PlayDate Pre-orders Announced!

Game Publisher ‘Panic’ (of ‘Untitled Goose Game’ fame) has finally revealed Pre-order dates for their new pocket-sized gaming console ‘PlayDate’. Pre-orders will go LIVE Thursday 29th July at 10AM PT.

If you’re unfamiliar with the PlayDate, it’s essentially a new tiny handheld game console not too dissimilar from the Gameboy in appearance. The console boasts an extremely high-resolution Black-and-White display, Wifi, Bluetooth, Reflective screen, a USB-C port, and most interestingly… a crank!

Yes, a crank. The crank acts as a fold-out analog stick that you can use to control the games and it also allows for unique gameplay opportunities. Panic has stated that not every game will utilise the crank, but those that do will utilise it in very interesting ways.

The PlayDate is being sold at $179 (roughly £130) which includes the console itself but also a full season’s worth of games. Rather than buying separate software or paying for games on an online store, the PlayDate will automatically update every week with brand new games to play! The 1st season is 12 weeks long with 24 games in total! It’s like Christmas every week!

All the games are uniquely developed exclusively for the PlayDate, and not only that but PlayDate can also be used to create your own games through a free developer site and software.

Additionally Panic is also selling a Stereo Dock accessory for the PlayDate which acts as a charger, speaker, and even pen holder (with free pen). It may look like a glorified shower radio, but this literal pocket-sized console is definitely one of the most interesting game products to be coming out this year!

It will be a virtual queue process for pre-orders so it’ll be a first come first serve basis for obtaining one. We were honestly apprehensive to post this in order to give ourselves a better chance of swiping one up ourselves before they’re all gone!

If you’re unable to get a pre-order this time around, fear not, for Panic has affirmed that they will continue to distribute more PlayDate consoles as soon as more are produced. But if you want to get your hands on one as soon as possible, we recommend circling July 29th in your diaries!

So what do you think of the PlayDate? Will you be getting one yourself? Let us know in the comments below!