In a world in which the AAA gaming sphere has the resources to muscle its way to the top of the conversation pile, we should always strive to give indie studios a look-in. Take Time Flies as an example. ?This rather twee-looking game from developer Playa??bles feels like it has a certain amount of heart built into it, with lashings of irreverent existentialism.

I remember it being announced a few years ago, with a premise that feels equal parts unique and niche. Time Flies is a ??hand-drawn indie game in which you take on the role of a fly, and the developer has?? recently announced that it'll be dropping sometime in 2025.

The vibe of the game is that, while you get to buzz around as a flying insect, you'll also come face-to-face with your own mortality. You see, Time Flies is touting itself as more than?? just a way of taking co??ntrol of a fly; it's a note about the shortness of our real lives.

Ticktock, everyone

A recent post on X from Michael Frei shows that, whil?e a release window is now in-mind, they are still "puddin??g it together," with a short clip uploaded alongside the post that shows the titular fly planting face-first into some jello.

Actually, the best way for me to describe the game is to let the Steam page do it:

In Time Flies, you’re a fly - your life is short and your bucket list is long! Learn an instrument, read a book, become rich, get drunk, or make someone smile. And if you don’t feel like pursuing your goal??s, you can just relax, clean your wings, and listen to music. Make the best of the time you have left, because we’re all going to die.

You'll get to "explore a painstakingly hand-drawn, densely detailed world" that boasts many goals to complete. Additionally �because this is still gunni??ng for an existentialist slant �there are an assortment of "intriguing ways to die," as well as a "grimly variable life expect?ancy based on player location."

It's hard to know whether it's going to be something that's making a lighthearted statement about the obvious fragility of life as a mortal being, or whether it'll be more of an unexpected gut-punch. I suspect the latte?r, but we won't know until sometime next year.

If you are interested in Time Flies, you can wishlist the game now. It's coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation (presumably PS5). No mention of an Xbox versio?n ye??t, however.

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We’ll be getting a deeper look at the future of Playdate in an upcoming live stream. The company announced that it will be hosting a 12 minute showcase via YouTube on November 8 at 9a??.m. ??PST. 

The showcase is set to introduce developers working on the next slate of Playdate games and to offer some insight into “more fun stuff on the horizon.�In a follow-up message, Playdate teased what that fun stuff might look like. The company wrote, “No big hardware news, but keep an eye out for something blue & new.�/p>

Save the date

Playdate was first announced back in 2019, and the little handheld console made its way into gamers' hands for the first time in April 2022. The console’s games follow a bit of a strange release schedule. The first “season�contains 24 different games, which become available two-per-week after you first get your device. Those are the flagship titles, and other games can be bought through Playdate's Catalog service or sideloaded on?to the device.

Thanks in part to the handheld’s unique approach, Playdate has skyrocketed in popularity. A year after its launch Playdate had sold over 50,000 units. ??That’s more than double what developer Panic had projected and orders were backlogged into late 2023. Currently it’s possible to pre-order a Playdate for when the next batch of devices arrives. 

The November 8 showcase could shed some light on when Playdate will be more readily available. It ?will also finally give owners and people with a pre-order waiting in the wings a peek at what Playdate’s second season of games will look like. 

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Yanking yer Crank

Developer Panic has revealed that Playdate, the curious handheld console powered by a physical crank, has sold over 53,000 units since its release exactly one year ago. This number, as noted by Eurogamer, represents double Panic's forecast for the admi??ttedly niche, but intriguing device.

Announced back in 2019, Playdate was pitched as a hand-cranked portable console that would play a library of titles, released on rotational/seasonal basis. Interest quickly spread about the quirky platform, which lead to pre-orders selling out in a scant 20 minutes, as interested parties snapped up one of the initial 20,000 plan?ned production models. To date, over 27,000 Playdate consoles have been shipped to their owners, with the team at Panic working hard to fulfill the surprising demand.

//www.youtube.co?m/watch?v=HdF3CnFvxg4?&ab_channel=Panic

"To have now sold more than 53,000 (and counting) is heartening," said Panic in an anniversary statement. "And this, at a time when parts shortages forced our delivery lead-times out as much as a year. As those lead times shorten and Playdate delive??ry becomes more immediate, we’re looking forwa??rd to an even better Year Two."

Playdate is currently available to pre-order over on the official website, priced at $199 USD. Du?e t?o demand, shipping of new orders is not expected until the latter months of 2023, at least.

Playdate has now sold 53,000 u??nits, doubling initia?l sales expectations [Eurogamer]

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A wild new batch of games just hit the Playdate Catalog

The Playdate Catalog store is getting a drop of ??games today. Five new games? are dropping onto the crank-controlled handheld today, ranging from spaceship deliveries to an actual talking calculator.

Five new games are part of the first-ever Playdate Catalog drop. As a reminder, these are joining Panic's new storefront for selling Playdate games on th??e handheld. Some of these have been on the ?Itch store before (and are still available there), but now, they also join the lineup in Playdate's official Catalog. Where, yes, you can crank to buy.

Today's drop kicks off with Sparrow Solitaire, a tile puzzle game classic re??imagined for the Pla??ydate. This seems like a solid fit for the handheld, as a game you could pick up and put down pretty easily.

Life is Too Short, meanwhile, puts you in the role o?f a lil' ghost? solving a problem between two vampires. Meet characters, solve problems, and enjoy the spooky vibes.

//twitter.com/playdate/status/1645839020864462849

Don't get cranky

The winner for my favorite game name, Crankulator, features a digital talking calculator. Crank in numbers and fractions, then use the D-pad to apply functions. My friendship with the TI-83 is over; now, it's just me and Crankulator.

Gravity Express already had my attention with its Asteroids-esque ship movement,?? as the spaceship darts and dives through corridors. Then, a full-on FMV cutscene appeared, and it had my interest. It's really cool to see what develo?pers are managing to do, not just with the Playdate's crank, but also with its general art style.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6hGILdKmW8

Lastly, Core Fault seems like a no-brainer for fan of Vampire Survivors or other survival games. Operate a remote mining droid and collect? cores, while fending off the inhabitants of? this planet who don't like their cores being taken.

All five of these are available now, alongside other previously released games, on the Playdate Catalog. Though a price bump recently went into effect, I'm hopeful this is a sign that ?Panic will keep a good cadence of games and developers putting neat stuff onto the Playdate.

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Playdate's price is going up next month

Panic hosted a new Playdate Update today, spotlighting news for the crank-controlled handheld. The Catalog, a digital storefront for the handheld console, is going live today alongside a batch of new games. And Panic also confirmed that starting next month, the price of t??he Playdate will get cranked up a bit, from $179 to $199.

While the Playdate is still rolling out to those who pre-ordered, Panic confirms that no one who has a pre-order will see their price tag go up. Additionally, Panic is waiting a month to move the price up, so ?you have until April 7 to secure an order at the $179 point.

Panic co-founder and CEO Cabel Sasser attributes the hike to manufacturing costs. While the CEO says there have been some price increases in the past and Panic's margins are already "surprisingly slim," this?? was the one cost increase the team couldn't avo??id.

Additionally, the previously announced Playdate Stereo Dock has been MIA, bu?t Sasser says ?the team is still working on it.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr1_f-Q8Klw

Cranking open the Catalog

Aside from the hardware news, there was also software news for the Playdate today? too. Originally, the Playdate launched with a plan to roll out a "season" of games to owners. Additional games are open to side-load onto the Playdate from places like the Itch.io store, as well. Today, Panic opened up a third option: the Playdate Catalog.

The Catalog is a storefront for the Playdate where, after tying in your credit card info, you can literally crank to buy new titles. (Or just use the website, but come on, the crank is more fun!) Two games are out today, and free to celebrate the Catalog launch: Reel Steal, a fishing-based thieving game, and Recommendation Dog, a game about a dog managing a temp agency.

More games are already headed to Catalog for purchase too, including pre-established Playdate hits like Bloom and A Joke That's Worth $0.99. While the price tag bump is an understandable wrinkle, it's nice to see Panic getting a ready-on-the-console storefront option for those who don't want to tinker with side-loading. It's also an easy way to see how far Playdate development has come in the last year or so.

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Cranking out the news

Panic is hosting a new Playdate Update next week, ??to share news about its crank-based handheld. The showcase will be held on March 7, airin?g at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET.

The Playdate. if you're not familiar, is Panic's specialty handheld. It's roughly similar to the Game Boy, but with a literal twist: its crank. On the right-hand side of the handheld, there's a crank that can be manipulated, and that Pla??ydate developers have used to create some pretty wild games.

This new Update will specifically share news about the Catalog, Panic's curated on-device and ?on-web store for Playdate. The company will also be sharing some news abou??t new games.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr1_f-Q8Klw

A new twist

When the Playdate launched last year, it was an interesting concept. The hardware twist? wasn't the only one Panic had for the Playdate; the game rollout for the Playdate was also fairly u?nique. It rolled out new games to Playdate owners as part of its "season," with a new game hitting the device each week after purchase.

It's cool, but obviously users will look for more games once they're finished with the initial roll-out. A good community has sprung up around creating games, hosted on sites like Itch.io, where they can be purchased and then side-loaded. Panic has also kept the Playdate a fairly open platform, with tools like Pulp making it easy for aspiring developers to?? tool around with making their own creations.

All that said, I'm now curious to see what Panic has in store for the future of Playdate. I like the handheld, even though I haven't picked it back up in a while. It's the sort of specialized electronic device that feels rarer and rarer these days, and the community backing behind it gives its catalog a certain charm. We'll see what Panic's ?got in store on March 7.

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Create your own cranky adventure

The Playdate, Panic's boutique handheld with a crank, is still on its way. But while you're waiting, Panic has put out a public beta for its Playdate Pulp tools, letting anyone who wants to make a Playd?ate game in a free, browser-based environment.

Pulp was one of many features teased for the Playdate in its first Update stream last year. The idea is that Pulp will allow anyone, whether you've made a game before or not, to experiment in the development sandbox. Panic says that Pu??lp can scale from "goofing around to building a full Playdate game."

//twitter.com/playdate/status/1483905526652026886

As a development studio, Pulp has a lot of features available. There are drawing and animation tools, a level editor, chiptune and sound tools, and even a code editor. Even though the Playdate still hasn't shipped as of this writing d??ue to supply issues, anything you make is also preview-able in browser, and you can easily download ??the source code for your project, either to share or, e??ventually, play on a Playdate.

//twitter.com/playdate/status/1466495120753061897

For budding game developers, or even those who just want to mess around with some tools, this seems pretty neat. Playdate Pulp seems to be a pretty well-rounded set of game-making tools that?'s also available for free. It's hard to beat that price tag. And while the earliest Playdate handhelds are still currently set to ship sometime in early 2022, it looks like you can still check out what you've made in your browser. Sharing your Pulp creations still seems pretty reasonable to do.

We've already seen some pretty impressive prototypes and previews of what's to come with the Playdate. So if you're keen to try your own hand at making a crank-based minigame, Playdate Pulp gives you that chance. You can find it on the Playdate site here.

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Set the date for your Playdate

[Update: Pre-orders for the cranky handheld Playdate are now live on the Play.date shop. ?Head on over there if you're eager to grab one!]

//twitter.com/playdate/status/1420791305060241413

Our original story follows:

Playdate, the tiny handheld with a crank produced by Panic, will go liv??e for pre-orders on July 29 at 10 a.m. PT.

The video game system will be available for pre-order as either a standalone for $179, or bundled with the Playdate cover for $199. (The Playdate cover will also be available for pre-order at $29.) Pre-orders will go live on the Playdate site.

Panic's Playdate was announced a few years ago as a new handheld system with a special crank and selection of games arriving for it. Recently, the team announced a slew of games arriving on the handheld system, including titles from Keita Takaha??shi, Bennett Foddy, and Lucas Pope. Panic also confirmed it will be releasing a stereo dock for the Playdate as well, complete with a neat little pen and music app called Po??olsuite FM.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWGukDrc1U

Panic confirmed in a press release today that Playdate pre-orders will not sell out. Th?e first batch of units will begin shipping towards the end of the year, with subsequent orders after selling through the initial allotment shipping in 2022 and production adjusted based on demand. Playdate pre-orders will require full payment up front, but can be cancelled at any time for a full refund.

There will also be a podcast series debuting next week called the Playdate Podcast from Panic, featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with game developers creating thi??ngs for the Playdate.

The handheld, crank-utilizing Playdate certainly looks like an interesting piece of hardware. Alongside the system, Panic will be rolling out a season of games that will download directly to the Playda??te, effectively making "play dates" out of update days. As someone who grew up carting around a Gam??e Boy everywhere and who also digs bespoke, unique systems like this, I'll probably set a few alarms.

Playdate pre-orders will go live on July 29 at 10 a.m. PT on the Playdate site.

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July is getting a little cranky

Panic hosted its first Playdate Update today, showcasing t??he games, accessories, and pre-order window for its handheld with a crank, the Playdate.

Pre-orders for Panic's Playdate will open in July 2021, and though no specific date was given during today's stream, Panic says there will be a one-week warning before pr?e-orders open. The handh?eld will go for $179.

The company also says it will keep pre-orders open and send Playdates out as they're made, and if demand is higher than ex?pected, it "might take a while" for Playdates to arrive. Panic plans on staying communicative about Playdate supply and?? will allow pre-orders to be canceled at any time.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWGukDrc1U

As for the system itself, Panic showca?sed a new Playdate accessory: the stereo dock. It's a Bluetooth-enabled dock for the Playdate that the handheld can latch onto via magnetic ?lock, and alongside charging the console, it can also act as a speaker. There's also a pen holder and accompanying Playdate ballpoint pen, which is frankly adorable.

Alongside the dock, Panic also confirmed there will be an app—Poolsuite FM—that will play a curated selection of summer jams, both of which are "coming soon." Panic will also be launching a game development tool called Playdate Pulp, which can be used through the web browser to make narrative stories for the Playdate and will be available this?? year as a free app.

Among the games in Playdate's first season are games from a number of creators, including Crankin's Time Travel Adventure from Keita Takahashi and Zipper from Bennett Foddy. There will be 24 games in Playdate's first season—two games a week arriving over the course of 12 weeks—and they'll be included free with the Playdate. Panic also teased a few upcoming projects, including one from Return of the Obra Dinn creator Lucas Pope.

With mo??re creations on the way from narrative development company Sweet Baby, as well as two teams being mentored by Sweet Baby, it seems like there's a fair num??ber of projects lined up for the Playdate. More news about when, exactly, pre-orders go up will be coming soon.

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Don't get too cranky

An update is on the way for Panic's Playdate, the handheld-with-a-crank that certainly ca??ptured our imagination when it w??as announced.

The Playdate Update will air on June 8 at 9 a.m. PT on Playdate's YouTube channel. Alongside details about its first season and future games, there will also be news about future pre-orders ?for the crank??y console.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeWGukDrc1U

Though there will be some surprises in store for the event, Panic says not to fret—pre-orders will not start immediately after the video ends, and there will be "plenty of warning" before they go live. The team also let slip a few details ahead of the show: the final price for the Pla??ydate will be $179, the internal storage has doubled to 4 GB, and they've double the number of Season One games for the Playdate to 24, all free with the purchase of the Playdate.

It might seem like a novelty, but back in the original announcement, Playdate had names like Katamari Damacy's Keita Takahashi and the creator of Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy Bennett Foddy on to contribu?te games to the system. If this update is impressive, I might just end up trying to snag one and see what it's all about.

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