Playdate is a weird hand-held gaming console coming in 2020

The Playdate is a yellow console with a D-Pad, an A and B button and a weird crank on the side, that some of the games will make use of. Featuring a black and white 2.7-inch, 400x240 display, the Playdate is set to be released some time in 2020. At launch, the $149 price tag for the gaming device will include all the 12 games that will launch alongside the console.

The Playdate is a console with a black and white display and a crank for controls

The games coming for the console are being kept under wraps, but a post on Twitter by the company shows the title screen for four games: Bennett Foddy Presents Zipper, Crankin's Time Travel Adventure, 360 and Executive Golf DX. Some of the games will use the crank exclusively, while others will not. Panic Inc, the company behind the hand-held gaming device share a gif on their twitter page showing how the crank would work in a game. The gif shows a part of Crankin's Time Travel Adventure’s gameplay, where the character in the game is late for his date and you have to turn the crank to make him move. However, the crank turns have to be timed perfectly to help him navigate the level.

The Playdate sure looks like a quirky little gaming device, and in case you’re interested in getting your hands on one, you can head over to Play.Date to reserve yours.