Panic has revealed a final updated price for the Playdate, the company’s small handheld gaming system, as well as plans to release an update video on Tuesday.
Panic announced the final price of the Playdate at $179, which Engadget notes is $30 more than the company originally planned to price the handheld system. The company also announced that it will launch a 15-minute video on Tuesday, which will include updates about the system as well as information about pre-orders.
Originally announced in 2019, the Playdate is a small handheld gaming system akin to the Gameboy or Gameboy Color. It featured a black and white screen, as well as the standard directional pad and buttons you’d expect to see on an old Nintendo handheld.
The stand-out feature, though, is a small crank on the side, which can pop out and be used to interact with various games. Panic says that some games will make use of the crank exclusively, while others may not use it at all.
You also will be able to connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the handheld, and it comes with a headphone jack so you can enjoy the games without disturbing others.
The Playdate originally was expected to launch with 12 games—each one created uniquely for the system. Now, though, Panic has revealed that it will release 24 games throughout what it is calling Season One. Panic also has upped the initial amount of internal storage from 2GB to 4GB, which should give players more room for those additional games. No news of future seasons has been shared, but all of the games in Season One will come included in the Playdate’s initial price.
The Playdate’s update video is expected to release at 9 a.m. PST on June 8, and Panic has said that it won’t be opening pre-orders directly after the video, so fans should have some time to process the news before having to pull out their wallets.
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