Playdate has a black-and-white screen and a hand crank.
Panic

For some people the ideal gaming console is the one with the most realistic graphics, the highest possible frame rate, and theater-quality audio wherever they are. Playdate is not any of those things, but that doesn’t stop it from being incredibly fun looking. The team behind the incredibly popular Untitled Goose Game is delivering a handheld console with a hand crank and a black and white screen. Its bright yellow body looks super friendly, and all of the games announced with the console look like a ton of fun.

Want to get your hands on one? It’s almost time to preorder one for yourself.

How do I preorder a Playdate?

When it becomes available to preorder on July 29th, there’s only one place you will be able to get yourself a playdate. You’ll need to head straight to the Playdate website, and be ready to pay $179 for the console.

This price is for just the console, and not the Stereo Dock accessory or Pen which can be ordered separately. The prices and availability for these have not yet been announced.

To avoid a PlayStation 5-style hunt for availability, Playdate will not sell out. Instead, the ship date will be bumped incrementally back to match the ability to acquire the parts necessary to assemble the consoles. Essentially, the sooner you preorder, the more likely you are to get one closer to the launch date of the console.

When is Playdate launching?

Oddly enough, there is no set launch date for this console just yet. Playdate is supposed to be shipping at some point in 2021. Its likely Panic will be giving more information on a shipping in one of its video updates like the one we saw in June.

What we do know is Playdate will be shipping at launch to the following countries:

United States (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands)United KingdomCanadaAustraliaAustriaBelgiumDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyIrelandItalyJapanNetherlandsPolandSpainSwedenSwitzerland