The handheld console has been delayed to 2022 due to battery and CPU issues

Panic released an update regarding its handheld console Playdate which was expecting its first batch of pre-orders to be released at the end of 2021. Sadly this is no longer the case and the company has had to push back its release date.

People that have already pre-ordered the Playdate will have to wait ’til 2022 now to receive the handheld console due to issues that came up with the batteries and CPU.

Causes for Playdate Delay

Panic released an update via Twitter and an email to its pre-order adopters about why the Playdate is now expecting a release in 2022.

Hi! If you've pre-ordered a Playdate, check your email for a copy of the "Playdate Owner's Update #1".

There's bad news (a battery tragedy means Late 2021 units are now Early 2022, see email for your timing) but also good news (Pulp+SDK release dates!!)

Thanks for reading it. pic.twitter.com/03BUolZetY

— Playdate (@playdate) November 11, 2021

The company stated that the first issue that arose was the battery life. Panic received the first 5000 finished Playdate units and began testing them for the team to realise the battery life was not what they were expecting.

Playdate’s battery is designed to last a very long time, and always be ready for you, even if not used for a while. But that was not the case. In fact, we found a number of units with batteries so drained, Playdate wouldn’t power on at all – and couldn’t be charged. That’s a battery worst-case scenario.

Panic then made the difficult, expensive decision to send all 5000 Playdates back so the batteries could be replaced and it luckily worked out for the company, giving it the battery life it wanted in the first place.

Another issue that occurred was the CPU Panic wanted to use for the Playdate was out of stock and would be for another 2 years, so the company had to replace it with a more widely used CPU. This links back to the global chip shortage all consoles are facing right now, causing Valve’s Steam Deck to delay its release date to 2022 too.

Panic did reassure the people who’ve pre-ordered the device that their place in the line hasn’t changed. The first 20,000 orders will now receive their units in early 2022, and orders from 20,000 to 50,000 will now be sent out in the second half of 2022 instead of earlier in the year. The Playdate sold 20,000 units incredibly quickly, so there will be a lot of people waiting for the second batch of Playdates.

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The post Playdate: Initial Release Date Has Now Been Delayed first appeared on Get2Gaming.

The new handheld console will start shipping this year

Panic, which is predominantly known for developing Mac and iOS software and the publisher of Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game, has announced the date for which people will be able to pre-order their new handheld console and it’s happening next week.

Fans that have been waiting to see what the Playdate has in store will be able to pre-order the console on Thursday 29th July at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST.

Playdate Pre-order Details

There will be 20,000 units released in the first batch but Panic has told interested buyers not to worry, the console will technically sell out.

If you are a customer within the first 20,000, you will receive the Playdate when it ships in late 2021, however, if you pre-order the Playdate after the first 20,000 units, you will be put on a waiting list for when the next batch is produced.

The console costs $179 (£126) with the optional cover of $29 (£21) and will only be available in 16 countries including United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK and 11 other European countries.

The Playdate features a 2.7-inch black-and-white screen with a resolution of 400 × 240- that’s four times the amount of pixels on the Game Boy screen! it also has a D-pad, two buttons, and a crank that is meant to flip the device.

People that purchase the Playdate will also receive a 24-game “season” of free games from different indie developers including  including Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi and Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope. Two new games will also be releasing each week via Wi-Fi.

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The post Playdate: Pre-order Dates for the Handheld Console Released first appeared on Get2Gaming.