this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2025
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Ahhh that’s annoying. The crank looks like it makes the whole unit much more awkward to hold, especially for larger hands. The fact that it’s just a control gimmick which doesn’t really add anything to classic Game Boy games makes it a hard pass for me.
The crank folds down into an extremely satisfying magnetic dock that it can sit in while not using it.
Also... These aren't classic Gameboy games, they're modern games made specifically for the device. The unique control mechanism is the niche, and it's surprisingly fun to use. You just also CAN emulate Gameboy games on it. There's people who have made e-readers for it too... Though... That's where even i draw the line lol
Sounds like this isn't your thing though, there are lots of Gameboy emulator powered handhelds if that's all you're looking for. If you want extremely unique gameplay by tons of small indie developers (including Lucas Pope of Papers Please), super easy to make games for (I've made 2 just for friends), really easy side loading, and something just fun to show people, it's a super easy sell.
Oh okay. That sounds a lot better than I thought!
I think to me the crank seems ideal for a fishing game. Has anyone made one of those?
There is a actual dedicated Playdate fishing game, yes:
But in relation to my article, and their work on CrankBoy...you can watch how they added the crank to the fishing part of the original Link's Awakening fishing section. This kind of thing is why I think Sodium and Stonerl are doing amazing work, because it's so different!
Link to the crank being used for fishing in Link's Awakening here!
The crank is the sole reason this thing exists. If you want an emulation handheld to play Gameboy games without a crank there are countless options out there.
It’s a tough sell then. I did a search in the article for the word crank and got a lot of matches but it was too long for me to read. I would have preferred some short video clips to demonstrate exactly how it works.
What an odd take to have.
I'm a little confused why you'd form a strong opinion on something you willfully refused to read. In fact, even my title for the article kinda gives it away. Or the screenshot.
Just...odd.
This article isn't about the playdate, it's an article about an emulation software someone wrote that runs on the playdates hardware, so you won't get a detailed explanation about the playdate as a general device there.
The playdate is a novelty device that anyone can develop Minigames for which use the crank for their gameplay. It is several years old at this point. It's also very expensive for what it is so if you're not a fan of just having little novel devices with not much use there is no reason to buy one. It is indeed a tough sell for most people but they have their own demographic of enthusiasts.