God I want one, what're your thoughts so far? Do you know If I buy one down the line will I be able to access the previously released games?
thoughts so far are very limited, as I've only played one of the initial 2 games delivered to you upon set up.
the hardware itself is very nice, feels premium and has a nice amount of weight. D-pad and buttons are nice and have a slight but satisfying clicky feel. the crank feels super solid, smooth, and accurate, it's certainly a unique and neat feature and method of control. everything about it's presentation is cute and charming. if fun, bright yellow, with a crank doesn't make you smile then stay away from this thing. the screen is razor sharp and quite beautiful for only displaying 2 colors, but it is NOT backlit so without adequate light you simply can't play it. that said I'm surprised with how little light you can sort of get away with, but it's definitely harder to enjoy when lighting isn't ideal. sound seems surprisingly good too for having such a little speaker, but again I have only played one game so I haven't really heard all it can (and can't do). it has a headphone jack, but I haven't tried it out yet. it connects to Wifi but I don't believe it has Bluetooth.
I'd have to guess about your other question as I don't know if that's something that Panic themselves have answered or figured out. if I had to guess I'd say that most certainly no matter when you get it you'll get all the games from Season 1, but will the roll-out be the same for those who get it next year as those who got theirs in April 2022? not sure, but again I'd assume it would still be the same. I was in Group 2, and my number was near the start of the Group so I'll be a few weeks/games in by the time the end of Group 2 are shipped out (using Group 1 as reference). Not sure what Group someone would be in if they were to Pre-Order today, but my guess is the earliest they'd get it is somewhere in 2023, as shipping has been slower than expected (there was also a major delay right before they were set to ship in 2021 due to an issue with the battery they initially were going to use so everything just got pushed back fairly significantly).
But back to the games. they're made, Panic paid for them to be made and included in Season 1 of the games, so I have to imagine that everyone who gets a Playdate will get these games. Will there be a Season 2? I hope so and I would probably expect it, but if there is a Season 2 and it starts before people get a Playdate how would that affect the delivery of Season 1? who knows? They initially wanted to ship them all at once so everyone who was playing was essentially experiencing the Season's games at the same time, but I think that went out the window when they sold way more units than they anticipated.
the one game I've played so far, "Whitewater Wipeout" is really quite fun and addictive, though initially I wasn't as impressed. it's very reminiscent of the surfing event of "California Games" from back in the day, so I figured I'd love it but had some trouble figuring it all out and put it down after a few tries feeling underwhelmed. but I made a conscious effort to stick with it before moving on and once I wrapped my head around the controls and was linking some jumps and sticking the landings it started feeling very satisfying. I still need to work on it and get better, but I definitely now have fun playing it and get excited when I beat my previous high scores.
Additionally there is a marketplace where you can download non-Season games, some for a fee while others are completely free. it's apparently fairly easy to create games for it as well if you have any programming experience, but apparently even for beginners it's a good way to start out. It's likely I never will, but I'd love to look into to and try making a little game if not too challenging, especially if I had an idea for a game. and while that's ultimately another conversation, I figured it was worth mentioning since it could be a strong selling point for someone interested in the Playdate.
anyway, this turned out to be a much longer response than I expected, but I guess that shows that I'm pretty excited about having this little thing. it's definitely super niche, quirky, and unique which I love... but it's also pricey for what it is, what it can do, and the types of games it runs, so it's certainly not for everyone.