New to retro, need some advice

[Ack]

A new PS1 (or repair my overheating one)
A new PS2 (or repair mine that has some reading problems

Hmm...have you cleaned either of these lately? That might do the trick. I cleaned the lens in my PS2 about a year ago because it was having problems reading discs, and it's been just fine since then. And while it's not a perfect solution, I would say if you do clean the PS2 first and everything goes well, it will give you a means to play PS2 and PS1 games if the PS1 cleaning doesn't fix your issues.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Let me tackle of few of these...

C) Saturn/Dreamcast - I have neither.. Should I get a console or can I use emulators ? I'll buy the games from ebay - See (A) for problem with HDTV though!

F) In general what do you guys think about retro/old school gaming...? With the advance of technology, HDTVs and such it's a problem keeping original consoles...The need of multiple TV inputs, the degradation of quality and the need of multiple power plugs and the potential clutter... What's your ideas?

Saturn and Dreamcast are both great, but keep in mind that everything related to the Saturn (the console itself and the games) is much more expensive. You may be able to find a Dreamcast for less than $30 and some decent games to start with for under $10 each. A Saturn console usually runs $50-$60 and most decent games are $25+ with some really great ones priced at over $100. Both consoles are about equally "good" in my opinion. I started with the Dreamcast and started to buy Saturn stuff about two years after.

As far as TVs go, I use two. I use the HDTV just for HD gaming - PS3 and Xbox 360. For everything else I use a CRT. I recommend checking Goodwill and/or craigslist for a decent priced CRT. Sony Wega televisions seem to be pretty popular among retro gamers here as they have many input ports and are of fantastic quality. I got mine at Goodwill for $25.

And for the record, you don't need to keep tons of consoles hooked up at once. I keep three hooked to my CRT and one to the HDTV. The rest are in the closet - I rotate consoles in/out whenever I feel it's necessary.

[zspaun]

Unfortunately I have no space for a CRT setup and since my PC is already incorporated into my setup seamlessly a PC based solution is very interesting to me...

I'll try to get my hands on Saturn games/Dreamcast games from local retro shops or friends and try them with an emulator... Anyone has any experience with this ?

PS2 I will clean it since I never did in all these years

[BoneSnapDeez]

I'm not crazy about emulating anything post-4th-generation, but I do know of some people who've had luck with Saturn and Dreamcast emulators. I'd recommend the SSF emulator for Saturn - I don't know much about Dreamcast emulation, but I've heard good things about nullDC.

Oh and don't let only having an HDTV stop you from playing/hooking up old consoles. They might not look "perfect" but it's not like they're gonna look like crap or anything. Heck, sometimes I hook my Atari 2600 to my HDTV to test out new games.

[Luke]

When people call the PS2 "retro" I get a bit queasy.

[AppleQueso]

When people call the PS2 "retro" I get a bit queasy.

Well it launched over a decade ago and it'll likely be two console generations old by the end of this year.

[Luke]

Well it launched over a decade ago and it'll likely be two console generations old by the end of this year.

Well, "retro" does mean of recent past, so shit; the Wii is also retro. From here on out I'm an old ass gamer.



edit: just noticed my profile says I'm 38 (didn't know that) and that my birthday is way off (did know that).

[noiseredux]

Your computer will not be able te read a dreamcast disc. Saturn it will read fine though.

[zspaun]

I would settle to Roms/ISO images and buy them for collection purposes only... No I'm not a pirate in anyway


Would probably somehow rip them to ISOs even if I bought them since I am on HTPC...

[Ack]

I would settle to Roms/ISO images and buy them for collection purposes only... No I'm not a pirate in anyway


Would probably somehow rip them to ISOs even if I bought them since I am on HTPC...

I believe you could find some info on this kind of thing for DC games over at SNES O Rama, not that we promote or condone any form of piracy here, *ahem* *cough* *ahem*