Playdate handheld console has black and white screen and rotary handle

The publisher of Firewatch comes with its own handheld console. The device is called Playdate and has a 2.7″ screen that only displays black and white. On the side is a rotary handle for operation in ‘experimental’ games.

When the Playdate comes out in early 2020 for $149, buyers will receive a ‘season’ of games. It concerns twelve games, of which one is released per week. It should be a surprise to players which games they get, says the developer on its website. The games will not be announced in advance. In any case, it concerns new games that have been developed for the Playdate. Keita Takahashi, among others, makes one of the games. That Japanese developer is known for Katamari.

The device has dimensions of 74x76x9mm and a 2.7″ screen with a resolution of 400×240 pixels. The screen has no backlight, so incident light is needed to read the screen. On the side is a rotary handle, which uses will be in some of the games. At least one game that will use the lever as the only control option is Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, images of which are on the Playdate website. Furthermore, the Playdate has wifi, bluetooth, a usb -c and headphone jack.

The Playdate is a handheld console from Panic. That is a software developer that has also focused on publishing games. Panic is, among other things, the maker of macOS and iOS application Coda and the publisher of the game Firewatch.