Preorders for the crank-powered Playdate open in July, games and accessories revealed

This week isn’t just about Ratchet and Clank, but also ratchet and crank as the Playdate handheld console is coming soon! Preorders for the quirky little console, which has a crank on the side for…stuff, will go live in July. Here’s the important stuff: The console itself will cost you $179, plus you can buy a few other accessories to go with it.

There’s a bluetooth stereo dock that you can slot the handheld into, which kind of makes it look like an old-timey TV. The best thing about this add-on is that it will also function as a charging dock and an internet radio station, using a curated selection of tracks from PoolSuite FM to pipe out some tunes. Imagine listening to music that you have no control over, that’s so retro. Also, it comes with a pen.

A cover for the Playdate will also be available for $30, or you can bundle it in and save $10, bringing the total package up to $200 once you hit the checkout page. As for the games, Playdate manufacturer Panic revealed 21 of the 24 games that’ll be available in the first season. Playdate owners will be able to download two games every week until the season winds down, and a bunch more are in development:

• Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure
• Battleship Godios
• Boogie Loops
• Casual Birder
• DemonQuest 85
• Echoic Memory
• Executive Golf DX
• Flipper Lifter
• Forrest Byrnes: Up in Smoke
• Hyper Meteor
• Lost Your Marbles
• Omaze
• Pick Pack Pup
• Questy Chess
• Ratcheteer
• Sasquatchers
• Snak
• Spellcorked!
• Zipper
• Saturday Edition
• Whitewater Wipeout

Not too shabby! That’s a solid line-up, and it’s going to be interesting to see how developers make use of the more interesting elements of the Playdate. Only 20,000 of these consoles will be available in the first run, although Panic is aiming to keep a steady supply chain running on this.

Last Updated: June 9, 2021