CNET
Panic Playdate Review: Cranky Retro Handheld Gaming Magic
This little black-and-white handheld with its own season of indie games redefines the whole feeling of handheld gaming: it’s inexplicable, fidgety, and full of surprises. You can find the Panic Playdate here 👇: *CNET may receive commission for this offer. Subscribe to CNET: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: Follow us on Instagram:…
shoryukenpower
April 18, 2022 at 5:18 pm
$30 for this would have been fine.. maybe.
Playdate Central
April 18, 2022 at 5:20 pm
🙌
Andy Lin
April 18, 2022 at 5:38 pm
this is so kul~
Ol’banana chips
April 18, 2022 at 5:42 pm
looks terrible
GreenAppelPie
April 18, 2022 at 6:00 pm
Great idea, but no, I’m not into anything with a subscription.
Dick Dawson
April 18, 2022 at 6:22 pm
Couldn’t agree more. Not a chance.
Matthew Ferrara
April 18, 2022 at 7:01 pm
You don’t really subscribe… – the games already come free with the device and are delivered weekly like a TV show premiering episodes.
Mark Chu
April 18, 2022 at 7:53 pm
It’s not a subscription? You get all 24 games included in the price of the device, they just deliver it to you on a set schedule based on when you first turn it on.
YHY ALI
April 18, 2022 at 6:13 pm
How about enabling the color filter (grayscale )on iphone
Igor Marcos
April 18, 2022 at 6:13 pm
Looks good. Too expensive.
Sebastian Marshall
April 18, 2022 at 6:56 pm
Perfect magic gift? For near $200? For 50 bucks, I’d still buy a Miyoo over this.
Mark Chu
April 18, 2022 at 7:52 pm
Yes, any game the Miyoo can play, you will likely not be able to play on this. At the same time though, any game the Playdate can play you will not be able to play on the Miyoo. As much as they may look and function in a similar way, the important thing here is that they are not actually competing products.
Sebastian Marshall
April 18, 2022 at 8:18 pm
@Mark Chu They are competing for my time and money. And they are also filling the exact same role.
Sebastian Marshall
April 18, 2022 at 8:22 pm
@Mark Chu and with that philosophy, the Nintendo DS and PSP were also not competitors.
Matthew Ferrara
April 18, 2022 at 6:59 pm
You don’t need to “justify” why art should exist.
This isn’t really meant to be a “bang for the buck” device. It’s for people who sincerely love crazy, out of the box game ideas and want to try something new while keeping it simple.
Joe Tillman
April 18, 2022 at 8:53 pm
AMEN!
Emd=mc^2
April 18, 2022 at 9:10 pm
Humans need to justify everything. Otherwise, they’re existence has been just a waste of resources.
Peter B
April 18, 2022 at 6:59 pm
It’s the price for me. That’s the only thing holding me back.
Sloppy Toons
April 18, 2022 at 11:35 pm
It’s not just that, it’s the fact that I honestly wouldn’t carry it around. Bringing my phone is more than enough. Back in the day I carried my Rio Diamond MP3 player, Nokia 6110 and GBA, and a Sony Cybershot. And when my phones started to remove the need of these things separately, didn’t need to carry a bag with me all the time anymore.
I can get quirky games on my mobile too. Don’t see the appeal of carrying more crap again.
Santhana Bharathi
April 18, 2022 at 7:22 pm
i hope it had an crown similar to the wrist watch as an alternative.
Fletcher Guevy
April 18, 2022 at 7:35 pm
be careful with the sock though 😂
Stephen Dela Cruz
April 18, 2022 at 7:48 pm
Cool! 💎✨👍
Vamatt99218
April 18, 2022 at 7:51 pm
Its too small for my bad eyes and the price is too high.
Jeff Wulf
April 18, 2022 at 8:11 pm
99? SURE! This .. uh.. well.. no.
stormking989
April 18, 2022 at 8:59 pm
You had me until, I heard the price tag on this one. I prefer the Analogue Pocket which can play the original Gameboy, Gameboy Advance games and adds Game Gear, Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket with extra adapters. So you can play old classic Game Gear, Lynx, Neo Geo games too on this portable console.
James Collinge
April 18, 2022 at 10:51 pm
Unless you’ve already a sizeable collection the analogue pocket is going to end up being more expensive
Obsessive Compulsive Gamer
April 18, 2022 at 10:55 pm
Kind of ironic he mentions price and then proceeds to talk about a device that once done buying those adapters will cost 300+ thats not including games which you will have to purchase
Nothing against the AP but I think you made your mind up before you heard the price tag.
Matt Sephton
April 18, 2022 at 9:06 pm
Super great review and summary. Thank you!
Emd=mc^2
April 18, 2022 at 9:08 pm
$180… Seriously, people need to grow up.
Voan Siam
April 18, 2022 at 11:45 pm
But the fact that you are getting 24 free games with it makes it kinda worth the price.
Brad Arnold
April 18, 2022 at 9:58 pm
Price isn’t the issue for me. I’d drop $180 on it right now if it would get here before the heat death of the universe. But pre-orders are so backed up I just don’t have the patience. I think it looks beautiful and quirky and somehow both nostalgic and new at the same time. If someone else doesn’t get the point, I totally get that too. It’s certainly a niche product. But dismissing it out of hand just because its not your thing seems like lazy thinking.
Pee M Modi drinks stale urine
April 19, 2022 at 1:46 am
I like u get it because u get it and hopefully they will get it n if they get it, u get it, I get it, everyone gets it n just because u get it everyone gets it including me I also get it
CrucialConflict
April 19, 2022 at 10:57 am
The NO BACKLIGHT killed it!
Pee M Modi drinks stale urine
April 19, 2022 at 11:27 am
@CrucialConflict there’s no backlight and if there’s no backlight there’s no backlight if there’s no backlight we can’t see the backlight and we can’t see the backlight because there’s no backlight and all u wanted was a backlight and if u wanted a backlight everyone wants a backlight including me I also wanted a backlight, do u think maybe they can give us a backlight
Alexander Mzhavia
April 18, 2022 at 10:11 pm
Looks good.
TheCoolDave
April 18, 2022 at 10:26 pm
Cool device, just too much in my eyes… I could see around $100, I think I would jump at it. I might be something I love and use all the time, or it will be something I play with for like 1/2 hour when new games come out. First few weeks I will be addicted to it but, after that I am worried about and that is why I think $180 is too much for it.
Neat device, no question been watching it from announcement..
Obsessive Compulsive Gamer
April 18, 2022 at 10:56 pm
When you factor in 24 games it is around 100 bucks considering the games be about 2-3 dollars a piece.
Nathan Juan
April 19, 2022 at 12:00 am
@Obsessive Compulsive Gamer But if you have a smartphone you can get more free games than this one there are a lot of cheaper phones than this one that does include a charger in the box. But if you want to start developing games then this could be a good start just not for majority of people. Also if your gonna make games in this one you still need a computer for it same as making indie games for other platforms like PC, Ps Vita, Switch, and Smartphones so I don’t really see the appeal in it. The fact that it was black and white as well is a big deal already.
Obsessive Compulsive Gamer
April 19, 2022 at 12:10 am
@Nathan Juan I don’t play smart phone games mainly because of micro transactions. To me those are developed around the game being a cash grab and not passion. If you like that sort of thing than yes smart phones have the playdate in spades.
I have a switch oled and play it constantly but there is no open sdk so creating games for Switch is not an option.
To me the appeal of this is that for 180 you get a unique handheld that will have a massive amount of games either for free or for a small price all while incorporating the crank into it’s gameplay in fun and kwirky ways.
I figure that if I and many others support it now who knows maybe in the future we get a backlit or a color unit in the future.
Nathan Juan
April 19, 2022 at 3:03 am
@Obsessive Compulsive Gamer Well it depends on a person if you want to pay micro transactions or not. I have played tons of games in app stores for free and never payed any micro transactions. Also depends on games as well some games are pay to win some games are not the only micro transactions in some games was just skins and nothing to do with a pay to win. Also if your gonna develop games in playdate you will not profit from it compared to developing games in an app store, PC or even console. Just look at flappy birds the person who develop it was just one person and it was a hit and probably profit a ton. They should make it colored in the first place to justify the high price tho.
Obsessive Compulsive Gamer
April 19, 2022 at 6:41 am
@Nathan Juan Not entirely true. If they sell 60-70k units which I can easily see them doing and say you sell a game for 10-15 dollars and you get at least half of the base to buy your game that’s around 500k.
Take Bloom for example. It’s 9.99 and basically the only purchasable game that can be sideloaded at the moment. They will most likely sell to 80% of the user base from the get go. I’d much rather sell a game via playdate then on Switch or Steam at the moment since those avenues are already jammed with thousands of games.
Oliver Polden
April 18, 2022 at 10:36 pm
Yeah £70 tops really for me. I think you should have to complete a game before you get the next one, or you have to skip a game but then it’s gone until there are no more games. Almost like gamification of games!
A I
April 18, 2022 at 11:03 pm
California games….blast from the past.
Nathan Juan
April 19, 2022 at 12:01 am
If you have a smartphone you can get more free games than this one there are a lot of cheaper phones than this one that does include a charger in the box. But if you want to start developing games then this could be a good start just not for majority of people. Also if your gonna make games in this one you still need a computer for it same as making indie games for other platforms like PC, Ps Vita, Switch, and Smartphones so I don’t really see the appeal in it. The fact that it was black and white as well is a big deal already.
Klaus Sperger
April 19, 2022 at 12:58 am
Excellent but too expensive. Reminds me of arduiboy fx
Pee M Modi drinks stale urine
April 19, 2022 at 1:48 am
A lot of ulus makes these lulus expand in a very lulu way and once that ulu goes lulu there’s no coming bk from that lulu, that lulu is dark long thick headed lulu
Gta 500
April 19, 2022 at 2:18 am
Yeah you forgot the ’90s and the 2000s
chris White
April 19, 2022 at 3:03 am
Honestly way overpriced- After the video, I was waiting to hear you say- something like a low price of $59.99. It’s not innovative- or comparable to other hand head systems…Most importantly not comparable to the games we have on our phones. It’s black and white- and very limited in games. Plus did you say subscription? Don’t we have enough subscriptions? Pass on this and save my $180+subcription fees
ً ً
April 19, 2022 at 5:13 am
For the price of that, you get lifetime subscription of free game every week, it has limitation because they are trying to bring back the old game console with alot of imitation
Dracquiteur .
April 19, 2022 at 10:43 am
There’s no subscription. It comes with 24 games, which you don’t receive all at once. No idea why the reviewer called it a subscription.
Arthur DM
April 19, 2022 at 3:37 am
I have been following the story of this thing and I knew it was doomed since the beginning, a crank? Super expensive and subscription?? I just got a Nintendo switch. Done
Sudstah
April 19, 2022 at 4:07 pm
How’s it doomed, apples and oranges, when I want an apple I buy an apple when I want an orange I buy an orange, I don’t buy an apple wanting it to taste like an orange
esurfer26
April 19, 2022 at 4:28 am
Businessmen’re trying to make money with monochrome screen.
Teddy Nielsen
April 19, 2022 at 6:44 am
Nice, but a little overpriced for what you’re getting. At $100, I would be more likely to give it a go depending on how ingenious and entertaining the games that come out in the coming months are.
Johnny Renkiewicz
April 19, 2022 at 7:10 am
Man… I want it.
mercster
April 19, 2022 at 8:01 am
Gameboy for hipsters.
matirishhh
April 19, 2022 at 8:30 am
I think that your reviews resonate with me the most. I don’t know if this is a similiar age or maybe the thing that “great minds think alike” but your reviews are just spot-on. Thank you for another one. P.S. I would love to play a new version of Tempest on this.
Blushing Ralsei UwU
April 19, 2022 at 10:14 am
Bruh, there are a lot of pocket arcade that is waaay cheaper and better than that
Panthera TigrisX2
April 19, 2022 at 11:40 am
I would rather just buy the cheapest samsung phone under 100 dollars and use it as a light gamjng device.
Mendell Alvarado
April 19, 2022 at 2:06 pm
I loved California Games! Great video 👍
Naiv
April 19, 2022 at 2:40 pm
overpriced, niech, retro, but just who really thinks this will last, ppl asked for this apparently, fine u buy it and pay alot for ya weird thing no one will be using or talking about in a year
MR.
April 19, 2022 at 2:40 pm
Looks fun
Ten Minute Tokyo 2
April 19, 2022 at 9:21 pm
Chinese copy in 3,2,1……………..
protocetid
April 20, 2022 at 1:00 am
it’s mostly a gimmick