Intel and Chinese brand Tencent Games have collaborated on a new bit of gaming hardware destined for launch in China and possibly the rest of the world. Called the Sunday Dragon 3D One (hey, we didn’t name the thing), it’s supposedly the “world’s first” glasses-free gaming handheld. Of course, that’s a false claim. Nintendo’s 3DS gaming console launched in China in 2012.
Chinese platform ITHome has all the details of the Sunday Dragon 3D One, a name that suggests sequels are possible for the console. Never mind that not even Nintendo has managed a proper update to what was honestly an excellent handheld — it must be nice to have Tencent’s confidence.
Tencent’s worth
It’s easy to see where the Sunday Dragon is aimed. A since-retired Japanese handheld isn’t this thing’s competition. Instead the Steam Deck and its many competitors, plus the various glasses-free monitors landing on the market, are the niche being exploited here.
Intel’s involvement means there is a Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 258V chipset at the Sunday Dragon’s core, with an 11in display chucking 3D games at PC players’ eyes. Like they need something else to be obnoxious about. 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage round out the important specs and, like the Lenovo Legion Go (and Nintendo Switch), the Sunday Dragon’s controllers are detachable.
The 11in glasses-free 3D screen takes a page from similar monitors by using eye-tracking technology to give the impression of depth on a flat screen. This will arguably work better on a handheld than a monitor since the form factor is by nature confined to a single viewer. It should give the tracking algorithm fewer issues when serving up visuals.
Only a handful of games are confirmed to support what Tencent is still calling an “experimental” console. So far. Path of Exile, Blade & Soul, and Arena Breakout: Infinite players who are open to purchasing some dedicated hardware might find the Sunday Dragon a compelling device. It’s also possible that Tencent has developed conversion technology that will render most games from 2D to 3D when played on the console. If this is the case, it’ll likely produce results with varying success.
Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.
Source via NotebookCheck
