GN Expansion Pak: A Playdate with more than nostalgia

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I’m 42-years-old as of August 19th, which makes me roughly a billion years old in gamer age. I started out playing games on the Atari 7800 and in the arcades, and I’ve been enjoying the hobby ever since. I’ve followed all the major players throughout the years, and some of them have created memories and moments that’ll last me a lifetime. That obviously includes Nintendo, and there may be no time I look back more fondly than the Game Boy era.

Getting my hands on a Game Boy was absolutely magical. Going from playing games on the NES to playing something very similar in the palm of my hands was truly mind-blowing. Sure, it might not have looked as good as the NES and there was no color, but none of that mattered. I was playing Mario, Castlevania, Tetris and others on a device that let me game no matter where I was.

As I mentioned, I look back on the Game Boy days incredibly fondly, but there are some things I’ve been happy to move on from. First and foremost, it was great to jump from black-and-white (or vomit green, to be more exact) to color. I like when games play with color, and I think going black-and-white as an artistic choice is a perfectly respectable one, but simply having the option of color makes for a more visually appealing experience. Second, I was elated to see portables get front and backlit screens. Having to find just the right light source to see a game was pretty darn frustrating at times, and it became costly if you were buying accessories to remedy the situation. Without a doubt, unlit screens being left to the past was a wise decision and something I wouldn’t miss.

…or so I thought. Then the Playdate came along.

Back in 2019, Panic revealed the Playdate, a new portable that combined both retro and modern sensibilities. The device would offer up brand-new games through digital distribution, allowing pretty much any full-time dev/pub or hobbyist creator a chance to get their game on the platform. On the flipside, it would go incredibly old-school with a black-and-white unlit screen. It seemed like a decision that would no doubt turn off millions of gamers, and there’s no doubt it has. That said, the design choice would also woo those who appreciate the days of early gaming, or perhaps wanted to feel what it was like to live in an era before their time.

The instant I saw the Playdate, I became obsessed with it. The idea of a brand-new portable that seemed to be squarely aimed at niche gamers was like catnip for someone like me. It was a decision that flew in the face of the modern game industry, yet that was exactly why it tickled older gamers like myself. The industry has long spent a ton of time moving on from what platforms couldn’t do in order to get bigger and supposedly better. I’ve always felt that was a shame, as I never saw those platforms or ideas as “broken” or “dead.” I believed there was so much life and fun to be had in that old tech, and clearly the gang at Panic felt the same.

Panic very clearly channeled the spirit of the Game Boy with the Playdate. You’d have to imagine the team behind the handheld saw serious value in not just less-modern tech, but also the way we used to experience games. Unlit portables were a product of their time due to cost and tech, so the features we had/didn’t have were born out of necessity. As tech shrunk and costs came down, the big players moved on and understandably so. While many saw that move to front/backlit platforms as a natural progression, Panic saw something in the old ways. There was more to the lack of a light on a screen than just tech restrictions. Ditching that light was part of creating an atmosphere for playing games, and yes, it goes far beyond nostalgia.

Truth be told, I didn’t know just how much I’d get from playing a modern handheld that wasn’t backlit. When I first learned about the Playdate, I was more interested in the platform’s focus on indie devs, modest graphical capabilities and unique control scheme (two face buttons and a crank…yes, a crank!). The lack of a backlight didn’t bother me at all, but I didn’t quite get the decision until I had the Playdate in my hands. Sitting down with the portable and playing for a few days brought a flood of feelings to me, some of which were nostalgic and others were eye-opening.

On the nostalgia front, I can’t tell you how amazing the feeling was to sit down and play a portable the way I used to. I had to find the best source of light in my house, set up a spot to get comfy, and then fire up the Playdate. It was a ritual that I had gone through countless times before, but it was literally decades since I had to do it. Going through the motions was still second nature, and it instantly filled my mind with gaming memories from years gone by. Long car rides spent playing games thanks to the light of streetlamps, nights spent under the bedsheets with a worm light, sitting under the blazing sun on my college balcony to play Boktai…so many fantastic reminders of why I had become so passionate about videogames over the years.

I was shocked by just how much playing the Playdate hit me. I knew it would be something to transport me back to my childhood, but I had no clue how much it would resonate with me. Just the act of getting ready to play and sitting under a light to do it caused a ton of emotion to well up inside. I honestly couldn’t hold myself back from shedding a couple of tears, not from sadness, but from an appreciation for what Panic was going for.

While I haven’t talked to Panic about the Playdate and their goals, I think I might have stumbled onto at least part of the experience they were hoping to capture. There’s something about having to approach gaming through an old-school lens, particularly with a portable, that connects you to it all on a deeper level. Having that tiny portable in your hands, focusing on the huge worlds trapped within your palms, needing to sit in just the right light to click with the adventure…it sucks you into that universe unlike any other. It’s almost like you’re marrying the physical with the digital to create an unbreakable bond. It all forces you to forget what’s going on around you and lets you sink down into the games and what they’re trying to convey.

I’m sure my description of my time with the Playdate sounds crazy to some, silly to others, and massively exaggerated to everyone else. I probably would have felt the same way if someone tried to convince me that that’s the way I’d feel after playing, but here we are. Spending time with the Playdate has caused me to think about why gaming means so much to me, and I’ve come away with a greater understanding of myself, my interest in gaming, gaming at large and just what makes for an immersive experience. I really can’t express how moving this has been, and it’s caused me to see gaming as a whole in a completely different light going forward.

I know the Playdate won’t do the same for everyone, and that’s okay. As I mentioned above, this is a device that is at least partially trapped in the past by design. There are going to be tech drawbacks and old hardware quirks that just won’t sit right with some players, and I can respect that. This kind of portable is made for very specific types of gamers, and I have a feeling those people will hunt this device down, or the Playdate will find its way to them. Either way, when they get their hands on the Playdate, I can only hope they enjoy it as much as I have.

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Also, an extra special thanks to longtime GoNintendo reader Popple for surprising me with a Playdate. The GN community is and has always been amazing, but I was beyond shocked to receive such a thoughtful gift from a supporter. Here’s to you, my friend!