Because they are different devices serving different purposes. The r36s is a portable emulator that’ll run games from different consoles; the playdate is a portable console that runs games made specifically for the playdate.
Because it has a library of interesting and innovative exclusives, making use of an unusual control input. Whether that makes it worth it or not is personal preference, but you can’t disagree that it offers something unique.
Ufff, why would you buy one of these instead of a r36s or similar
Because they are different devices serving different purposes. The r36s is a portable emulator that’ll run games from different consoles; the playdate is a portable console that runs games made specifically for the playdate.
Because it has a library of interesting and innovative exclusives, making use of an unusual control input. Whether that makes it worth it or not is personal preference, but you can’t disagree that it offers something unique.