Panic, maker of the Playdate handheld, has taken a bolder stance, offering refunds to those who bought its console and were charged extra for its tariffs. Company co-founder Cabel Sasser said last month, “It’s just not our money to keep.”
Nice of them regardless, but I totally agree. The playdate is a neat toy but it’s wild how successful they are considering it costs $230 and most games on it are paid. You could buy a similarly neat retro handheld for only $50!
It’s a trait of a certain market of quirky and unique high-quality devices. E.g. the Dirtywave M8 music tracker was sold at 650$. But they also provide the software freely, and one can diy it on a Raspberry Pi.
Teenage Engineering, who designed Playdate, have most of their products rather ridiculously priced. E.g. the portable synth/sampler OP-1 costs 2000€.
TBF I have a Chinese handheld for emulators, and discovered online that the screws on it are positioned such that the heads can pierce the battery when it swells. This was after the battery completely died in a year of disuse, so I was looking up replacements.
Just to highlight the good actors too:
That thing is so hilariously overpriced in the first place, that a few bucks don’t make any difference neither to the seller, nor the consumer.
Nice of them regardless, but I totally agree. The playdate is a neat toy but it’s wild how successful they are considering it costs $230 and most games on it are paid. You could buy a similarly neat retro handheld for only $50!
It’s a trait of a certain market of quirky and unique high-quality devices. E.g. the Dirtywave M8 music tracker was sold at 650$. But they also provide the software freely, and one can diy it on a Raspberry Pi.
Teenage Engineering, who designed Playdate, have most of their products rather ridiculously priced. E.g. the portable synth/sampler OP-1 costs 2000€.
TBF I have a Chinese handheld for emulators, and discovered online that the screws on it are positioned such that the heads can pierce the battery when it swells. This was after the battery completely died in a year of disuse, so I was looking up replacements.