Yes, the responses make no sense. The options should just be "Real hardware" or "Emulators". By saying, "Both, but I prefer..." you're essentially saying "I prefer both, but I prefer one of them."
Emulators are particularly useful for speedrunners or scoring games as save states allow them to practice sections of a game consistently without unnecessary interruptions. It is quite difficult to say what you prefer when there are so many benefits to both.
original hardware upgraded/preserved with spoofs where possible. :smile-new: ... emus are a good effort, the point of them being: 1, practicality. consolidates the entertainment to fewer hubs, useful i suppose?! 2, availability. it goes without saying, the read thing is increasingly difficult to procure at any reasonable price, flukes non-withstanding! ... emus have ONE use in my household, and that's to test in-game saves/flashes on the original HW. what made me keep them on, a friend was playing FF10 on a computer via emu, but he was state-saving his progress each step of the way in 'thunder plains'... get struck by lightning ONCE, screws the count (side quest) and have to start again. those who've played that game WILL know what i'm referring to. after friend completed the quest (edging gradually along the way, SNAPSHOT! rinse and repeat) saved at a usual in-game save marker, transferred the save to a ps2 mc (128m samsung) loaded FF10 with it, SORTED! :witless: when games that DON'T allow some form of live saving and progress can't be saved via usual manners unless in-game conditions are met, emus have a small place. other than that, real thing or bust! (retail software is good an all, but if i can't locate a retail relz/get it shipped to my address, game trackers for me it is, if at least to try what all the fuss about the game is about?!) [no vote cast, the GVT always wins]
never had much problem with it the standard way. that said, muting the sound helps as it can throw you of. same with input lag but this was probably in the crt days, so not that much.. FFX/X-2 HD apparently have some lag? nah, emulators don't cut it. this is how it's done if you need to cheat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HbIHVoTY2M there's the crater-trick, too.. EDIT: FFIX is way worse when it comes to ultimate weapons x sidequests. you have to reach the end of the game in 12 hours. that means skipping EVERYTHING, including the FMVs and most items that aren't absolutely necessary to progress. you skip the cutscenes by opening and closing the lid (it saves about 40 minutes), but if you're playing the downloadable PSN version, this isn't an option and you're basically out of luck. as if it wasn't tough enough.
If I just want to get my fix then I will probably go for emulation first because I wont have to dig out boxes of games, consoles, controllers and hookups. If I want a religious experience or compete with my friends then real hardware and software all the way.
Emulation upto the N64 era, Anything past that i prefer the real deal. Two reasons, It still is abit hit and miss and my PC/Ouya wont run anything past the DC at a decent framerate
Agreed. You can only PREFER one or the other. If the question had been which do you use, or which do you like, then the answers would be valid. As the question stands, you can prefer one or the other, or have no preference. The real thing all the way, anyway! Although Virtual Console, DS re-releases etc. are pretty nifty.
Yeah, sorry about that. The options are fine, but the question should have been "What do you play video games on; emulators or the real hardware?". But everyone else could tell what I meant, so clearly the options make sense and my meaning was clear, even if my phrasing wasn't right.
Real hardware is the purest way to play the game. Purity always wins. Emulation is good for retrofitting older games for older hardware into newer setups. I have a stock RGB-less N64 and it looks awful on my TV. I could suffer through really jagged graphics or, alternatively, I could use an emulator that makes the same titles a lot easier on the eyes. It's also a good way to discover games you've either never heard of or can't afford. At this point, I've found and purchased many of the games that I first discovered through emulation.
I hate emulators. Don't you collectors feel accomplished of collecting all those games over the years.
There's no reason for hate. For me it's much easier to run all Mega/SegaCD from one HDD and keep originals in a safe place. No need to connect a lot of cables, instant silent loading and virtually unlimited space for saved games, not to mention ability to save in the middle of the game and continue later. Now, when we have work and family it's important. I play gameboy games on DS just because it looks better, battery lasts longer etc. So it's simple, when real hardware is better - it's better to use real stuff. When emulators win at everything but pure nostalgia feeling - it's better to use emulators. And sometimes there's no other option - like extremely rare arcade games, when dump exists, game is emulated but it's impossible to buy original hardware.
You are right, it is all about the games, but for me sometimes emulators are a good way of breathing new life into old classics. Sure nothing beats the real hardware, nothing but an emulator of course. But that's not to choose one over the other, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. For me being able to play old games with enhanced graphics is just too much of a good opportunity to miss, I enjoy both for very different reasons.
I guess you might feel "accomplished" if you really did collect titles over a long period of time. Particularly if you managed to obtain most of your collection when prices were at their lowest. But anyone can have an impressive collection if they wish to spend enough money on it. Agreed. I never understood the appeal of these "smoothing" filters. They look just awful to me. The poll's first two options are why it seemed more like "what do you use". I use both, but I prefer the real systems.
Unless a particular game has emulation issues, I almost always go for emulated over the real hardware. My reasons being, it lets me play all the systems without having to clusterfuck my living room with all my consoles and stuff, and also the graphical filters. Add in the fact that any 3D game can be ran in your tv or monitors native resolution (Final Fantasy 10 in 1080p is truly beautiful), and yeah, I much prefer emulation. To each his own I guess..... I happen to love these filters. Most of em look like crap, but usually HQ4x looks pretty good, and IMO much better than just running it scaled and unfiltered, especially on a large 1080p screen.
Real hardware will always be my first choice, but I'll settle for emulation if that's the only option to play a particular game.
