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Playdate pre-orders begin in July

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Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#121

Post by philistine »

fumar wrote: post #50

I am always impressed with the design of Teenage Engineering’s products but they have an air “pure consumerism”. I think this is that taken to its extreme. A toy that has a crank, retro screen, design-driven accessories, and the games are there but not promoted. Compare that to the gameboy which put its games front and center with the selling point of being handheld. Admittedly, I would get the Playdate to put on my…

I think you're having this reaction because of the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. [Nintendo's marketing for the Game Boy focused on the form and function of the device as much as its games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-ej_8XBwmI). Believe it or not at some point the Game Boy's looks were considered fashionable!

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#122

Post by humblepie »

flakiness wrote: post #113

The screenshot of the editor [1] has a small window showing the programming language. Wondering which it is. Ruby? [1] https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Pulp-1-1440x997.png

It looks lilke Ruby but it's actually PulpScript, and it looks like they made it for this.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#123

Post by tjakab »

flakiness wrote: post #113

The screenshot of the editor [1] has a small window showing the programming language. Wondering which it is. Ruby? [1] https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Pulp-1-1440x997.png

Most likely Lua. The developer page says the SDK supports Lua and C.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#124

Post by philistine »

hobofan wrote: post #117
egypturnash wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's art. It's for people who appreciate video games as art. Or maybe it's just a goofy little toy for grownups who remember growing up with a Gameboy by their side, and want a whimsical grown-up version that they can keep in their pocket. With a fidget spinner on the side that also acts as an input for some games.

Or if you are really really cynic: It's like one of those knock-off consoles that your tech-oblivious grandparents would get you, that comes preloaded with a bunch of no-name games of questionable quality, only with a bright coat of color and a cool marketing page!

Execution is everything. While Panic's initial idea is no different than a no-name console, with the reputation and pedigree of the people involved, I wouldn't be surprised Panic has a commercial and artistic success on its hands.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#125

Post by nickflood »

prpl wrote: post #31
alexbouchard wrote: post #20

The design and esthetics of this thing are on point. However, I agree with other comments that the games don't really speak to me, and I've found myself more interested in the pictures of the actual devices than any of the games. Regardless I hope this succeeds. Electronics need more original industrial design!

I feel the opposite -this speaks to me more than any other device I’ve seen, but I was obsessed with calculator games in high school, spending many hours on ticalc.org and IRC.

Me too, this speaks to me so much. The games all look wholesome, in line with the device itself. Judging by what I've seen, the processing power inside will be quite good and would not require optimisations unlike "retro" hardware, which would mean lots of third-party games made with relative ease.

This would be a good device to spend some time with away from social media and work.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#128

Post by elliekelly »

amelius wrote: post #119
Wheaties466 wrote: post #79

Who is this built for? Serious question. Yeah it looks cool but in a joke sense. It doesn't really look like it is going to do anything well. The accessories look even more like a joke. Obviously im not the target customer, but im trying to figure out who is?

> Who is this built for? I don't know, but it seems buying a standard console would get you more games and less e-waste.

I’m a bit shocked at the price! It’s the same price I recently paid for a switch lite. I don’t understand how it can be so expensive.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#129

Post by flanbiscuit »

fumar wrote: post #50

I am always impressed with the design of Teenage Engineering’s products but they have an air “pure consumerism”. I think this is that taken to its extreme. A toy that has a crank, retro screen, design-driven accessories, and the games are there but not promoted. Compare that to the gameboy which put its games front and center with the selling point of being handheld. Admittedly, I would get the Playdate to put on my…

My initial gut reaction to this product is that I must have it, but I know myself well enough that this would also just sit on a shelf somewhere looking cool but I would never touch it. The games look nice but I'm not a huge fan of it being black and white (just my personal taste). Plus I want to know that there will be a strong community making games, one that won't fizzle out too quick. it's great that Panic is releasing games for them but how long will that last? If they released a color version that ran Pico-8 there would be no question, I'd pre-order it immediately.

That being said, watching the video[1] on the site is making this look really enticing.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWGukDrc1U

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#130

Post by bullfightonmars »

flakiness wrote: post #113

The screenshot of the editor [1] has a small window showing the programming language. Wondering which it is. Ruby? [1] https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Pulp-1-1440x997.png

From what I have read Tthey are using lua and have an sdk library similar to love2d.org
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