Tag: panic

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Mobile Syrup

Panic has sold over 50,000 Playdate handhelds to date

Panic’s handheld video game console, the Playdate, was released in April 2022, and the company revealed that it sold 53,142 units in just a year’s time. That’s over two and a half times more than Panic initially planned on producing.

The company began taking pre-orders for the adorable indie handheld console at the end of July 2021, and was unsure if it would be able to move the 20,000 units. Customers blew that number out of the water within 20 minutes.

The Playdate’s demand is undeniable, but sometimes that can complicate things more than originally anticipated. Panic was met with a critical battery issue during the first batch’s manufacturing process, which led to the company switching suppliers and delaying the release of the console-with-a-crank to 2022.

Manufacturing costs were another wrench thrown into the gears of the Playdate’s production and sale, causing the console’s price to be drastically raised from $20 to $199 in April of 2023.

The company has shipped around 27,000 units and is confident that it can fulfill all preorders by the end of 2023. After that, Panic will look to start shipping the Playdate Stereo Dock, an accompanying charger/speaker combo for the console.

Those fortunate enough to get their hands on one of the quirky consoles will get access to a library consisting of 24 games, with over 400 titles available on Itch.io. Panic says that almost 40 percent of users have sideloaded games or apps onto the console. They have also released ‘Catalog,’ a built-in store for users to install games and apps.

For a company that’s faced its fair share of hiccups along the way, 50,000+ Playdate consoles sold in one year is an even bigger accomplishment than it sounds.

Image credit: Panic 

Source: Panic Via: Engadget

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Mobile Syrup

Panic’s crank-powered Playdate handheld won’t release until early 2022

Panic’s funky little Playdate handheld that features a crank, has been delayed until early 2022.

According to the company, early Playdate units shipped with batteries that weren’t up to par with its standards, resulting in the company sending the devices back to Malaysia.

Panic says that it was also hit by the global chip shortage and that more units of the Playdate’s CPU won’t be available for two years. However, the company has plans to revise the handheld’s main board to utilize a different CPU.

If you pre-ordered a Playdate, you’ve likely received an email with a new estimated shipping date. That said, Panic says this estimated date could change.

In other handheld console-related news, Valve’s Steam Deck was also recently delayed to a February 2022 release following supply chain issues. Further, Nintendo has cut its Switch sales estimates and Sony is rumoured to be manufacturing less PlayStation 5 consoles.

You can find Panic’s blog post about the Playdate’s delay here.

Image credit: Panic 

Source: Panic

Categories
Potins

One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson installs panic room in home

Louis Tomlinson has installed a panic room in his home.

The One Direction star has spent $22,500 to build a safe area in his $3.7 million mansion in Hertfordshire, East England, to keep him and his guests safe after some jealous fans sent death threats to his girlfriend Eleanor Calder, 20.

A source told The Sun newspaper: "Louis loves the fans and isn’t overwhelmed with paranoia. He’s just a realist about the dangers of being in the spotlight.

"One Direction followers are notorious for tracking the lads down, so that’s made him a bit cautious. This is just something that makes him feel safe."

Louis’ girlfriend was previously targeted by trolls on Twitter, who sent the brunette beauty photographs of the singer’s ex-girlfriend Hannah Walker before he lashed out at the comments made.

He wrote on Twitter at the time: "I’m reading some horrible tweets – very p***** off! (sic)"

Louis, 21, isn’t the only member of the group to have high security in their home, with his bandmate Zayn Malik, 20, also having a panic room in his $3 million north London pad.

However, fellow member Niall Horan has insisted he is "carefree" about people trying to intimidate the group – also formed of Harry Styles and Liam Payne – over the internet and doesn’t let them bother him.

He said: "It’s only brave girls behind a computer, thinking they can say what they want. Other celebrities get freaked out about death threats. I’m carefree about them."