Handcrank Playdate Console Hits Reviewers

Handcrank Playdate Console Hits Reviewers

Last Updated on April 11, 2022

Remember the handcrank-boasting Playdate console with retro design sensibilities and a monochome LCD display? It’s almost here.

Like many systems over the past three or four years, the Playdate console was postponed due to supply chain issues/COVID/Brexit/Ever Given etc. But now, the consoles are heading into the wild, their first stop being with reviewers and early adopters. Game critic Janet Garcia tweeted a cool comparison video:

There is also much to be said for the portability of the Playdate console.

Squeezed into the literally pocket-sized Playdate is a 180MHz Cortex M7 CPU, 16MB of RAM, 32KB L1 Cache, and 4GB of Flash. It has a USB-C port, 802.11bgn 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 400×240 monochrome display. Audio is through a built-in mono speaker or TRRS headphone jack/mic-in port, and games are controlled using a D-Pad, A and B buttons, and the infamous 3-axis accelerometer crank.

The Playdate console also has a 14 day standby battery with 8 hours of active play.

@PocketTactics snapped the Playdate alongside other handheld consoles.

Meanwhile, @KahliefAdams took some very nice snaps of the Playdate ahead of a review next week.

Sadly we were unable to get hold of a Playdate for review. But if you have one ordered, we hope you enjoy it!

Weekly newsletterGet the latest retro gaming news in your inbox