Panic sells 20,000+ Playdate handhelds in just under 20 minutes

On Thursday, Panic’s charming/whacky/curious/all-of-the-above Playdate gaming device (and its crank!) went up for pre-order.

The buzz around the little retro-inspired handheld seemed strong but would that translate into actual sales?

The answer, it seems, is a hard yes. Panic committed to making 20,000 units for 2021, selling them on a first-come, first-serve basis. Any orders after that would still be accepted, but those orders wouldn’t ship until sometime in 2022 at the earliest.

According to Panic’s shipping estimator, those first 20,000 units were gone in under 20 minutes. That first 2021 batch went real quick. (We confirmed with a rep for Panic that the shipping estimator is accurate, and those first 20,000 units are spoken for.)