Playdate pre-orders have begun shipping for Group 1 and the handheld's creator Panic says that it should get all of them out the door within a month.
The Playdate is a unique handheld console with a built-in hand crank. First revealed back in 2019, its pre-orders rapidly sold out last summer despite difficulties with a subset of international customers. Then, a battery problem caused the launch to be pushed back even further. Those big issues have all been resolved, and now the Playdate is on its way to its earliest adopters.
Group 1 Playdate Pre-Orders Should All Be Shipped Within a Month
After years of delays and other issues, the first wave of Playdate pre-orders has begun shipping and should be in the hands of customers sooner rather than later as reported by @Wario64.
"The first batch of group one Playdates are actually shipping... today," Panic co-founded Cabel Sasser said in a developer update video. "Now, because units will be shipping in small batches, it's going to take a while to send out all of group one, but we'll be reaching out to you soon about your expected delivery date. That means things are rolling."
Although the video was not specific about the timeframe, an associated blog post says that Panic thinks it can get all of the group 1 pre-orders sent out within a month. Sasser added that the first season of content will be ready to play as soon as customers actually get their consoles, whenever that might be. Gamers won't be the only ones who have a fun new toy to play with -- game developers are getting some interesting things to play with, too, with the recent free release of the Playdate SDK.
Those of you who have already pre-ordered one of these bad boys should keep an eye on your e-mail inbox for updates regarding your order. If you haven't yet pre-ordered a Playdate, you can get one by 2023 starting at $179 or your regional equivalent.
