Emulation frontend ES-DE gets 3.4.0 update featuring playtime tracking, dual-screen support, and more
Version 3.4.0 has finally launched for popular emulation frontend ES-DE after a week of teasers from the development team. Available on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android, ES-DE has grown to be the frontend of choice for many thanks to its simple setup, robust assortment of themes, built-in scraping, and much much more. It’s been my go-to choice since starting to play with Android handhelds, and with this latest update it’s only gotten better.
The big feature this time around, at least to me, is the addition of playtime tracking. For PC users this may not sound too significant, with the majority of frontends like Playnite, Launchbox, and even Steam if you’re going out of your way. On Android the pickings are relatively slim, with the aforementioned Launchbox being the only option I’ve managed to find. Under the hood this new tracking works just like Steam, which brings with it a few quirks on more portable devices. The gist is that it’ll note the time you launched a game, and the time you closed the game. The difference between those times is added to a game’s metadata; where you might have issues is if you put your device into sleep mode after launching a game. There are optional safeguards in place, but the general advice for people wanting accurate stats is to just close games before putting their handhelds to sleep.
Next up on the feature list is something particularly exciting for me, having ordered AYANEO’s Pocket DS during its crowdfunding period: dual-screen support. Sadly this isn’t anything extreme like recreating the nostalgia of the R4 or Supercard menus to span across both screens. Instead we’re looking at a more simple option to launch your games on the display ES-DE isn’t running from. This means if you happen to be running the launcher on your bottom screen, you could launch your game on the top screen and have access to any game guides or manuals you’ve got saved. It would be cool to see this developed further with something like a screensaver that showed session playtime, total playtime, and other stats, but any development that improves the dual-screen experience is great to see.
Our final collection of features really just boil down to supporting more systems out of the box, as well as being able to list native Android ports of retro games with their original systems. Setting up the launcher on Android, you’ll now have access to aPS3e, ARMSX2, and even PC game launching via GameNative and GameHub Lite.
If you’re interested in a video demonstration of the new update, you can check out ES-DE’s YouTube announcement below:
Alongside the 3.4.0 release, @weestuarty of the ES-DE team has put together a custom GBAtemp theme for the app for us to make available to active patrons. There's still a little work for us to do behind the scenes before making it available, but keep an eye out on the front page if you're eager to spice up your handheld with a bit of Tempy!
Version 3.4.0 Changelog ES-DE Official Site
