Emulation vs Hardware

[Nyukki]

I don't have a problem with ehh-mooooo-lay-shaaaaan, but I've sold my original hardware before and have always regretted it. I've since got most of my old consoles back.

I have an HTPC with a HyperSpin setup with all sorts of consoles and arcade stuff. When I hear about a game I'm interested in I'll usually first emulate it to see if I like it before looking for a cart/disc or loading it to a flashcart/burn a disc. I don't see myself as much of a collector anyways, I just aim to have all the hardware I wanted growing up but couldn't afford at the time.

Some games even look better emulated. Been enjoying Gradius V on PCSX2 recently. Also, I can't remember the last time I played PSX games on actual hardware, they all look so much better through EPSXE on my HDTV.

[emwearz]

Playing burnt discs is not emulation. If you are playing a game that was coded for that piece of hardware, it is not emulation.

Emulation = When one system imitates another system.

[Pulsar_t]

[Lazer]

Emulation = When one system imitates another system.

So playing a Gamecube game on a Wii is emulation?

[emwearz]

Emulation = When one system imitates another system.

So playing a Gamecube game on a Wii is emulation?

No, because the Wii is not imitating anything, it has the hardware to run GC game natively. Same as the PS2 playing PS1.

However the Xbox via Xbox 360 is emulation and thus why there are so many slow downs, texture issues, etc.

[Violent By Design]

Emulation = When one system imitates another system.

So playing a Gamecube game on a Wii is emulation?

I don't think so, because a Gamecube is essentially in the Wii for the most part. It isn't emulating the gamecube, it is a gamecube. If that makes sense.

[GSZX1337]

For the most part, I emulate for retro games. It's a shit ton more convenieq1nt, cheaper, and in some cases enhance the games. For instance, I can play old DOS games with a mouse that don't support it. I sold my retro gaming stuff and I don't regret it.

For the fifth generation:
PSX - I haven't messed with this enough to craft an opinion as my HTPC isn't powerful enough to emulate the system. From the little I have played, it looks pretty good.
Saturn - This has improved greatly over the past few years, though I'm not ready to sell my modded Saturn yet. Main reason is that SSF (last I checked) doesn't allow for rendering in higher resolutions. I might be wrong since I can't even get the emu to start without crashing. The emu I use, Yabause, doesn't quite have the compatibility of SSF but it does play a nice amount of games well. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how much Saturn emulation will improve by year's end.
N64 - While it's not as bad as it once was, N64 emulation still sucks. I'm not aware of any emulator/plugin combination that'll play Yoshi's Story well and Cruisin' USA seems to be a problem title as well. Worse is that it's almost at a stand-still as Project 64, the leading N64 emulator, hasn't been updated in over 9 months while other emulators haven't been updated in years. A large number of the trailblazers like UltraHLE have either straight up died or have been turned into slowly updating forks. Considering how many times these emulators have been forked there might be some kickass emulator that I don't know about, but I wouldn't count on it. I've been considering purchasing an N64 for a while because of this.

Thankfully, it looks like sixth generation, with the exception of the Xbox, fares better but those emulators require pretty badass PCs. I haven't messed with it much, but I think my PC isn't powerful enough to handle these emulators.

EDIT: Changed the end of my post to include tbe Dreamcast. Tbe fact that I forgot it is almost criminal.

[Nyukki]

To the OP, I would get a decent HTPC, put your consoles in to storage, get your emulators set up and see how it feels before selling any consoles. Emulation does make things more convenient in some ways, but then again what's more convenient than simply inserting a cartridge and pressing the power button?

Emulators and front ends in some cases take a lot of time and effort to research and set up. For a while I was spending all my gaming time just troubleshooting emus and frontends instead of actually playing, until one day I thought, "what the hell is wrong with me?!?!?! Njaaaaarghgh!"

Controllers are another key point. Will you be happy controlling all your games with a 360 pad? At one point I had a big USB hub with official controllers for all my systems connected via usb converters, which was great when it all worked, but took ages of messing about with Joy2Key and Xpadder and on some days certain controllers didn't work, or the settings of two were swapped etc. So yeah, lot's of hassle compared to using actual hardware.

[dunpeal2064]

I emulate everything SNES and prior, and use hardware+burning for anything above that. THe only system I buy games for is the 360.

Nothing to complain about really, the only downside to the setup so far is that I can't play a few n64 games. Most of the ones I'm interested in are in great shape on the VC though.

So, here is my setup:

Wii: NES/SNES/Genesis CD/Turbo CD/GBA/N64/Gamecube/Wii (Modded with HBC)
PS2: PS1/PS2 (Memory card modded with FMCB)
Saturn: Using swap disc trick atm, should upgrade to a mod chip.
Dreamcast: Plays burns out of the box
Xbox 360
PC: Mame/occasional ps1

With the Wii and ps2 hooked up via component cables, the games look great. No need to buy an upscaler for the older games, the Wii already outputs them in 480p. Using Xploder or GSM on the ps2 lets you force better resolutions on the games, which leads them to often look better than the real thing. Having the option to patch discs (like the 240p patch for Ibara) is also quite nice.

Oddly, with all the emulation I do, I rarely use the PC to do it. I will use it to play some ps1 games, if I am in the mood to tweak a bunch of filters to get the games looking really nice. Usually I am fine with just playing on the ps2 though. And, since my PC isn't going to run Dolphin, I need a Wii in the setup anyways, so it makes it easier to just use the Wii for most of my emulation needs.

And, of course, the upside (aside everything being pirated) is the easy access to imports and fan translations, and having at least a somewhat limited amount of boxes and wires laying about.

So, yeah! I think emulation is great. I still have smaller collections that I am aiming for, but I have no desire to own as many games as I am interested in playing, so my setup works perfectly for me. I think I've found a nice balance of cheap, but accurate gaming.

[Nyukki]

So, here is my setup:

My setup is pretty much the same except minus the 360 and plus a NES, SNES and Mega Drive (and hopefully a Famicom come this Valentine's Day). The Wii is an excellent emu box.