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Playdate pre-orders begin in July

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Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#201

Post by Wowfunhappy »

flanbiscuit wrote: post #129
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 rel…

> I know myself well enough that this would also just sit on a shelf somewhere looking cool but I would never touch it.

I would normally have the same reaction, except for whole "two new games every week" setup. I actually love these sorts of little timed deliveries, and I think it will keep me engaged.

Also, re: black and white, from what I understand they're using one of those high-contrast memory LCD screens, similar to what's on the Pebble 2. Those look super nice, kind of halfway between e-ink and a standard LCD screen.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#202

Post by Ayesh »

Taking a moment to appreciate the landing page. I had no idea about this device before, but at the end of the landing page, I know what it is, who it is made for, the idea behind it, the cost, accessories, when they start shipping, etc. They even did it with nice aesthetics and a quirky look.

Nicely done!

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#203

Post by WillPostForFood »

y2bd wrote: post #115
yoz-y wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WDYM? The price is steep, but more overpriced hardware sells like hot cakes too.

For example, Analogue Pocket, the 200 USD Game Boy hardware emulator that sold out in minutes: https://www.analogue.co/pocket

Out of the box, Pocket is compatible with the 2,780+ Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance game cartridge library. Pocket works with cartridge adapters for other handheld systems, too. Like Game Gear. Neo Geo Pocket Color. Atari Lynx & more. Completely engineered in two FPGAs.*

More clear cut value proposition though, you know what you are getting. With Playdate you are taking a bigger risk on the games, and getting much less power.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#204

Post by Meekro »

jrockway wrote: post #179
arduinomancer wrote: post #51

I don't get why everyone here is comparing this to gameboy emulators. There's a million ways to emulate gameboy at this point. There are emulators that run on pretty much every single platform. You can get a $40 handheld on Amazon that can do it. To me the selling point of this system is that you can play _new_ games that are in a cool retro 1-bit art style. That itself is a unique thing

If you want to write a 1 bit retro game at this point, hardware is not what's holding you back. There are thousands of hobbyist 6502 kits you can buy, not to mention retro computers that people keep in like-new condition and put on eBay. (There are lots of people still writing new C64 and Apple II games.) Or you could use an Arduino and LCD. Or, you can just only use one color in a tag. I think what people want is a…

I agree with your point about Nintendo, I always thought they should release their own Steam clone that requires a $100 per year subscription before you can even buy the games. That would replace the hardware revenue and free them from the burden of making hardware. I'm guessing the reason they don't is that they're a Japanese company primarily focused on a Japanese audience who don't necessarily own gaming PCs.

But regarding the Playdate, I think your take is too uncharitable. Here's a better way to frame it: Steam is great, but it's hard for indie developers to get noticed. What if we could split off a group of customers (who want retro indie games) into their own curated mini-Steam? Developers will surely come and make games, spurred by the confidence that they can get their stuff noticed. And then more customers will come, enticed by the curated ecosystem that makes it easy to get high-quality retro indie games.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#205

Post by philtar »

an_opabinia wrote: post #70
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…

> Teenage Engineering’s products but they have an air “pure consumerism”. I got bad news for you buddy, video games don't have a functional purpose any greater than beautiful design. You're sort of barking up the wrong tree if you wanna take a dump on something. But I think this was said in good faith, and you should just consider that Teenage Engineering's Pocket Operators have a totally different, literally unpolis…

> literally unpolished aesthetic

They are seemingly, or apparently unpolished. Not literally. You can bet that they spent a huge amount of time making sure it looks unpolished but still good.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#207

Post by yoz-y »

WillPostForFood wrote: post #203
y2bd wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, Analogue Pocket, the 200 USD Game Boy hardware emulator that sold out in minutes: https://www.analogue.co/pocket

Out of the box, Pocket is compatible with the 2,780+ Game Boy, Game Boy Color & Game Boy Advance game cartridge library. Pocket works with cartridge adapters for other handheld systems, too. Like Game Gear. Neo Geo Pocket Color. Atari Lynx & more. Completely engineered in two FPGAs.* More clear cut value proposition though, you know what you are getting. With Playdate you are taking a bigger risk on the games, and ge…

The value of playdate is that it’s not yet another emulator/mini-console. I find it more comparable to pico8

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#208

Post by miguelmurca »

earthboundkid wrote: post #34
miguelmurca wrote: post #14

Playdate seems to me like a masterclass in marketing. The device is nothing extraordinary (imo), but it's presented and marketed in a way that makes it interesting.

> The device is nothing extraordinary (imo) This is it: the peak Hacker News comment. A gizmo with a handcrank and a black and white screen is nothing out of the ordinary in 2021. I bet you could even make it yourself in a weekend if you just use a Raspberry Pi and an e-ink screen!

That's pretty funny, I never thought I'd be accused of peak HN :D

I meant it the way asveikau replied.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#209

Post by rtkwe »

IggleSniggle wrote: post #131
flanbiscuit wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

PICO-8 compatibility would be a killer feature even without color support.

You'd be pretty limited, games would have to be specifically built for the 1-bit aesthetic. Can't just slap a filter over them it'd be way too noisy.

Re: Playdate pre-orders begin in July

#210

Post by rtkwe »

vlunkr wrote: post #30
jonny_eh wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You want the Analog Pocket: https://www.analogue.co/pocket , but its preorders instantly sold out, and its first shipment has been delayed until end of year. Or one of the cheaper Chinese devices like the Retroid Pocket or RG531p

As far as I know, everything they make sells out instantly, you'd think they could start doing bigger production runs. I realize scarcity can drive up demand, but everything in their store being out of stock is little much.

Large continuous runs is a completely different kind of production and if they're doing batch runs large enough to have continuous stock they need a lot more initial investment and take on more risk if they flub their market predictions.
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