PlayGate Handheld Makes BitSummit Debut in Kyoto

Kyoto got the first real-world look at the PlayGate handheld at BitSummit, but the story is not about a lost console turning up at last. The device is a physical prop, made to promote the Japanese game With the Everlasting Light.

RetroDodo reports that the PlayGate had long been treated as fictional, with no historical record, no print adverts, no commercial footage, and no contemporary blog posts from the late 1990s to support its existence. The unit shown at BitSummit is a one-off art piece, not a retail system.

The handheld is part of an alternate reality game created by Daiyonkyokai. Its shell is built to look like retro hardware, with a transparent cartridge slot, angled A and B buttons, and an AA battery compartment, but it does not function as a console.

The cartridge is the working part. It contains an NFC tag that sends players to the game on a smartphone or PC. Daiyonkyokai says the PlayGate console does not exist, and the game needs a network-connected device to play.

BitSummit ran in Kyoto, Japan, from 22nd to 24th March. The creator also notes that With the Everlasting Light includes mature themes, including violence, murder, and suicide. The game is sold on Daiyonkyokai's official website for ¥7,150, which is about £33, and shipping outside Japan may be limited.

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