👋 Hello and welcome to another edition of The Memory Core! This week was a pretty big one for news, but the big story is the Analogue 3D.

Pre-order customers are just starting to get their shipments, but it looks like a restock is coming soon. If you're on the fence (or just want to learn about cutting-edge FPGA), I've rounded up the important info.

The second story is about AYANEO's latest device, which has a fascinating innovation that I sincerely hope more OEMs adopt next year.

I also have a small PSA about the newsletter, so let's address that first.

P.S. If you haven't already, consider signing up to get every new edition in your inbox, free of charge.

Changes to The Memory Core

I'll make this brief, but I'm going to make some changes to the newsletter starting next week.

Newsletters will still go out every Friday, but they will only contain a roundup of the week's news. Other stories will go out as separate emails throughout the week.

This gives me more time to finalize stories, and I can publish breaking news when it's most relevant.

In any case, I won't spam your inbox, and everything will remain completely free. I'm open to any feedback on this, so hit reply and I promise I'll read your message.

I'm also in the process of shifting to a new newsletter platform, which should make this whole thing better for you and me. But more details on that next month.

Analogue 3D delivers (mostly)

At long last, the Analogue 3D is out, and the reviews started pouring in when the embargo lifted on Tuesday.

Is it a little silly to have a review embargo on a device that’s been sold out for a year? Yes. Did it help revive the hype? Mostly yes.

Analogue sent review units to countless YouTubers, influencers, and media outlets, but only a few of them had the background knowledge to make their coverage any good.

(To be clear, I probably wouldn’t have done it justice either.)

Having binged many hours of reviews, here are the ones worth checking out if you want to learn more:

• ​Modern Vintage Gamer (19 minutes): Great for a relatively brief overview of the system. Plenty of gameplay footage and test results while keeping things digestible.
• ​My Life in Gaming (48 minutes): This is the best long-form review I watched, and it goes very in-depth with filters and rendering.
• ​Digital Foundry (written): Unsurprisingly, Digital Foundry published a great written review of the Analogue 3D if you'd rather read (bless you).

Overall, it sounds like Analogue mostly delivered on its promises.

In addition to solid performance, the Analogue 3D has a few tricks up its sleeve that weren’t in the promotional materials. The first, called Overclock mode, works similarly to the MiSTer FPGA N64 Turbo core, increasing framerates on games that ran poorly on original hardware.

The other is a 32-bit color toggle, which greatly increases texture fidelity and detail. The original hardware rendered in 32-bit color internally, but output in 16-bit color. The improved color depth really enhances the visuals, although it can highlight low-quality assets without the N64’s signature blur.

However, there are a few features that are missing or otherwise underwhelming:

• Save states are nowhere to be seen, and text promoting them has been scrubbed from the website.
• Flash cart support is spotty at best, although this should improve as new firmware is released.
• Nintendo’s first-party NSO N64 controller doesn’t work, but any original N64 controller (as well as the 8BitDo 64 controller) will work.
• All settings are per-game, with few global options. This is a blessing and a curse, since some games require specific settings for the best performance.
• It heats up quickly, and has an audible fan.

If you, like me, did not pre-order the Analogue 3D, there’s some extra good news. The Analogue website now lists the 3D as “restocking soon” on its product page.

Regardless, if the initial reviews are anything to go by, Analogue mostly delivered on its promise of revitalizing the N64. Time will tell how the ModRetro M64 stacks up.

Hidden touchpads: The next big thing in gaming handhelds?

This week AYANEO revealed the Pocket VERT in yet another hours-long livestream, and toward the end it finally gave a reason to buy the device: It will feature an invisible touchpad beneath front glass.

The company previously used a touchpad on the Pocket DMG, but that device also had a stick. The Pocket VERT does away with sticks, instead offering a wider touchpad. This can be set to work as one of the two sticks, or both, split down the middle.

There are plenty of advantages to this approach, with the most obvious being pocketability. It should slip neatly into a pocket, which even low-profile sticks can’t match.

Personally, I’m also excited about playing classic DOS games that require a mouse. I doubt touchpads will be my preferred way to play first-person shooters, but for slower content that requires precision, it could be a game-changer.

The rest of the specifics of the Pocket VERT, like the same high-density display as the Analogue Pocket and an excessively premium build, aren’t as compelling.

The company hasn't announced the chipset, but this is bound to be a device for collectors. It’s going to be a hard sell for most.

However, I’d love to see trackpads make their way into more devices in the future. AYANEO, for all the criticism it gets from the community for its pricing, is nearly always at the forefront of innovation.

It was one of the first handheld makers to adopt Hall effect sticks and now next-generation TMR sticks. It also incorporates the latest chipsets before the competition, including Qualcomm’s gaming-focused G-series chips.

And that’s to say nothing about its cooperation with emulator and driver developers, which has gone a long way toward improving compatibility.

In any case, it may be months before anyone else adopts touchpads, if ever. I also can’t say the Pocket VERT will be the deciding factor here, with the new Steam Controller also set to adopt them as well.

Will they revolutionize compact handhelds? Probably not. But at least it's not the same device we've seen for years with a minor spec bump.

Handheld highlights

🖥️ The Abxylute 3D One Kickstarter launched this week. It's the first handheld with "glasses-free 3D," which could be a game-changer for gaming handhelds. It's not cheap, but it is much cheaper than last year's Odyssey 3D monitor, which used the same tech. [Kickstarter]

💧 Early leaks suggest that ANBERNIC is developing a new vertical handheld device called the RG 477V. With that name, it would have the same 4:3 4.7-inch display and Dimensity 8300 as the RG 477M, but in a vertical form factor. [Reddit]

💸 In case you haven't already been inundated with ads, Black Friday is just around the corner. Retroid and AYANEO have both announced sales, but I have less than zero interest in writing a deals roundup, so keep an eye out if you're in the market.

FPGA Focus

🎮 Right on the heels of the Analogue 3D release, 8BitDo announced a new colorway for the 8BitDo 64 controller. It's much more faithful to the original button colors, although it costs $5 more than the monochrome models. It will start shipping in January. [8BitDo]

The Emulator Report

🍈 MelonDS version 1.1 released this week, with major improvements for DSi games in particular. Find more details in the dev's Reddit post, or download it directly from the official website. [Patch notes] [Download]

🔜 Turnip drivers for the Snapdragon 8 Elite are coming soon! GameHub announced that Mesa developers have been working hard on support for A8xx GPUs, and they'll likely be ready early next year. Just in time for the Odin 3 and Pocket FIT Elite. [Discord]

🆕 GameNative has released a preview of v0.6.0, which finally adds the ability to load custom games. That means you can drag-and-drop GOG files to play them on Android, although the developers also revealed that they will soon add "official" GOG support, which includes direct downloads and cloud saves. [Discord]

🔁 EmuSync is a new open-source project that syncs your emulation save files between devices. It's free and connects to Google Drive or DropBox, but it only supports Windows and Linux (read: Steam Deck). No Android or iOS support is currently planned. [GitHub]

🛜 The Android PS2 emulator ARMSX2 is adding online multiplayer functionality, which isn't available on AetherSX2/NetherSX2. It's still in testing, but it's an exciting development for PS2 fans. [Discord]

Retro archives

🟦 Geometry Dash has been de-made for the NES! The full version was released this week, but the "huge" ROM is too big to run on original hardware. If you don't want to stick to software emulation, it has also been broken into smaller files to run on flash carts or MiSTer FPGA. [Itch]

💥 Command & Conquer: Red Alert II is now playable in your browser thanks to a new fan project. You still need to load the files from an external source, but it's capable of loading directly from Archive.org. [Website]

😔 The legendary game designer and beloved personality Rebecca Heineman has sadly passed away. PC Gamer has a nice collection of remembrance messages from other developers. [PC Gamer]

🍁 Maple Story DS, the 2010 adaptation of the hit MMORPG, has been translated into English. The creator notes that there are a few minor errors that will be fixed soon, but the game is still perfectly playable. [Download]