Playdate is a very cute mobile gaming system

Indie favorite editors Fire picket unveiled a surprise: a portable gaming system.

Playdate is an adorable pocket-sized developer of applications, Panic, who said he has been working on the project for the last four years, "just for fun".

Panic explains that Playdate is not intended to replace existing consoles or platforms, but that it is "designed to be complementary".

"It's designed to provide a blast of entertainment between moments spent on your phone and your home console – there's something for every moment when you just want a game that you can play and play," the company said. an article.

On the front, there is a black and white screen, which is not backlit. This however should not be a problem, as Panic claims, the resolution of the 400 × 240 LCD will be clear at night – as long as you have a light nearby – while during the day, there is no problem. screen will be "spectacular".

Just below, you'll find familiar controls in the A and B buttons and a D-pad. The crank on the side – yes, a crank – is not so familiar, it's actually a rotating analog controller. Games will use the crank only, sometimes or not at all.

There are no cartridges here. The games, specially designed for Playdate, will arrive in the air in one season.

Once a week, for 12 weeks, a new game is delivered to the system. An indicator light on the hardware indicates that a new title is ready to be used. These games are included in the system, but it is unclear whether there will be more than one gaming season.

The first game announced for Playdate is The adventure in the time of Crankin, developed by Keita Takahashi, creator of Katamari Damacy. Use the crank to control the flow of time, forward and backward, as you try to overcome obstacles.

The design of Playdate comes from Teenage Engineering, the Swedish electronics company known for its fun and original shots on synthesizers and audio products.

There are the usual functions on board, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C and a headphone jack. Processing and storage specifications still need to be confirmed. Playdate runs a custom operating system, and again, it is tiny and measures 74 mm × 76 mm × 9 mm.

It's a strange and exciting little thing. The release date of Playdate is scheduled for early 2020, and pre-orders are expected to start at the end of 2019 for $ 149.