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App Developer Panic Announces New $149 'Playdate' Game System Coming in 2020
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Wait... you are telling me the Ouya was still alive in some way until now?? The mind boggles.https://www.engadget.com/2019/05/22/ouya-kickstarter-console-shut-down-june-25-razer/?
In other recent indie game news...
I'd guess at least half of the price is due to the "service" of free, exclusively developed games. The hardware alone certainly does not justify that kind of money.Black and white? Really?
Maybe for $30-40 but at $150, they’ve definitely crossed over into you-gotta-be-kidding-me territory.
They can’t compete anymore when there’s free software that’s better than the software they charge for. Coda IDE is subpar to other free alternatives out there, they can’t keep up. Also I remember buying Transmit, and 4 months later they released the new one and I had to either pay for the upgrade or just continue using my version which stopped working after a OS X release shortly after, I was disappointed to say the least. Found a free alternative.
at the end of the day it’s a toy. And every toy has a chance if it’s fun. If this was some Japanese import that someone brought home from akibara no one would give it a hard time. I think it’s cos it’s an American company “making” something it feels alien. But American companies used to do this all the time.
Ultimately it’s a controller with a cheap console attached to it. The winding action is what is going to make it fun or not. I’m not aware of any controller that can do that action. Maybe when you use it that makes it fun or therapeutic.
I also get using a particular aesthetic for games to make it unique. It’s not going to compete with Nintendo’s and normal console / phone games because it will look nothing like them.
If it’s easy to program and design for a lot of indie devs will say “why not?” This could be fun and quick to do.
Obviously something like this is easy to copy if it becomes successful and then panic are finished. Which is why I don’t think they want it to become super successful at all. Just small runs and limited supplies. Even a patent for that winding thing won’t save them if the market likes this. Keeping under the radar is what it’s about.
Maybe I’m against the grain but I loved the 80s where everyone had a chance with making stuff. I hate how we have got to a stage where everything is expected to be monolithic. 1 or 2 platforms and that’s it. It’s sad. Windows has a lot to answer for...
Ultimately it’s a controller with a cheap console attached to it. The winding action is what is going to make it fun or not. I’m not aware of any controller that can do that action. Maybe when you use it that makes it fun or therapeutic.
I also get using a particular aesthetic for games to make it unique. It’s not going to compete with Nintendo’s and normal console / phone games because it will look nothing like them.
If it’s easy to program and design for a lot of indie devs will say “why not?” This could be fun and quick to do.
Obviously something like this is easy to copy if it becomes successful and then panic are finished. Which is why I don’t think they want it to become super successful at all. Just small runs and limited supplies. Even a patent for that winding thing won’t save them if the market likes this. Keeping under the radar is what it’s about.
Maybe I’m against the grain but I loved the 80s where everyone had a chance with making stuff. I hate how we have got to a stage where everything is expected to be monolithic. 1 or 2 platforms and that’s it. It’s sad. Windows has a lot to answer for...
Yeah, the first 12 are bundled. But customers are used to paying for games; it seems like they might be better off at $69-89 for the device with maybe three to five good games, and then a sub, maybe $59-79 every six to nine months.
But I suppose they’ve done their market research, they should know what’s going to work best.
And the brown Zune...
In all seriousness - assuming this is not an episode of Silicon Valley - this seems to be a great way to turn VC capital into plastic landfill.
Stuff like this sucks capital and puts companies out of business - I really hope Panic does well / survives as they do great utilities and it would be a pity for all that to go the way of status board
Yes and this quote:
Anyone who has seen Goodfellas (great film) will agree this isn't the best comparison.
Sorry B&W screen just don't cut it in 2019, that's just one thing. I admit there are appealing elements to it like the custom OS, a crank but that won't be enough.
I suspect that you have phrased it this way expecting a certain response so I will oblige; my ass
I like the aesthetic, I am sure this will find a market in the retro gaming scene. I like the model of weekly added games. Not sure if Ill get one.
From their own website:
"Stock will be very limited. Sign up early."
We don't know what (how many) that means.
Doesn't sound though, as if they're even planning to sell tons of them.
To say this is even a niche product would be pushing it. This has no chance whatsoever to succeed.
I know he said it doesn’t charge it, but a clever design would be for the controller to provide some additional charge assistance—even if only a moderate amount. Would be a clever idea for people to squeeze some extra juice from a single charge, and be a bit more green. A double-bonus would be if it worked when powered off. I can picture a couple driving along in a car, with wife as passenger winding a powered-off Playdate in habitual stress-relieving manner on her lap.
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I immagine the ammount of charge spinning that thing would be negligible, and the chances of breaking it exponential.
Yea, I have a radio (yes a real old-type well sort of) that has as solar panel and a handcrank to charge the battery. Left outside all day the panel works ok, the crank is awful. Lots of grinding for 5-10 minutes of power.
Hard pass, lol.
What a weird thing. Why does Panic think it can make hardware now? And hardware that’s not even that good? They’ve lost focus more than Apple. This reminds me of the Game.com. Anyone remember that handheld from like 1999? Yeah that’s what I thought.