Playdate

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Revision as of 07:08, 5 November 2023 by Rarenight (talk | contribs) (Added verbiage about C game compatibility)
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Playdate
Playdate.png
Developer Panic Inc.
Type Handheld game console
Generation Ninth generation
Release date 2022
Dumped Play.date
Emulated

The Playdate is an handheld console developed by Panic Inc. It originally retailed for $179, before being bumped up to $199.

Emulators

Name Platform(s) Latest Version FLOSS Active Recommended
PC / x86
Playdate Simulator Windows macOS Linux 2.1.1
Cranked Windows Linux [1]
pd-emu Windows Linux [2]

Comparisons

Playdate Simulator
The official Playdate emulator by Panic, bundled in the first-party Playdate SDK as a test platform for developers. Plays most Lua games perfectly and does not need firmware dumped from real hardware, but by design it does not play encrypted (DRM-laden) Catalog games or compiled C games on disparate platforms. A Playdate game coded in C but compiled on Mac won't run on the Windows simulator and vice versa because the Simulator runs compiled C code natively (as in, without emulation or interpretation).
Cranked
Early-stage open-source Playdate emulator. To-date much of the functionality is missing (sprites, audio, graphical effects), but the groundwork is laid for Lua and C games to boot down the line.
pd-emu
Another early-stage, open-source emulator that cannot be run since the author has yet to integrate the Playdate API.