Game and Watch.[6] A Playdate prototype featured a crude white 3D printed plastic case made on a Printrbot fused filament fabrication 3D Printer.[2]

Developers Panic and Teenage Engineering met at Moogfest, leading to a system codename of Asheville.[7]

The Playdate was announced on May 16th, 2019.[5]

By August 12th, 2020 there were 250 early units shipped, primarily to developers.[8]

A temporary shut down of a factory in Malaysia caused the first manufacturing run of 20,000 Playdate consoles to be delayed to 2021, with a launch price of $149.[9]

On November 25th, 2020 instructions for a DIY papercraft mock Playdate were released.[10]

On June 4th of 2021 an announcement was made, where the price of the console would be increased to $179 and the number of season one games would be doubled to 24, along with a storage increase to 4 gigabytes from 2.[11][12]

On June 8th, 2021 the Playdate Stereo dock was unveiled to the public as the first official Playdate accessory.[13]

In July of 2021 early units were sent to journalists.[14]

On August 4th of 2021, a change to the season one schedule was announced.[15]

In late 2021 the CPU used by early development Playdate consoles could no longer be purchased with a lead time of two years due to the chip shortage.[16] Thus on November 11th, 2021 the console was delayed to 2022 so the console could be reworked with a different CPU.[16]

By early April 2022 more complete units were sent to journalists.[17][14]

Launch

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On April 18, 2022 preordered consoles began shipping to customers.[18][19]

Technology

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The technology choices used by the Playdate are unconventional, and trades common features for unique functionality.

Compute

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The Playdate uses an ARM based STMicroelectronics 32-bit STM32 F746 processor clocked at 180 megahertz.[6][20]

The Playdate has 16 megabytes of RAM, among the lowest capacities of notable handhelds for the time.[6][20]

Initially the Playdate was set to use 2 gigabytes of flash based storage.[6][20] This capacity was updated to 4 gigabytes before launch.[12][11]

Hardware

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The Playdate has a 2.7" 400 by 240 pixel resolution[21] monochrome Sharp memory LCD for sunlight readability.[22][6][20] This display technology precludes color graphics, but allows for a display with a very low power consumption and superior display of monochrome graphics.[23] This display can not be read in the dark as there is no built in backlight or frontlight.[24] The button on the top of the console features a yellow notification LED.[13]

The Playdate has a USB type C port.[25] The USB port of the console can be used both to allow external inputs, and to stream the contents of the screen to an external computer.[26]

Other ports include a headphone jack, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.[25]

A crank was chosen as an alternative to the common touchscreen controls.[27] The crank is purely for use as a controller, and does not generate power for the console.[28] The console also features an accelerometer for in game control.[29]

The Playdate featured a model number of PDX-01.[30] Every Playdate console is also a dev kit.[20] The internal PCB color of the Playdate is black.[13]

The system is powered by a Cyber-Power lithium polymer battery, rated at 650mAh and outputting 3.7 volts.[13]

Accessories for the system can be mounted to the back magnetically, and supports charging through this mounting system.[13] A purple flip cover accessory was designed for the system during development.[31]

Playdate hardware was manufactured in Malaysia.[14] This created some contention, as Playdate consoles were not made available for sale to consumers in Malaysia.[32]

Software

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The Playdate game launcher UI supports animated game logos at a resolution of 350 pixels by 150 pixels.[33][34]

Playdate Pulp was designed as a web browser based graphical development environment for the system.[13]

Notable games

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b360

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A game made by Panic to aid in system testing during development.[35]

Crankin's Time Travel Adventure

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Katamary Damacy director Keita Takahashi would play an important role in the development of Crankin's Time Travel Adventure.

A humorous game made by a team which included Keita Takahashi as a designer.[6][36]

Playmaker

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Creative game made by Dustin Mierau.[37]

RNG Party

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2D top down platformer with accelerometer based controls.[29]

DOOM

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Unofficial port[38]

Klondike Solitaire

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Solitaire card game made using the Rust programming language.[39]

Other Games

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  • Zipper
  • Sasquatchers
  • Snak
  • Executive Golf DX
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Console

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  •  
    The Playdate with the crank stowed for portability.
  •  
    The Playdate with the crank deployed for use in games.
  •  
    The Playdate logo
  •  
    An alternate Playdate logo.

External Resources

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Wikipedia has related information at Playdate (console)

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Playdate

References

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Parts of this page are based on materials from:
 Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia.
  1. ↑ "Panic - Shockingly Good Software". panic.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. ↑ a b "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1131307536823406593" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1131307536823406593. 
  3. ↑ Guichet, Alex. "Playdate - A new handheld gaming system from Panic". The Missing Quests. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Bertoli, Ben (14 April 2022). "The 8-year process behind Playdate’s glorious crank". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/23013686/playdate-panic-crank-history. 
  5. ↑ a b "Panic Blog » Announcing the Playdate™ handheld video game system". Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f "Playdate's tiny hand-held with a crank is big on charm". Engadget. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  7. ↑ Guichet, Alex. "Playdate News Roundup: June 2019 - First Gameplay Footage, Processor Specs, and The Talk Show appearance". The Missing Quests. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1293636186779467777". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  9. ↑ Campbell, Ian Carlos (30 October 2020). "Playdate, the tiny handheld with a crank, is delayed to early 2021". The Verge. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  10. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1331646337046118402". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  11. ↑ a b "Playdate handheld nears release with price hike, new games, and a video update". SlashGear. 2021-06-04. https://www.slashgear.com/playdate-handheld-nears-release-with-price-hike-new-games-and-a-video-update-04676316/. 
  12. ↑ a b Peters, Jay (2021-06-04). "The tiny Playdate handheld gets a price bump but double the games" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/4/22466184/panic-playdate-handheld-price-double-season-one-games-update-preorder. 
  13. ↑ a b c d e f "✨ Playdate Update — 6/8/2021" (in en). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWGukDrc1U. 
  14. ↑ a b c Machkovech, Sam (11 April 2022). "Check out the portable, cranky Playdate before our review goes live next week" (in en-us). Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/check-out-the-portable-cranky-playdate-before-our-review-goes-live-next-week/. 
  15. ↑ Campbell, Ian Carlos (4 August 2021). "The Playdate’s first season of games won’t hit every handheld at the same time" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/4/22609923/playdate-handheld-crank-panic-game-season-one. 
  16. ↑ a b Machkovech, Sam (11 November 2021). "Playdate delays to 2022 amid scramble to revise entire handheld console" (in en-us). Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/11/playdate-delays-to-2022-amid-scramble-to-revise-the-entire-handheld-console/. 
  17. ↑ Stein, Scott. "Playdate Feels Like a Delightful, Bizarro Nintendo Game and Watch" (in en). CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/the-panic-playdate-feels-like-a-delightful-bizarro-nintendo-game-and-watch/. 
  18. ↑ Peters, Jay (18 April 2022). "Panic’s first Playdate handhelds begin shipping Monday" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/18/22955640/panic-playdate-handheld-ship-date-launch. 
  19. ↑ "Playdate Release Date: When is the handheld shipping?". GameRevolution. 19 April 2022. https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/705230-playdate-release-date-when-is-the-handheld-shipping. 
  20. ↑ a b c d e "Playdate Portable Gaming Console Cranks Up The Fun In New Gameplay Videos". TEKHARD.COM. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Torrone, Phillip (20 July 2020). "2.7″ SHARP memory display test". Adafruit Industries - Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!. https://blog.adafruit.com/2020/07/19/2-7-sharp-memory-display-test/. 
  22. ↑ Statt, Nick (12 August 2020). "Check out some wonderful Playdate game demos, including a low-fi Doom". The Verge. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  23. ↑ "Memory LCD". Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  24. ↑ Stein, Scott. "Panic Playdate Review: The Weirdest, Best Fidget Game Console Ever" (in en). CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/panic-playdate-review-the-weirdest-best-fidget-game-console-ever/. 
  25. ↑ a b Lanier, Liz (23 May 2019). "New Handheld Console Playdate Has a Crank and 12 Games". Variety. Retrieved 1 November 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing |author1= (help)
  26. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1374843394518786052". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "Playdate Media Kit". play.date. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  28. ↑ "The Playdate Is a Boutique Gaming Handheld With a Crank". Wired. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  29. ↑ a b "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1293636192022364160". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  30. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1131307614422233088/photo/1" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1131307614422233088/photo/1. 
  31. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595660705349632" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595660705349632. 
  32. ↑ Peters, Jay (26 April 2022). "Panic isn’t sure if people will like the Playdate’s seasonal model" (in en). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/26/23041825/panic-playdate-season-one-two-release-model. 
  33. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595664031408129" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595664031408129. 
  34. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595662085255170". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  35. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595664031408129" (in en). Twitter. https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1234595664031408129. 
  36. ↑ "Crankin's Time Travel Adventure". Crankin's Time Travel Adventure. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  37. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1385677503151235073". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  38. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1293636196917055488". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  39. ↑ "https://twitter.com/playdate/status/1293636191082827776". Twitter. Retrieved 8 June 2021. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)


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