Playdate is a unique gaming console which offers 1 game every week for $149

Ever dreamt about a retro-looking yet modern compact hand-held gaming console? If yes, then your dream has become true, thanks to Panic. Panic is a company which is known for creating software and apps for macOS and iOS. For the first time, the company has announced a compact hand-held retro style gaming console called the Playdate.

Most unique gaming console

Unlike Nintendos and Gameboys of the world, the Playdate looks and works completely different. This might not be a full-fledged gaming console, but, it is for sure a time killer. With respect to design and aesthetics, the Playdate looks similar to most of the compact retro consoles, but the Playdate definitely has a few more tricks up its sleeves.

The console has a 2.7-inch non-touch display with 400x240px resolution from Sharp. The display is not backlit, instead, it uses ambient light to showcase the content on the screen. Just like most of the console controls, it has a D-pad with A and B buttons.

As an on out of the box feature, it has a physical crank, and the crank plays a pivotal role in playing some of the exclusive games like Crankin's Time Travel Adventure.

1-week 1-game

Unlike most of the hand-held consoles, where one can buy games separately or all the games will be included in the package. However, on the Playdate, it works a bit different. The company will release a single game every week from the date of launch, and Crankin's Time Travel Adventure is the first game that will be available at the time of launch.

The Playdate has all the modern connectivity features like a USB type-C port for charging, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to connect the device to the internet. The OS on the console is a custom one, based on mac SDK.

Price and availability

The company will start the pre-order process by the end of 2019, and the consoles will start to ship from 2020. For $149, you will get the console with 12 games (one each week from the day of launch). As of now, there is no clear information on the availability of Playdate in India.