Finally, it’s here – for a select group of players, at least. It feels like a long time since May 2019, when 333’s cover story introduced the world to Panic’s yolkcoloured handheld, but then we’ve all endured a pandemic since then. That partly accounts for the holdup, and for a slower-than-planned hardware rollout. But we’re not here to talk about Playdate’s manufacturing issues, which are already well documented – and not unique, as many would-beowners will attest. We do recognise, though, that while we’re fortunate enough to receive one of the first retail units direct from Playdate’s maker (magazine lead times do have their advantages sometimes), plenty of interested parties will still be waiting for theirs to arrive. At time of writing, the first batch should be on its way to those who got their orders in first. Anyone preordering now can expect to receive theirs no sooner than ‘late 2022’.
