Playdate handheld delayed to 2022, Panic tells pre-order customers

Customers who ordered the Playdate handheld game machine, which is small and yellow, from Panic, were informed by the company that it will be available in 2022. The original release date for the Playdate was set to be later this year.

Panic said in an email Thursday that the first 5,000 Playdates — those scheduled to ship to customers this year — had battery issues that became evident during testing.

“We quickly became concerned that some of them weren’t giving us the battery life we expected,” Panic said. “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 stated that it had shipped the 5,000 Playdates back to the manufacturer, and was in the process replacing the batteries with a new supplier. It is possible that future Playdate units will also be delayed by the snag. Panic stated that the first 20,000 Playdate hand-helds will arrive in 2022. The next 30,000 Playdate handhelds are expected to arrive in the second year.

What’s more, Panic warned that future orders may also be impacted, and not just because of the battery issue. This all-too familiar anecdote shows that the worldwide shortage of chip chips has also affected Playdate manufacturing.

After confirming that there were many orders, we placed an immediate order with our factory to purchase all parts required for 2022 units. The response was… sobering. Our parts were often delayed by significant amounts. In fact, we can’t get any more of Playdate’s current CPU for — you’re not going to believe this — two years. That’s right, 730 days.

On the bright side, Panic said it finished a revision to the Playdate’s main board and plans to use a “similar, but more widely available, CPU” in future orders. The company also mentioned “other part shortages we’re trying to outsmart right now,” but suffice it to say, the wait for a Playdate is getting longer.

Panic is not alone in facing shortages of components and chips. Sony and Nintendo recently reduced their shipping estimates for Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 5, respectively. Valve, however, announced that its Steam Deck handheld gaming console would be delayed on Wednesday due to supply chain concerns.