Totally Sidetalkin'

Find out how an offhand idea to mark the 15th anniversary of a software company launched a decade-long saga of twists, turns, and mini-boss battles that led to the creation of a handheld gaming console as surprising and unique as its creators. Pre-order day is finally here, but it’s dangerous to go alone. Take this adorable yellow box, and let’s get crankin’… on the story of Playdate.

How the Nokia N-Gage failed so spectacularly that it became a meme before social media really existed. And what that has to do with Panic, exactly.

How did a fierce competition with a rival lead Steven Frank and Cabel Sasser to make a life-changing decision in a meeting with one of their biggest idols... and one of their arch nemeses?

An act of social media spite, an unlikely friendship, and a lot of fast food coupons. How did signing up for a Twitter account to do support lead to an odd and endearing relationship… and whatever happened to the cardboard friends we made along the way?

Most of us remember the iPhone app store launch in 2008 and the iPhone app gold rush that followed. Indie developers flocked to the platform, all determined to build a breakout app that would earn them millions. And pretty soon that gold rush… turned into a brown rush. Enter Panic, with a ridiculous novelty app and an elaborate fake backstory for a German company that didn't exist.

It's a lovely morning in the village, and you are a horrible goose. How did four-person indie game studio House House create the anti-hero internet sensation that honked its way into our hearts in 2019? And how did a small-ish company on the other side of the world — one known primarily for making Mac and iOS software — come to be the publisher of that game?