Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

[ElkinFencer10]

I can't stand the Playstation 2.

Wut. Are you speaking of hardware and controller design specifically or the game library? There are so many PS2 games that it seems unfeasible to think you couldn't find something you'd be into.

Mainly the rubbish video output. I also prefer the Gamecube and Xbox controllers (at least the smaller, redesigned Xbox contoller) to the PS2 controller. There are some fantastic for the PS2, but the video quality just isn't that great (though component does, admittedly, help a lot) and the controller just isn't my cup of tea.

[fastbilly1]

Sadly PJ64 has some massive gaps though and the new installer is full of "upgrade" programs. Id gladly pay them for a none bugged out installer if it helped them get the emulator to the next level.

But you are right, Dreamcast requires juggling emulators. Reicast, NullDC, and Demul are the three I cycle through.

[Exhuminator]

Sadly PJ64 has some massive gaps though and the new installer is full of "upgrade" programs.

I haven't tried v2.2 yet, so I don't know. The last version I used played through the N64 games I wanted to play quite well at least (Ocarina, Sin & Punishment, Blast Corps). Maybe some of the more esoteric ones have emulation issues though.

[marlowe221]

That day came for me years ago. I gave away my 8 and 16 bit systems to younger kids (along with all the carts) back in the late 90s because I was happy enough NESticle, ZSNES, NO$GB, KGEN98, and other such first generation emulators. (Of course I had no idea that all those carts would be worth so much money all these years later.)

Regardless, emulators today like SNES9X or FCEUX or Visual Boy Advance and such are totally on par for my tastes. I totally understand (and indulge) in nostalgia, but from a personal perspective space is at a premium in my dork cave already, without adding hundreds of 8 and 16 bit carts into the mix that would take up even more space. So collecting NES or Genesis games or what have you is a no go simply from a space perspective for me.

I think that as far as 32 bit emulation goes, the latest version of ePSXe with the right plugins is really accurate and great. For N64, Project64 has become awesome and totally usable, especially when paired with an actual N64 controller via USB. I've also used SSF for Saturn emulation to great effect and have finished a few games with it. Even DeSmuME and PPSSPP do excellent jobs of emulating the DS and PSP now.

Where I think emulation gets spotty is PS2 and Dreamcast. Those systems IMO are still not emulated well enough to disregard the hardware. I guess GameCube works well enough with Dolphin, but who knows if we'll ever see an original Xbox emulator.

Oh, I definitely agree that the quality of emulation starts to get spotty as we move through console gaming history toward the present day. Personally, it doesn't effect me very much. I never had much experience with the 32-bit era at all; I just kept playing my SNES up until got a PS2. So I guess I don't miss that stuff since I never got into it to begin with. I have always been more of a 8/16-bit guy.

Once you get up to the PS2/GCN/Xbox era, the games are so similar to the ones we have now on the current consoles/PC that I find myself not wanting to spend much time playing games of that era when I can play their modern descendants in brilliant HD. In many instances the PS2-era game play is very similar to the modern versions and graphics are a lot worse.

(That's an interesting side note actually. Compare how much game play changed between the 16-bit era and the PS2 generation. It's a pretty significant difference. Meanwhile, there has hardly been ANY change in how games are played from the PS2 generation to the present day.)

The only exception from that generation, for me, is the GameCube because of Nintendo's unique array of titles on that system. But that's why I own a GCN!

[Xeogred]

I don't really care for emulation. It's too fake, just doesn't have any magic.

The only exception is Seiken Densetsu 3, which I make sure to have first thing on a new computer/reformat/etc.

[Exhuminator]

I find myself not wanting to spend much time playing games of that era when I can play their modern descendants in brilliant HD.

I don't know if I agree with that. There's some really unique games that only appeared on PS1 and/or PS2, but did not get sequels or analogs on PS3 or PS4. For example I've been enjoying the Shadow Hearts series on PS2, and I can't think of any JRPGs on PS3 or PS4 that are a proper continuation of those. On the other hand, if you're just talking about generic genres like FPS, racing, or sports, than yeah it's just more of the same from Xbox to 360 to One... only prettier every time.

I don't really care for emulation. It's too fake, just doesn't have any magic.

If you're playing on laptop with a keyboard, I can see where you're coming from. One time I hooked a desktop up to a CRT TV, and played emulated SNES games on it with a Buffalo USB SFC controller, and the experience genuinely felt like the real thing.

[marlowe221]

I don't know if I agree with that. There's some really unique games that only appeared on PS1 and/or PS2, but did not get sequels or analogs on PS3 or PS4. For example I've been enjoying the Shadow Hearts series on PS2, and I can't think of any JRPGs on PS3 or PS4 that are a proper continuation of those. On the other hand, if you're just talking about generic genres like FPS, racing, or sports, than yeah it's just more of the same from Xbox to 360 to One... only prettier every time.

I think there are far more similarities than there are differences when it comes from the PS2/Xbox generation to now. And I think it goes beyond FPS, racing and sports.

I agree on JRPGs though. There probably aren't as many of those these days on the x86 twins.

[Exhuminator]

I think there are far more similarities than there are differences when it comes from the PS2/Xbox generation to now.

You said you could just play "their modern descendants", but what's the modern descendant of Michigan: Report from Hell on PS3 or PS4? Are there modern descendants of games like Graffiti Kingdom, Front Mission 5, King's Field: the Ancient City, Haunted Ground, Disaster Report, God Hand, Super Galdelic Hour... on PS3 or PS4?

My point is, there were a lot of very unique games on the PS1 and PS2, but less so on the PS3, and certainly fewer to come on the PS4. While genre franchises do carry over, I think if you ignore the PS1 or PS2, you are going to be missing out on some truly esoteric classics.

On the other hand if you're not interested in idiosyncratic exclusive games, then it hardly matters.

[corn619]

I think there are far more similarities than there are differences when it comes from the PS2/Xbox generation to now.

You said you could just play "their modern descendants", but what's the modern descendant of Michigan: Report from Hell on PS3 or PS4? Are there modern descendants of games like Graffiti Kingdom, Front Mission 5, King's Field: the Ancient City, Haunted Ground, Disaster Report, God Hand, Super Galdelic Hour... on PS3 or PS4?

My point is, there were a lot of very unique games on the PS1 and PS2, but less so on the PS3, and certainly fewer to come on the PS4. While genre franchises do carry over, I think if you ignore the PS1 or PS2, you are going to be missing out on some truly esoteric classics.

On the other hand if you're not interested in idiosyncratic exclusive games, then it hardly matters.

I couldn't agree more. The amount of unique class A gaming experiences on the generations prior to the PS3/360 are countless. Personally, I think as development costs skyrocket the risks publishers take on unique gaming experiences have decreased dramatically. The copy and paste shooter and or sand box game are much more profitable than a unique masterpiece like Okami. While the indie gaming scene has produced some amazing games, they were only a few that gave me that same sense of intrigue as a game like Viewtiful Joe.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'd also argue that the PS2/Dreamcast/Xbox/Gamecube generation had this wonderful feeling around it that effected game development. (I also feel like it bled into the 7th gen a bit, but different discussion.) Such off the wall ideas getting the green light. Violence and sex in games get more ramped up, even if sexual elements were still kept down quite a bit more than violence. A sort of neo-eXTREMe feeling to some of the games/advertisements. Huge ass, important E3s. A whole lot of excitement of "look what we can do now with games!"

Now its less about "what can we do that we haven't before" and more about "what will sell without infringing copyright" caused by a myriad of problems.