Catalog and its Crank-to-Buy technology first launched with 16 titles on March 7, 2023, close to a year after Playdates began shipping out to customers on April 18, 2022. For the past year Catalog’s storefront has been updated bi-weekly with a handful of titles, now the storefront has 181 games and apps from first-time to seasoned game developers alike. This number is of course not indicative of Playdate’s full game library, as it does not take into account the 800+ Playdate games and apps available on itch.io.
Catalog on-device
Panic previously announced that over 70,000 Playdates have been sold to customers. 38,000 Playdate users, about 53%, have made a purchase on Catalog - including downloading the two free games offered by Panic on the store (Reel Steal, Recommendation Dog). About 32,000 of those users who have not bought a game are still working through the games included in Playdate Season One. With this information, Panic plans to continue finding ways to spread the word about Playdate’s game store to help developers find an audience for their project.
“Season One was a big part of introducing Playdate to the world and letting them know that there would in fact be games to play on this neat device when they buy it,” says Head of Playdate Developer Relations, Arisa Sudangnoi. “Now we want to let everyone who enjoys games know that there is a vibrant game dev community making hundreds of inventive and thoughtful games for Playdate! Season One is just the start when you invest in a Playdate.”
More Catalog data:
- The average Playdate game price is $5.36. Playdate game prices are up to the developer and have been priced as low as $1 and as high as $15.
- The average Playdate game price during the first Catalog sale was $4.50.
- 1,500 players first bought a game in Catalog during the sale
- The top regions for game purchases are the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Japan.
- Games sizes
- Biggest game - 107MB
- Average game size - 5.03MB
- Smallest game size - 30.1KB
Thoughts From Developers:
- “Making games for Playdate is fun and challenging,” says Playdate and P-Racing developer Risolvi Productions. “It's a great opportunity for indie developers because the SDK is easy-to-use and you only need to target one device. Also, the Playdate community is small but very passionate. Unlike other app/game platforms, I feel that someone will play and hopefully enjoy the game I'm working on.” P-Racing has sold 6,300 copies and is priced at $12, when not on sale.
- “I love how every Playdate is able to be used as a development device,” says multiple time Playdate game developer Matt Sephton (Sparrow Solitaire, Yoyozo, Fore! Track, and many more). “I didn't think I'd get another opportunity to develop so easily on a device that was so attractive to me, and it coincided with having some extra free time due to the first COVID lockdown in England so the timing was right.” Learn more about Matt’s full-time year as a Playdate game developer on his blog.
Left - P-Racing, Risolvi Productions / Right - YOYOZO, Matt Sephton
Panic will continue to update Catalog with wonderful games in the coming months and are sincerely excited to see what game submissions come their way this year. Any developer can submit their game for Catalog consideration via a simple form.
All of the sales data presented here is accurate as of April 3, 2024. Playdate is available for purchase for $199 at play.date.
About Playdate
Playdate is a truly unique gaming handheld system that is a celebration of video games. It’s yellow. It fits in your pocket. It includes games from amazing creators, it has a beautiful black and white screen, and yes, it also has a crank.
Created with great attention to detail and affection by app developer and video game publisher Panic, in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, Playdate hopes to capture the spirit of endless possibility and excitement that games have given us since the beginning. Playdate’s collection of games will delight players with their inventiveness and ingenuity. And in addition to introducing players to brand new games, Playdate also encourages people to create their own imaginative games and interactive software using a suite of easy development tools. In short, Playdate was made just for fun.
Playdate is a truly unique gaming handheld system that is a celebration of video games. It’s yellow. It fits in your pocket. It includes games from amazing creators, it has a beautiful black and white screen, and yes, it also has a crank.
Created with great attention to detail and affection by app developer and video game publisher Panic, in collaboration with Teenage Engineering, Playdate hopes to capture the spirit of endless possibility and excitement that games have given us since the beginning. Playdate’s collection of games will delight players with their inventiveness and ingenuity. And in addition to introducing players to brand new games, Playdate also encourages people to create their own imaginative games and interactive software using a suite of easy development tools. In short, Playdate was made just for fun.
For hardware information, pictures, and more details on Playdate visit the Press Kit here: play.date/mediakit
Find Playdate on Twitter at @playdate and on their website at play.date
For special interview requests or any other requests, get in touch with pr@popagenda.co
Find Playdate on Twitter at @playdate and on their website at play.date
For special interview requests or any other requests, get in touch with pr@popagenda.co
About Panic Inc.
Founded in 1999, Panic is an ancient startup in Portland, Oregon that loves to make nice things and bring people everyday joy. Originally — and still — a Mac app developer, Panic has also become a highly-focused video game publisher that helped release Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game into the world. They now set their sights on even more games such as Nour: Play With Your Food, despelote, Thank Goodness You’re Here, Arco and Time Flies! And in the ultimate spirit of creating products that bring joy, Panic has also created its very own handheld video game system: Playdate.
Visit their website: https://panic.com/
Find Panic on Twitter
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