![]() You can obviously delete and then re-download titles if you run out of space, but the first 'season' of games (more on that in a bit) will fit comfortably within the Playdate's internal storage, with space to spare.Īs for the battery, well, this is the component that triggered the system's delay to this year. ![]() ![]() To be honest, the games are so small in size that it's not likely to be a massive concern the largest title is Echoic Memory at 158.7MB, while the smallest is Omaze, which is just 59.4KB in size. There's 4GB of internal memory for games, and sadly no means of adding to that total, as the device lacks any kind of expandable storage. There's a tangible sense of joy when you see the effect the crank has in the various games you play. You could argue that the disc on the Intellivision controller is a close match – or one of the many paddle controllers that have been released over the decades – but the 'feel' of using the Playdate's crank is very, very different to what has gone before. It offers analogue control, but in a way that hasn't really been seen in the realm of games before (save for, perhaps, fishing rod controllers, like the one released for the Sega Dreamcast). This docks into a little opening when not in use, and is one of the more unique aspects of the Playdate hardware. It's also very comfortable to use, even for long periods of time.Īlongside the clicky and responsive D-Pad and rounded action buttons, your main interface is the crank on the right-hand side of the device. The casing is fashioned from high-quality plastic which doesn't flex or creak under pressure while it would have been nice to see a metal casing, the Playdate doesn't feel cheap. With measurements of 76 × 74 × 9 mm and a weight of just 89 grams, this is one seriously portable device – it's smaller than your smartphone and will slip effortlessly into any pocket. When compared to the aforementioned 1989 Game Boy, the Playdate is positively dinky. Image: Time Extension / Damien McFerran Playdate Review: The Hardware Playdate Review: Complete Season One Software Lineup.However, beyond that, the Playdate has plenty of unique ideas – and while it may seem gimmicky initially, it's actually a very exciting piece of hardware. It also has that familiar D-Pad and two-button control setup. It too has an unlit black and white display – albeit one which is many leagues ahead of that seen in the Game Boy (ironically, Sharp is the manufacturer of the screens in both systems, despite them being separated by more than three decades). Panic's $179 Playdate is perhaps the ultimate 'hipster' handheld, and it takes a fair amount of inspiration from Nintendo's iconic system. Despite the reservations many had – even back in 1989 – it became a phenomenon, and arguably represents one of the most significant developments in the realm of handheld gaming.įast forward to 2022, and there's another monochrome portable on the market. Sure, Nintendo's commercial pedigree was pretty clear – it had conquered Japan and North America with its Famicom / NES console and made a success of its Game & Watch handheld range – but it was essentially walking into entirely new territory with the DMG-01, a true portable gaming system that used interchangeable cartridges but was saddled with a monochrome, unlit screen. Few could have seriously predicted the impact the original Game Boy would have when it was released way back in 1989.
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