In another thread (http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?52319-Discussion-Favorite-video-game-console) someone mentions that they don't like emulation. I personally really like emulation, as long as it's via a good emulator (i.e. it 'feels' right, and isn't glitched or too slow or prone to crashing), so I thought a poll to find out people's preference re: emulation vs. the real thing, would be interesting. And, for the sake of this poll, assume that emulation is 100% perfect, as obviously few people would want to play on a glitchy or incompatible emulator. I like the advantages you get with an emulator, such as (potentially) faster loading of games, snapshot save/loading, cheat code support, being able to play all regions of games, storing all of the games on your hard-drive or USB stick, etc. And I emulate the first two machines I ever owned (ZX Spectrum and Atari ST), plus some machines I've never owned, such as the SNES, Megadrive (Genesis), and some favourite old arcade games via MAME, and it's all fantastic. But I also like using the real hardware too. I have six consoles (N64, original XBox, Gamecube, PS2, XBox 360, and PS3) and they all see regular use to one degree or another. Emulation isn't great for any of these (though it's surprisingly good for the PS2 and Gamecube, and there are two N64 emulators being worked on that promise 100% compatability, CEN64 and MESS) so I stick with the hardware, plus I don't really like using emulators on a PC, I much prefer it when a console can be used to run emulators (such as the original XBox or Wii) and would love a console that had good emulators for the consoles I own. So what is your preference; emulation, or the original hardware? Personally, I prefer emulation, mainly for it's convenience and extra options/abilities, but i am happy to use the original hardware too.
I play pre PS2 games on emus. Mainly because I play them on portables. Also do not have CRT nowadays (and do not want to see flicker ever again) and image quality of real hardware on LCD is pretty bad.
Mostly depends really, usually I will go for the original hardware any time, but I will also emulate if I can't get the original hardware in question (Arcade games fall into this category), or I can utilize special features to make the game play in an enhanced way.
OK, yes - it should be "I have no preference" rather than "Both". But I think everyone will know what I mean.
I prefer the real hardware. As I get older though, I'm thinking about putting my PCE CD ROM stuff away and playing my games on the computer full time. It's just becoming too much of a chore to think about repairing it again... Same with FDS. I'm not touching that half of my famicom...
For day to day retro gaming sessions these days I generally use an emulator. I have a large collection of old consoles and a CRT for playing my older consoles, but for most systems pre-PS1 (where the emulators provide authentic gameplay with hassle free compatibility, I don't care about them being cycle exact) a software emulator hooked up to my large flatscreen provides a better experience than the original hardware. There are exceptions obviously, light gun games etc and obviously the obligatory GoldenEye mid-drinking session deathmatch tourny are all better on the original hardware.
Most of the features you've mentioned here for SNES9X emulator, i can easily have all of that on a Super Wild Card DX2 backup copier off to my real hardware machine
I emulate when I have to. 8 bit and 16 bit consoles resale prices are getting out of control. If I don't want to take out loans I have to emulate them,
I prefer the real deal for games that are worth it. But even for good games, sometimes an emulator is nice because you can play at 2 or 4 times the normal speed. I'd never have had the time to live, go to school, wash and play through golden sun if it wasn't on 4X.
It all depends on the game and the system to be honest. If I was playing for example Chrono Trigger, I'd probably play it on an emulator because the graphics and colours can be enhanced almost beyond recognition, it's a treat to be able to do this especially for games of that calibre. If however I was playing a game like Sonic 2, I'd play it on the real hardware as nothing produces sound like the original High Definition Graphics Mega Drive systems. I enjoy both and appreciate both For their benefits and their flaws, it just depends on what I feel like doing at the time.
I used to be a purist and only use emus when it was some obscure usually import-only game that I just couldnt get but wanted to play. Now with work and lack of time I end up using emus most of the time 'cause I can't afford to waste time unboxing and plugging in a console everytime I want to play something, or fishing around boxes looking for the game.
I have a good number of older consoles as I definitely prefer to play on original hardware. I've got Nintendo's line from NES to the Wii with only the Virtual Boy missing. I've got Sega systems Genesis, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, and DreamCast. I've got the PS 1, 2, 3. And then rounding it out I've got the PC-Engine DUO and a NeoGeo MVS. I could just emulate most of these but it just isn't quite the same. But it's certainly better than nothing. I started emulating things when I found out around 1999 that emulators and roms were available on the internet. I played alot of NES, SNES, and Genesis games I never was able to play before. Ofcourse emulation has gotten alot better since then. It really comes down to how much money you want to put into playing these games and how much of a purist you are or how well you notice little details that differ from real hardware. There isn't anything wrong with hooking up a PC to your HDTV and emulating the old games. It takes less space and money and you still enjoy great games. For arcade games emulated in MAME it's awesome. I enjoy alot of arcade games and it's far less practical than older consoles to collect games for. You will be spending even more money and using more space if you collect those games. But if you're a big fan of an older console then you might really want to get the original hardware and games. Or atleast the original console and a flash cart.
l can relate to this. There's something satisfying about the tactility of playing on old cartridge based systems but I don't have the room to have everything set up at once. l kind of enjoy playing my favourite SNES, Megadrive and PSone games on portable devices now anyway.
8-16bit systems - emulators, same for most arcade games. For example Wii + Genesis Plus GX and mednafen will be bettter than real hardware in picture quality. Original GB games look better on DS Lite screen and you can actually play using wireless connection instead of cables or stupid IR. Save states are good addition too. Post-PSX systems and Saturn - real hardware with some exceptions (like some games run perfectly in full HD on Dolphin emulator for me, so i played on emulator, Wii and about 70% of GC games - real hardware but HDD instead of original discs. Same for PS2 - all games that work from HDD without issues are on HDD). And yeah, speaking of HDDs - room space matters too. If i'll keep all my Wii, GC, NES/FC, SNES/SFC etc-etc. games in my place it will look like a damn warehouse, because i have 200+ games for each system - a few thousands of boxes. With emulators it's just all about 4Tb HDD or less.
I vastly prefer playing on the original hardware. I own all of the major consoles, so there's very little I can't play on original hardware. I occasionally use emulators to play games that aren't easy/practical to obtain, like certain arcade systems, and certain very expensive/rare games. I also sometimes use emulators to try out games before I buy them. But most of the time I play on the original hardware. It's just a much better experience overall. I also just love the hardware itself. I doubt that. The Model 1 Genesis has amazing video quality over RGB. Composite is a different story, of course.
With over 30 machines i prefer the real hardware, but emulation is an inevitable part of retro gaming - until i win the lottery anyway! but when i do resort to emulators i like to use an original controller either modded to usb or with an adaptor.
Just thought. This poll is a waste of time because of the main question "What do you prefer, real hardware or emulation?" That's fine but 1 option is "Both, but I prefer the real hardware" You can't prefer both. So basically everyone who clicked that should have clicked "Genuine hardware only" like I did. I use emulators a lot but I don't prefer them in any way at all unless I want to cheat at a game.
