The Playdate, also known as the only portable device that actually fits in my small hands, is almost perfect. It's a small yellow machine with a black and white screen and a crank on one side, and it's home to fantastical and quirky video games. The Playdate catalog has more than 100 titles and there are hundreds more on sites like itch.io, created by new developers and established indies such as Bennett Foddy, Lucas Pope and Keita Takahashi. Two years after its launch, Playdate is thriving. Panic, the company behind the device, said it has sold more than 70,000 units.
The only thing Playdate is missing is the stereo base, a device that Panic announced back in 2021 and that has been “coming soon” since then. The Stereo Dock is a charging station, Bluetooth speaker, pen holder, and Playdate stand, and it looks like an adorable little tube TV when it's all together. The Dock connects magnetically to the Playdate and charges it wirelessly.
At least, willpower do these things when it really comes out. Playdate project lead Greg Maletic told Engadget that Panic is still working on Stereo Dock and that the delay is due to unexpected issues in its factory process. There should be an official update in the coming months. This is what Maletic said:
“We apologize to everyone who has a Playdate and has been patiently waiting for the Stereo Dock; it has been a more complicated project than we anticipated and we had a few false starts. We thought we would save some time on that project by having our factory do it. software for the Stereo Dock, but we've learned that in some cases it's not always necessary. The Stereo Dock is very much alive, we have the physical prototypes to prove it! We hope to have a formal update on when you can purchase one later this year “.
This is not the first delay in Playdate history. Panic had to postpone the launch of the handheld in November 2021 due to a serious battery issue that forced the company to switch suppliers at the last minute. Playdate shipments began rolling out about four months late, in April 2022. The wait was worth it, according to most reviewers.
It's been two years since Playdate came out and we just published a new review looking at the growth of the platform and how this moody yellow square has become a hub of innovation in game development. Read it right here.
