Christa at Panic has published a comprehensive story of the Playdate handheld gaming device.
Ten years ago, the CEO and Head of Design at Teenage Engineering, Jesper Kouthoofd, got an email:
Hi Jesper,
We’re a small software company that makes Mac/iOS apps. For our 15th anniversary, I’ve been tinkering with an idea: find our 150 best customers, manufacture something incredibly special, and send it to them.
Here’s how an offhand idea to mark the fifteenth anniversary of a software company launched a decade-long saga of twists, turns, and mini-boss battles that led to a gaming console as surprising and unique as its creators.
The designs were varied and the demand mounted as the design for Playdate came together. A beautiful screen and a hand crank!
On July 29th, 2021, pre-orders went live! You can order yours right now.
Read the entire story on Panic’s blog here.
Other Adafruit stories on Playdate:
- Gamekid, a Game Boy emulator for the Playdate @dmierau
- Playdate Hands-On: Cutting-edge gaming nostalgia #Playdate #Gaming @Engadget @playdate @panic
- What is known about the Panic Playdate to date by @design_jem on @Medium #Gaming
- Daring Fireball’s John Gruber on Playdate, Arduboy … @gruber @playdate @panic @bateskecom #arduboy
- Make your own “play.date” animated gif player with a crank @playdate @panic @arduino