Stolen Playdate products valued at around $400,000 have mysteriously turned up outside a restaurant, mostly still in their boxes and completely abandoned. Panic, the maker of the iconic video game consoles, shared on X the bizarre story, which began in March after dozens of boxes went missing in Las Vegas.
At the time, the company’s co-founder, Cabel Sasser, described the whole situation at the Game Developers Conference as “a bit like a true crime drama.”
However, a few months later, the consoles were returned to their rightful owner, but the circumstances of their return remain unclear.
Have you heard the story about how $400,000 worth of Playdates were mistakenly delivered by FedEx to a construction site near our warehouse? And then someone just…stole them? Seriously.
Guess what was hastily dumped at a random restaurant this morning?
Welcome back, stolen playdates! pic.twitter.com/LseJKp9sOO
— Playdate (@playdate) May 30, 2024
The company stated: “Have you heard the story of how $400,000 worth of Playdates were mistakenly delivered by FedEx to a construction site near our warehouse? And then someone just…stole them? Seriously.” However, for unknown reasons, the thief or thieves deemed the shipment unwanted or too large and subsequently abandoned it near a restaurant, which can be seen in the background of the photos, near the company’s logistics warehouse.
In a follow-up message, the Playdate team mentioned that they would provide more information on the situation at a later date. They called the return of the consoles the “best possible outcome” and attributed the solution to “a lot of time and detective work” that they enjoyed.
The team jokingly mused, “The real question is, can we sell these as a limited edition? Playdate HotTM.”
Unfortunately, the company admitted that some of them may have been stolen, responding to one comment: “Who said no boxes were opened and no Playdate systems were missing or sold?”
What are playdate games?
Playdate is a portable video game console characterized by its mechanical crank and a retro-style black and white screen. The device was announced in May 2019 and launched in April 2022. It is designed as a small, square, yellow console with a 1-bit black and white display, a 4-way D-pad, two game buttons, and a mechanical crank that can be stored away when not in use.
Regarding the crank, TechCrunch commented at the time: “It’s not necessary for every game, though, so don’t worry if it seems too weird.”
🎺 We did it. We shipped over 70,000 Playdate pre-orders. We’re on track. And that means…
Playdates are NOW IN STOCK and READY TO SHIP. Order now and your Playdate will ship in just a few days.
Go to https://t.co/7dZDdDqwMp ➡️ pic.twitter.com/gHVKkuTRFg
— Playdate (@playdate) February 13, 2024
On February 13, 2024, Panic announced on its X account that it had sold over 70,000 Playdates.
Featured image: Panic on X / Canva