The Playdate handheld console’s release will be delayed Due to Battery issues.
The Playdate is a highly anticipated handheld console that was supposed to be released at the end of this year but instead it seems the world will have to wait a little longer for its debut.
Developed by Panic and designed in collaboration with Swedish electronics company Teenage Engineering, the Playdate console was first introduced in May of 2019.
Due to difficulties discovered in the first 5000 units that came off the assembly line, the small handheld console with a hand crank is being delayed. The problem appears to be with the battery, despite the fact that the identical power sources worked perfectly in the pre-release samples supplied to game developers.
In an email to all pre-order clients, the issue was explained as such:
“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 proceeded to do a month-long stress test on the batteries and concluded that the current batteries weren’t up to scratch and immediately halted manufacturing so the problem could be fixed. They’ve decided that the only solution is to acquire fresh batteries from a different supplier, but this will cause a delay in the initial round of pre-orders, which won’t be shipped until early in 2022.
Remember when there was a “chip scarcity” due to the Covid pandemic that affected many manufacturers and the chips were on backorder for more than two years? They’ve found a means to get around this problem by switching to a different, more easily available CPU.
Panic ensures those who have pre-ordered that their place in the line hasn’t changed and that the first 20,000 units will be received in early 2022 and that the next orders up to 50,000 will be received by the second half of next year.
It seems that Panic had anticipated issues in their statement from last year:
“The sooner you order, the sooner you’ll get one, but we’re not going to close the door on you. “Hopefully it’s a pleasant experience. Although surely something will go wrong, so thanks for your patience with whatever that thing is.”
Delays are common with new products and should be expected, but Panic appears to be on top of things, and a few months’ delay shouldn’t be too much of a thorn in people’s sides.