Emulation vs. Original Hardware

[anuchi]

I mostly emulate, but keep my consoles around in case the emulation is wonky (which I find is more frequent that I would expect).

I mainly emulate PS2, even though I have my old console modded and in working order, and I can't really explain why, but PCSX2 just feels inaccurate sometimes, as if the games didn't respond exactly right.

One of my favorite examples is Jak 2. Feels good on OG hardware (as it's meant to be), okay on the HD Collection on PS3 (I say okay because it's actually slightly buggy), awful on PCSX2 (again, can't really explain it, but it feels clunky and delayed) and great on OpenGOAL on PC (mainly because of the added smoothness, however I will acknowledge it's not 100% perfect)

Emulators... emulate (shocking, I know), and will never be truly 1:1 with the OG hardware, even if they get really close like Higan. Speaking as an (almost) electronics engineer, circuits have intrinsic properties that are often impossible to replicate in a simulation, no matter how detailed you make it, because hardware is imperfect. And I think that's part of what makes it beautiful!

So yeah, I'd say keep your OGs around if you have them just in case, but don't worry if you don't.

Getting to experience a game is better than not being able to play it at all, IMO

 

[DeadVoivod]

I had quite some stuff, sold almost everything like 10 years ago, pictures are older. I only kept PSX, PS2, GameCube and original XBox.

Since long time I'm only using emulation.

 

[Iron_Ulysses]

Everytime I use emulation I tend to spend more time fiddling with emulators, settings, cores, front ends, whatever that actually playing the game. So I try to use the real hardware I have (ps2, og Xbox, Saturn) either with original media or ODE etc.

 

[Ikagura]

Everytime I use emulation I tend to spend more time fiddling with emulators, settings, cores, front ends, whatever that actually playing the game.

Weird, I manage to configure emulators fast (well, I don't use RetroArch).

On the other hand I can imagine myself spending time to setup old consoles so they could work on modern displays or having to make sure I find the right cables.

 

[fake-kun]

I'm well-off enough to have an emulation-capable PC, but not enough to afford all the consoles and games I'm interested in, so I emulate.

 

[Halogen_Lightbulb]

OG hardware but modded with a HDD or flash drive if possible. My Main Consoles that I used this on is of course a Phat PS2 with freeMCboot and freeHDboot, I'd get the games on disc since the games I play aren't mega expensive (most of the time) but modern consoles have really spoiled me with having all my games on the console without having to switch discs all the time.
There's that and the fact of space. I use Nintendon't on my Wii for GC games but I've had trouble getting USB loader (or whatever it's called) work for Wii games so I do have a few Wii games.
So overall, Original Hardware, sometimes with HDDs for convenience but I'm not opposed using the original discs or cartridges.

 

[lizthecobra]

I do like og hardware buuuut at least with emulation you don't have to worry about ur console breaking and ur disk and cart's not working anymore and with emulation you can make games look 10X better looking than og hardware

Post automatically merged: Mar 26, 2025

I have a sizable collection of original hardware, but I honestly prefer emulation these days.

I feel ya game collecting is such a hassle and pricey these days

 

[rugal]

with a emulator you can place filter and change quality so you get better video quality
and alot of other things t
so the emulator is better in that way

but the original is always better in my opinion since i do not get the same sense of nostalgia when i play on emulator
so for me the original hardware is best

 

[sysuah]

Original Hardware, but it's one of those things that will rot over time and I'll repeat something a friend of mine said verbatim is that a lot of non-tech people are really passionate about the idea of "physical media" when the truth is that your physical media is infinitely more likely to be damaged, lost, stop being compatible with your device, need manual patching, etc... you have to realize the "physical" in physical media is as much of a money grubbing industry as having it be owned by a company, and dvd readers and retro consoles will one day be dusty collectors items that will cost you an arm and a leg for upkeep.
if you're into tech (real actual practical tech, not the political kind) you'll understand the only truly infinite and forever is piracy. that's right. neither corporations nor your beloved physical hands that God made could do anything to make your precious little movies and videogames last forever. but you know what does? torrent sites. illegal cloud storage so scattered and abstract no force on this earth will ever reach them. not corpo. not the law. not even the natural force of entropy. do you know how a cloud works? one million computers, all connected to the internet, each host multiple copies of your media. one million or more. an infinite army of disposable clones that can never be contained. missing bit from computer 9,681 during download? computers 22,316-933,183 have that bit uploaded for you. and you don't even have to think about it. when you "torrent" something, a number of computers equal to the population of a metropolitan city is at your service and ready to put it together for you atom by fucking atom from a total of several quadrillion bits collectively hosted in unreal digital space

 

[vietcuong]

For me, both emulation and original hardware are good.

Some games play better and more convenient with emulation, for example if your smartphone is good enough and you want to play some 3DS games but forget to bring your 3DS.

But some games are so much better if you play it on original hardware or hardware with backward compatibility. First thing come in my mind is BlazBlue and Guilty Gear on PSP. I played it on VITA and both of them are beautiful, but on PPSSP, its visual and effect is not enjoyable to me.

 

[lizthecobra]

For me, both emulation and original hardware are good.

Some games play better and more convenient with emulation, for example if your smartphone is good enough and you want to play some 3DS games but forget to bring your 3DS.

But some games are so much better if you play it on original hardware or hardware with backward compatibility. First thing come in my mind is BlazBlue and Guilty Gear on PSP. I played it on VITA and both of them are beautiful, but on PPSSP, its visual and effect is not enjoyable to me.

I see where ur coming from me I will always enjoy emulation over og hardware one the emulator will never have hardware failure ur digital games last forever and u can make them look even better I get the turning on a OG console putting the disk in and sitting on ur floor.

 

[NotGodlike]

Emulation is better overall because all hardware deteriorate and die, in many cases becoming too expensive even, and emulation helps preserve titles that otherwise wouldn't be accessible for everyone to enjoy at better framerates/graphics or having ability to install HD texture packs to give games "remastered" sort of treatment