Today, after more than four years of work by a small and talented team within Panic, we are extremely excited to introduce Playdate, a brand new handheld gaming system, arriving in early 2020.
As much as it pains my early high school-aged self, I’m not much of a video game person. Other than two or three triple-A titles per year 1, I mostly stick to driving games these days, along with the occasional indie darling.
One of my favorite indie games is 2016’s Firewatch, developed by Panic and Campo Santo. After more than twenty years of software development and a few years of game development, Panic enters the hardware arena with the Playdate.
The hardware for the Playdate is some of the most unique design I’ve ever seen. I mean, a hand crank? Entering the bespoke gaming hardware market is a bold move, but if anyone can do it, it’s Panic
Panic already has a few stalwart indie developers signed up for their 12-week game release schedule, including the great Zach Gage.
THe Playdate starts at $150, and at that price, I am going to make a concerted effort to pick one up as soon as when it releases in 2020.
- 2018 was Spider-Man and Red Dead Redemption 2, and 2017 was Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. ↩
Michael Miller 