Playdate is a unique new indie handheld console, coming 2020

Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game publisher Panic has announced a delightful little console called Playdate.

Housed within a gorgeous, albeit tiny, yelllow shell, the Playdate sports a striking design. With just a d-pad, two buttons and a tiny cute crank, Panic’s console is designed to be a jolt of creativity into the games industry.

“Playdate isn’t trying to compete with the other devices that we already play and love,” Panic explains on their website. “It’s designed to be complementary. It’s designed to deliver a jolt of fun in-between the times you spend with your phone and your home console; something to fill the moments when you just want a game you can pick-up and play.”

But nobody buys a console entirely on the basis of its striking design, they buy it for the games. Everyone who purchases the handheld will be given access to a “season” of titles to play with one new game a week.

The first game available on the system will be Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure, a crank-controlled game by Katamari Damacy designer Keita Takahashi.

About those games. We reached out to some of our favorite people, like @KeitaTakahash, @bfod, @helvetica, @shauninman, and many more.

Here's a peek at one: Crankin's Time Travel Adventure, from Keita. It's fun and funny. pic.twitter.com/0Ibwqr5k3I

— Playdate (@playdate) May 22, 2019

Benett Foddy, creator of Getting Over It, and Zach Gage, creator of SpellTower, are also working on games for the handheld.

Playdate will cost $149, including a full season of games. It will release with limited availability in 2020.