The Playdate, otherwise known as the only handheld that fits my tiny hands, is nearly perfect. It’s a little yellow machine with a black-and-white screen and a crank on one side, and it’s home to fantastic, weird video games. Available in the Playdate Catalog Over 100 titles there are hundreds more on sites like itch.io, created by new developers and established indies like Bennett Foddy, Lucas Pope, and Keita Takahashi. Two years after its launch, Playdate is thriving. Panic, the company behind the device, said more than 70,000 have been sold.
Playdate has something missing Stereo Dock, a device that Panic announced in 2021 and has since been “coming soon.” The Stereo Dock is a charging station, a Bluetooth speaker, a pen holder and a stand for Playdate, and all put together it looks like a cute little tube TV. The dock attaches magnetically to the Playdate and charges it wirelessly.
At least he is will be do these things when it actually comes out. Playdate Project head Greg Maletic told Engadget that Panic is still working on the Stereo Dock, and the holdup is due to unexpected issues in its factory pipeline. There should be an official update in the coming months. What Maletic said:
“Apologies to everyone with Playdate who has been patiently waiting for the Stereo Dock; it’s been a more difficult project than we expected and we’ve had a few false starts. We thought we’d save some time on this project by doing it in our factory. The software for the Stereo Dock, but we’ve learned that in some cases you don’t always want it. The Stereo Dock is very much alive, and we’ve got physical prototypes to prove it! We’re looking forward to the official update later this year when you can buy one.”
This is not the first delay in Playdate history. Panic had to postpone the launch of the handset to November 2021 for some reason serious battery problem forced the company to change suppliers at the last minute. Playdate shipments began rolling out in April 2022 with a delay of about four months worth the waitaccording to most reviewers.
It’s been two years since Playdate came out, and we’ve just checked back, looking at the growth of the platform and how this jarring yellow square has become a hub for innovation in game development. Read this here.
