MagicX Engineering Vertical Handheld Emulator with Dual Screen Stacked Layout and MediaTek Dimensity Hardware for Seamless DS and 3DS Gaming
MagicX is dabbling in an untraditional type of handheld focused emulator. Shunning the widescreen centric layouts of most other handheld emulators on the market, MagicX is engineering a taller emulation device modeled after the Nintendo 2DS shape to circumvent the goofy scaling problems encountered when running dual screen games on boxier widescreen platforms like the PlayStation Portable.
The centerpiece of the MagicX experiment in vertical handhelds is a 5 inch tall 768 x 1024 vertical panel. This aspect ratio provides a better experience than widescreen designed emulators because it is tall enough to represent two virtual screens stacked one on top of the other. This mirrors the way the Nintendo DS and 3DS consoles function rather than cramming two screens into a single row. This arrangement provides a huge easy to read and navigate interface for touchplate dependent titles, maps, and secondary menus.
By designing with a stacked image in mind, MagicX is eliminating the most common complaint about emulators on horizontal handhelds. Using dual screen titles on horizontal devices often results in extremely tiny squeezed graphics or constant manipulation of the screen layout. This new configuration will run dual screen titles more naturally.
The MagicX hardware team is investigating two different sets of components to optimize for competing price targets. The lower tier system will run a MediaTek Helio G99 processor with 3GB of RAM which is estimated to cost approximately 125 dollars. This allows the emulation of several 8 bit and 16 bit consoles as well as the Nintendo 64 and Playstation 1. It will also comfortably emulate Nintendo DS titles.
Those desiring more power are planning to configure a higher end iteration of the device with a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 and 4GB RAM. This version is targeted at a 165 dollar price point and is designed for emulating Nintendo 3DS games. The higher RAM stipend will additionally offer a healthy reserve for running Android emulation front ends and background processes.
Active cooling will be implemented on both models to prevent throttling issues over long periods of operation. A small fan will keep the Dimensity and Helio chipsets running at a brisk clip. Care will be taken regarding fan noisiness, runtime drain, and heat dissipation within the hardware design.
Physical ergonomics and balance will also be pivotal to user satisfaction as the taller form can make handhelds feel unwieldy. Battery, cooling, and control layout must be managed carefully so as not to create a top heavy handheld. Furthermore, touch sensitivity and scaling of layout options need to be preconfigured for instant plug and play functionality.
