Panic’s Playdate is a portable game console announced by the company in 2019. Pre-orders for Playdate started last year, but the actual launch of the bizarre handheld game console has been delayed. Now Panic has announced the start of the first deliveries of Playdate.

The Playdate design has a 2.7-inch black and white display and it literally never drains the battery as it has a handle on the side. The front panel also has several function keys.

The portable game console looks like a blast from the past compared to the high-octane and stylish portables currently on the market. According to Panic, the first batch of Playdate consoles will be delivered to the first customers who pre-order, and the backlog will be gradually removed. Now Panic asks buyers to be patient as the product is produced in small batches. Therefore, it takes some time to fulfill all orders.

Customers who will receive their consoles have been emailed and new customers can continue to place their orders. But new orders won’t be delivered until 2023. Playdate is priced at $179 and includes a console, USB cable, and two games a week for twelve weeks. Panic Playdate portable game console.

Panik is working to expand the series of games available to users. This gives hope to the developers and will soon introduce the “Catalog” app, similar to a play store. The device also integrates a new Playdate Mirror tool for Mac and PC. This allows users to view the console screen on a PC and record video, live stream or use a large screen to mirror the current game.

Playdate’s black and white screen can be a major drawback for potential buyers. But the purpose of developing this console is color, analog joystick, etc. is to play various retro games that do not require Panic didn’t specify the level of demand for Playdate, so it’s unclear what the demand looks like. Source