After just over two years of development, Playdate is now ready for launch. And expectations are high for the bright yellow game console with crank.
The yellow game console undeniably brings to mind both the Pokémon character Pikachu and Nintendo’s classic Game & Watch – but in fact it is designed by the Swedish 33-list company Teenage Engineering. Playdate was developed by the American company Panic and will be launched to the public at the end of July, two years after it was first presented.
Panic is actually a software company, and Playdate is the first hardware gadget that the company launches. For the first three months, game console owners will have access to two new games per week, ranging from chess to golf.
Long battery life despite active gaming
Outwardly, it is the crank on the side that stands out, both literally and figuratively. But no, it is not used to generate electrical energy but simply to play with. Panic promises that the battery lasts for two weeks with up to eight hours of gaming per day. The key to long battery life is the black and white LCD screen, which is extremely energy efficient.
In other respects, the game console supports both wifi and Bluetooth, and in addition it can be docked in a holder that both charges the device and acts as an external speaker. Whether this will be enough for success, however, remains to be seen. The price is 179 US dollars and the sale starts on July 29.
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