they says "SDK" and then say "web based". So will I be able to run native code on this thing or no?
Playdate pre-orders begin in July
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Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#142The 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
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Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
You're not wrong, but neither of those devices come with any games (unless you buy a flashcart, which is piracy). The Playdate cost includes 20 games by (relatively) well known indie game developers.
Piracy is competition.
Not really. I've got like 5 or 6 ways I can play Game Boy games now, I don't need another device for it. There's no other way I can play these games, so it's a new experience for me.
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
You've got to be kidding me It will be a success for them selling overpriced hardware during the presale and thats it even the kids obsessed with the 90s because they were too young to remember it or too young to be born yet wont even use their chance to actually buy a “retro” product that is reminiscent of the 80s and 90s DOA DNR
I think this correct. This may be a profitable venture but it won’t move the needle in the games market. It will be a blip, an afterthought.
TO makes fantastic and artsy hardware. But it’s a couple dozen artsy indie games. The competition is free, AAA quality, available on all platforms and what everyone’s friends are playing.
By industry measures, it will not be a “commercial success”.
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#145Oh, cool. Something else I can put in the no longer supported pile with my PocketCHIP.
I got one of those. Unfortunately the controls felt bad and the novelty of my Pico-8 game on there wore out quickly because of the junk feel of the buttons. This I can see being in to for longer.
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#146I 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 rel…
Not quite PICO-8 but you can try https://arcade.makecode.com/ (esp. the TypeScript not blocks) - you can run these games on in-expensive (~$30) hardware [0]
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#147As for the battery life, I would have expected this to run for days, literally, but they say only 8h active. It can only power its real-time clock for 14 days. What did they do wrong? Does it scans for networks every 5 minutes?
Besides that, could be a good 5-15 minutes killer while avoiding the smartphone vortex
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#148I've gone through the page a bunch of times now, read through the hn comments here and the arstechnica article linked in the top comment. But I'm still having a hard time appreciating this as art or even something non-gimicky and even slightly scammy.
For $179 + shipping you're buying a small underpowered device with a black and white screen, a handcrank analog controller and 24 games. For an extra $29 you can buy a snazzy case and coming soon a stereo mount that's going to be impractical to use while playing so I'm guessing will be for playing music.
The system's closed and going to be reliant on either their SDK or soon to be coming editor. From the sounds of it, there will be ongoing subscription payments for new games.
They're releasing the system without the SDK or editor. On their developer page they have a bunch of vague 'coming soon' promises with no actual timelines or anything. They have no actual plans for any kind of centralized distribution for games.
Overall, it seems like there's a lot of work or even planning that should have been done before starting pre-orders. At this point you're purchasing less than half the advertised features with no real plans as to when they'll be forthcoming.
Just because a well known name is behind a project doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a good product or a great idea. Plenty of great people have made lackluster things. Especially in the video game world. A lot of this seems to be more hype because of the people behind the project than the project itself.
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#149Previous related threads:
Playdate October 2020 Update - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24945598 - Oct 2020 (2 comments)
Playdate – December 2019 Update - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22016483 - Jan 2020 (20 comments)
Playdate – A New Handheld Gaming System - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19986106 - May 2019 (402 comments)
Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July
#150Does this thing have long-term legs or will it wind up sitting on shelves in six months? And what about developers - if the current plan is to give away the games, what financial incentive is there to develop for it, except as a resume piece?