Should I just emulate?

[kikenovic]

I've been having a philosophical problem of sorts with my insistence on original hardware. I spend a lot of time and effort modding, and developing new mods to make old hardware relevant, i.e. adding s-video, YPbPr, digital audio where possible. Obviously emulating will automatically allow me pixel perfect video and bit perfect audio right out of the box.

My old argument used to be twofold, there was something special about playing the original games with original controllers. However, I violate my own beliefs when it comes to disc based games. I burn games for the CD systems that I don't own. I have ripped all of my Cube and Wii games to hard drives and play off of that. Secondly I know controller to USB adapters, or controller to GCN adapters have been made for virtually every retro controller.

Emulation seems easy. I can have every game on hard drives, easily accessible. I can play every game in pixel perfect video, with bit perfect audio, something that isn't possible on most original hardware. Expensive games like Earthbound, can be easily downloaded and played. Hacks and unreleased games such as StarFox 2 and Earthbound Zero can be played without having to sacrifice a donor cartridge.

So can you guys help with my dilemma. Are there reasons not to emulate?

It is best to emulate. Forget about dealing with inflated prices and storage issues.

[avlon]

It really depends on what system you need to emulate. Common stuff like the Nes, Snes, Genesis, Atari, and even Turbografx have acceptable emulation. The Retron 5 does a pretty good job if emulation is acceptable for you. Especially when paired with either original controllers, or the excellent 8bitdo bluetooth pads.

Stuff like the Saturn and N64 are a completely different story though. Still best to stick with original hardware if you're a stickler for accuracy.

To play devil's advocate, Ebay prices are definitely out of hand, and the money does not go to the original developers. Personally, not a fan of digital only copies of games either, since once the server goes offline, their goes your money as well. You also can't lend/trade/resell your digital games on consoles.

[samsonlonghair]

Hi Avlon, welcome to the forum.

I have been on both sides of the emulator debate. I loved 'em in highschool. In my early twenties I started collecting old video games, and I swore I'd never go back to emulation. Now my collection has grown so large that I can't easily get to the game I'm looking for. I'm starting to lean back towards emulation purely for convenience. A good controller is a necessity either way.

[Ziggy]

I've been taking the middle road with flash carts. It's not emulation, in most cases it's 100% real hardware, but you don't have to pay the crazy eBay prices. The only real sacrifice is the collection part of it.

[marlowe221]

Certain life changes are pushing me more and more towards emulation over original hardware.

Besides that, there are some benefits to emulation. For example, why not have the benefits of modern technology when it comes to save systems along with the glories of the old games themselves? With emulation you get the best of both worlds.

Not only that but with the controller adapters that are so easy to get these days it has only got easier to have a great experience on a PC.

To each their own though, I have nothing against original hardware or the folks who love it. But there are maintenance and space issues with real hardware that you just don't have with emulation. Personally, my free time is limited and I would rather spend it playing games than cleaning the carts or fiddling with the hardware (with a few exceptions).

[BoneSnapDeez]

With the Retron 5 (not to mention future Retrons that have the potential to be even better) there's a chance that I may not touch an actual NES, SNES, Genesis, or Master System ever again.

[Xeogred]

With the Retron 5 (not to mention future Retrons that have the potential to be even better) there's a chance that I may not touch an actual NES, SNES, Genesis, or Master System ever again.

It's interesting you're one of the ultra retro advocates here, but so pro Retron 5 as well haha. Guess I'd usually expect otherwise in a case like this.

I kind of just want to get some good s-video/HDMI upscalers for my TV and then use the old consoles, but you keep tempting me to go the Retron route instead.

[Fragems]

Really with me it's a battle between playing the game as it was originally designed to be played and putting more wear on consoles that are getting up there in years.

Really I'd like to keep my hours down on my nearly 30 year old NES as much as possible so it stays in the box unless I run into a game which takes issue with the Retron.

One thing I never got was people who are against emulation and spend a fortune modding their original console. To me modifying your hardware above and beyond what it was intended to do is no different then just going ahead and emulating on newer hardware.

[BoneSnapDeez]

With the Retron 5 (not to mention future Retrons that have the potential to be even better) there's a chance that I may not touch an actual NES, SNES, Genesis, or Master System ever again.

It's interesting you're one of the ultra retro advocates here, but so pro Retron 5 as well haha. Guess I'd usually expect otherwise in a case like this.

I'm a big proponent of retro games themselves, but the whole "must be original hardware!" concept means little to me.

[marlowe221]

I'm a big proponent of retro games themselves, but the whole "must be original hardware!" concept means little to me.

Not only that, but sometimes the "original hardware" experience is sometimes actually inferior to emulation.

Let's say you're a Sega Genesis/MD fan. You want the original hardware experience. What are your choices? You can either hunt for a HD Graphics Model 1 and pay the freight since it's the internet age and everyone knows about it by now, roll the dice with one of the many Model 2 revisions and take your chances, or get a Model 3 that has other hardware limitations that the 1/2s don't have. Why? Because many of the Genesis hardware revisions had TERRIBLE sound quality and most Sega fans these days are well aware of that fact.

Meanwhile, you can download Kega Fusion for free and fiddle with the audio options to make Sonic sound just like you remember from the good old days in a matter of minutes. You can play almost every Genesis/MD, Sega CD, SMS, and 32X game ever made (I've never run into compatibility issues with it but I'm sure there are 1 or 2).

But it's crazy what gets complained about when it comes to this topic. I have actually seen people complain because their SNES emulator didn't replicate the slowdown in some game when it happened on a real SNES console. REALLY!?!? Since when is slowdown a GOOD thing?

And how many glitchy NES consoles are out there these days? Hell, from what I remember a lot of them were pretty glitchy back in the 1980s!

Don't get me wrong - I love the hardware too. It's just a question of where your personal threshold is for fun/trouble. Some people get as much enjoyment out of fiddling with the hardware as they do playing the games themselves. Others don't care much about the fiddling and just want to play. I'm sure there is a lot of overlap between the two categories as well. Every gamer/collector has to find the balance that works best for them.

For me, I find myself becoming less and less enamored with the hardware aspects as time goes on and more focused on the games. My big exceptions to that are my Atari 2600 and handheld systems where I find that the hardware still brings me joy in and of itself.