The plucky little Playdate console has outperformed its creator's sales expectations
Playdate has now sold 53,000 units, doubling its initial sales target
Playdate, the clever yellow handheld with a crank, has hit an impressive sales milestone for something that many would consider a rather niche device.
Creator Panic has announced that Playdate has now sold over 53,000 units, twice the amount Panic had originally predicted.
That number may seem insignificant when compared to the likes of Sony selling 30 million PS5 consoles and the Nintendo Switch becoming the third best-selling console of all time, but it’s a huge achievement.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Playdate sales milestone
👍 Playdate has now sold more than 53,000 units
📈 That’s double the sales forecast of creator Panic
🥳 The handheld is home to exclusive games and has a crank
😔 However, many customers are still waiting for their consoles to arrive
“To have now sold more than 53,000 (and counting) is heartening," Panic wrote in a statement accompanying the news. “And this, at a time when parts shortages forced our delivery lead-times out as much as a year. As those lead-times shorten and Playdate delivery becomes more immediate, we’re looking forward to an even better Year Two.”
However, despite selling 53,000 units, only 27,000 of those orders have shipped out to customers. This was partly due to unexpected demand but also parts shortages, according to Playdate’s project lead, Gret Maletic.
“When we started, we had no idea how big the audience would be for a weird product like this, but we told the factory: build 20,000. To have now sold more than 53,000 (and counting) is heartening.”
Playdate was first announced in 2019 and captured gamers’ imaginations thanks to its retro-like design and quirky indie games. It felt like a device that Nintendo might have conjured up 20 years ago, and it seems to have resonated with a large audience.
Playdate increased in price from $179 to $199 on April 7 as Panic said production costs went up. Existing orders weren’t affected but be prepared to pay a little more if you haven’t already ordered a unit.