Playdate and other Dedicated Portables

[trafficone]

I've picked up a Playdate when they released because it seemed like a novel idea. Think a quirky Game Boy with Teenage Engineering design. I like its simplistic gaming-first design, and it has really cultivated a following of people designing clever, little games for it.

Have you tried the Playdate or similar gaming portable? Have you considered picking up an old GameBoy and a backup card with all your old games on it? Let's share our thoughts.

[CitricScion]

I was tempted to pick up something like the Anbernic Game Boy Advanced SP look-a-like, but I still don't feel comfortable downloading random games to play on emulators like that. I think what I really want is for Nintendo to just provide a port of Pokemon Emerald for smartphones, lol

[Stefen_Maxwell]

I was thinking about buying a playdate. It looks like a fun device and it would be cool to make some games for it. The price tag for it is a bit much though for me atm.

[PossiblyAxolotl]

I love handhelds, I've got a whole shelf of handhelds including a Playdate, arduboy, and some more normal stuff like a switch lite. I got my Playdate on day 1 and I really like it, especially making games (I made the game Rocket Bytes which came out pretty early in its lifespan on itch!). It's definitely a little expensive but I've really enjoyed it personally

[JINSBEK]

Ooooh, I remember seeing the Playdate on Twitter! I thought it was a neat little thing they were making, and it’s nice to see developers having fun making games on it, too.

I still at times bring around my Nintendo DS or Nintendo 3DS, especially to rack up PlayCoins on the latter, haha. I’m excited for Pretendo’s progress in not only developing an Animal Crossing: New Leaf server, but also in their archive of 239,105 Dream Suite towns. My fiancée and I are huge fans of New Leaf so we’re very happy to hear this. I also still have a working PSP, but I don’t take that around as much.

[QueriesNTheories]

I love the Playdate, it looks so cute and quirky, full of whimsy! Would happily toy with it on long journeys or commutes or things like that.
Unfortunately that price tag is the only kicker for me, which is a shame! I'd love to like make my own little games and then show them to people like:

"oh yeah..."
*whips out my playdate*
"i make games "

I am a big DS family fan though, and have been trying to repair my o3DS on and off for a while. As soon as i've gotten it a new battery and checked some electrical stuff I'm soooo getting Pretendo on that thing. I'm coming for my DSi next, would love to actually play some Mario Kart online once I've plugged in Kaeru WFC...

[December_W_Wolf]

I myself have never seen a Playdate in real life before, let alone picked one up or played with it. It really looks quite fun, especially with the addition of that little crank, but I feel like I'll have a tough time convincing myself to get one since I already have 4 handhelds (GBA SP, DSi, N3DSXL, PS Vita) that I enjoy playing with and I'm somewhat scared of becoming some sort of hoarder if I overstep.

I'm a bit more lenient on myself with the games, though, and am slowly building up a collection of game cartridges for me to pop into one of my four options and just play, whether it be Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Professor Layton... you get the gist of it. I do have an SD card in the last 3 I mentioned, but I only try to use up that space with either game screenshots or discontinued freeware (with the exception of the Vita, I buy the games from the still-functioning eShop because the cartridge space is taken up by a microSD adapter after I installed custom firmware).