Emulation vs. Original Hardware

[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 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

 

[sweette]

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

Emulation can “preserve” these games for a very long time, especially as like you said, consoles deteriorate or get extremely expensive (remember when 3DS were abysmally expensive at some point…?)

It can also help push past what a console can do. I’ve seen people play Pokemon SV (for instance) on an emulator, and you can truly see how beautiful that game looks… just on an emulator though. The switch can’t handle that much detail, so it barely shows any of it

That all said, I still prefer original hardware whenever I can. I might be a bit biased since I’ve emulated for years and have only played on an emu’d console a few months ago, but like others have said, even just holding the thing in your hands is amazing.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

even just holding the thing in your hands is amazing.

 

[Leo-Dash]

I'm too spoiled with the quality of life features emulators provided

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days, I own this game in real life for my DSi and I have 100% completed it
Replaying it on emulator with upscaling feature is a whole new experience

Not to mention, playing with a gamepad with an Analogue Stick is more comfortable that a D-pad

For comparison side by side. using a modified version of DeSmuME (Im stuck on old PC, can't run 64-bit programs)

The 3D Models look pretty clean instead of Pixely Crispy

EXTRA: The Upscaling glitching and giving Larxene front hair Bangs

 

[legsrjust4show]

I used to be all about using strictly the original hardware BUT.............................. I've gotten lazy. I got some super strong computer now with more storage than I know what to do with and emulation is so good these days that I hard feel like I'm missing anything anymore.

Even N64 emulators properly emulate the blurry visuals properly now, just like how I like it!

 

[lizthecobra]

Emulation can “preserve” these games for a very long time, especially as like you said, consoles deteriorate or get extremely expensive (remember when 3DS were abysmally expensive at some point…?)

It can also help push past what a console can do. I’ve seen people play Pokemon SV (for instance) on an emulator, and you can truly see how beautiful that game looks… just on an emulator though. The switch can’t handle that much detail, so it barely shows any of it

That all said, I still prefer original hardware whenever I can. I might be a bit biased since I’ve emulated for years and have only played on an emu’d console a few months ago, but like others have said, even just holding the thing in your hands is amazing.

yeah I see where ur coming from 100%

 

[zacharinolongpants]

I grew up playing my favorite consoles in their original form and love that experience. I would still prefer to play SNES or any 2D consoles on a CRT.

I know this will be considered blasphemy by some, but I love tinkering with emulators and messing with graphics on old 3D consoles lol. I love trying to see how high res I can get old games. It's really cool seeing features like the PS1 texture and z buffer fixes.

While I do think in a way you're losing the aesthetic of the Saturn or PS1 when cranking the original resolution, I feel in most cases it serves to only improve the experience when applied to the Dreamcast and Gamecube. I guess that gen and up starts flirting with higher def tech anyway so that makes sense.

 

[Cawl canallia]

What is your opinion on emulating using the original controller?

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

What is your opinion on emulating using the original controller?

I'm also interested in getting a N64 controller and a Wiimote for PC to get to experience a more authentic gameplay.

 

[Shameless]

I think original hardware is better, since emulation at times (usually for the better) give better performance for heavy games. Dont sound like much of a problem but when you want to make a homebrew game for example you could easily end up with something that just wont even work on original hardware but run perfectly in an emulator.

 

[Platinum_depth]

Me encanta, pero definitivamente soy fan de jugar en hardware original. He actualizado la mayor parte de mi colección de consolas con cartuchos originales o flash, junto con mandos especiales para juegos especiales que los admiten. Existen muchísimas mejoras para mejorar la calidad de vida de las consolas retro, así que me alegro de haberlas conservado para seguir actualizándolas con el tiempo.

Depende mucho de los recursos de una persona poder darse el lujo de jugar en las consolas originales aunque muchos juegos se ven hermosos en sus consolas de origen creo que los juegos ya muy viejos tipo nes o snes es mucho más cómodo emularlos sin mencionar los trucos como guardar partida o mejorar los gráficos de dichos juegos

 

[Doomtrain]

I'm a fan of a nice middleground. FPGA based hardware emulation with original controllers and a CRT. I generally use original hardware I own for cases that won't cover and emulation if that gets cost prohibitive. I'm really sensitive to input lag so this works for me.

 

[laminarflow]

I prefer Original hardware myself, but i do have emulation setups as well... both have pros and cons to them i guess it depends what you like, i dont like having to spend time configuring and setting up emulation builds as i find it tedious and boring having to spend time pratting about with endless settings, i have a mind set of just wanting to put the game on and play !!!! without any messing around and time wasted just getting things to run !!! So Original hardware is my first choice always !!

 

[GamingWarthog]

I do a mix. I prefer to play DS and 3DS games on my 3DS to keep dual screen functionality, and plan to do the same with Wii and Wii U for the Wii U. For Gamecube I emulate but use a GC controller and am looking into setting up something similar with N64 controller. For most other systems I'm fine just emulating without even the intended controller, but I do keep all of my old hardware and games.

 

[Retro Doomer]

I am a collector at heart, so it would be original hardware for me. If it weren’t so expensive, I would prefer that. However, if I can get a game for a good price, I normally play it on the original hardware rather than on an emulator. But for some games, like older SNES or Genesis games, emulators are better, primarily because of the feature that allows you to save whenever you want, unlike on the original hardware. Some games would be unplayable for most people if there were no emulation available, as most people are not millionaires, and the retro gaming market is very greedy.