‘s quicky crank-based handheld called Playdate sold through all 20,000 units it had committed for preorders in under 20 minutes. This would mean that roughly 1,000 units were committed to every minute. Panic has stated that their shipping estimator has accurately confirmed that the units had been sold, when they went up for pre-order on July 29th.
This doesn’t mean that people looking to preorder the handheld cannot do so, as the company is still taking preorders on their official website. Any additional units outside of the initial 20,000 are not expected to reach consumers until some point in 2022, though no official timeframe on additional shipments is known.
That is not to say there were no technical issues concerning pre-order sales when they went live. Panic Inc. has acknowledged through Twitter that the online store experienced technical issues, especially where international sales were concerned. Some international users had issues selecting their country. Others had issues with the stock tracking, which for a brief period showed the device as being out of stock.
Following these issues, Panic released a statement saying they were attempting to “figure out the best plan for international orders that got delayed due to failures” though they were “amazed at the response” in regards to this first wave of preorders.
😮💨 Systems are normal, orders are flowing, and the Playdate site has returned. We'll continue to figure out the best plan for international orders that got delayed due to failures — stay tuned.
Also: we're absolutely amazed at the response today. Thank you all so very much. 💛
— Playdate (@playdate) July 29, 2021
If you are not aware of what the Playdate is up until this point, it is a tiny handheld device that uses a crank as one of the means through which games are played on it. The games that will be played on it are a retro style, with the developers behind Papers, Please and Return of The Obra Dinn set to contribute games on it as well. Games for the console will be released in a season pass over the course of several months with over 20 games confirmed for its first season. It will also have a base, sold separately, that makes it look like a tiny TV.
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