Panic, the Producers of Firewatch, are building a new handheld system called Playdate
A new handheld system is in the works, and it is not from the typical big-name companies that we are used to hearing about. Panic Inc, a Portland-based software developer and publisher behind games such as Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game, is entering the hardware space for the first time with the Playdate.
The Playdate looks similar to the original Gameboy, but with a twist. On the right side, Panic has placed a crank. This crank was developed by Teenage Engineering who is considered to be partners on the Playdate project. Some games on the system will use the hardware feature, but we don't know if all of the system's games will utilize the crank. Panic has shown some of what the crank will do in-game on the Playdate Twitter account.
This funky looking handheld platform has been in development for four years and will feature what Panic is calling a "Season" of all new games. Twelve exclusive games will be drip fed to gamers and appear directly on the Playdate system. Panic has not explained how the system will receive these games yet. However, the company has confirmed a few titles, including, Crankin's Time Travel Adventure.
Playdate is already in production with the system launching in 2020. At a $149 pricing model, it is not exactly a cheap console, but it's not too expensive. It might be a good idea to wait and see what kind of games the Playdate has to offer.
New video game hardware is not cheap to produce, so we can hope that Panic Inc will offer gamers something worthwhile. At the $149 price point, we are looking at about $12 per game on the Playdate which is a pretty good deal on paper, but we will have to wait and see if the games are worth the investment.
For more information, visit Play.date or follow @Playdate on Twitter.
What do you think of the Playdate handheld system? Let us know in the comment section.