Emulation vs. Original Hardware

[Xarr]

I prefer emulation but I also was born in 1984 so I got to play most of the games on original hardware back in those times.

 

[tselinoyarsk]

Emulation. It's more practical to have all your games stored digitally, and on top of that, most emulators can run older titles better than they did on original hardware, including support for higher-resolution rendering.

Even more so if you factor in quality of life improvements such as widescreen patches and bug fixes, which I appreciate.

 

[Pearly]

Emulation all the way for most games. I don't have the room for so many physical games. I grew up in Europe too, so pal versions of games prior to the later ps2 era all play slowly with a few exceptions, the pal versions of games were inferior in every way. Gundam battle assault 2 literally had music that played 25% slower than the US version, they couldn't be bothered to fix it up properly for an EU release.

There's only really macross 30 on the ps3 that I keep as a physical game to play on the actual hardware. It can only truly be experienced on the disc on actual hardware, as even running the disc image on the ps3 drops the framerate to 10-15 fps, whereas on disc on a ps3, smooth 60 fps 99% of the time. It also doesn't emulate that well either, it's one of those games that needs to be played on OG hardware. One of the few games that was truly optimised for the ps3 that didn't have at some point either severe screen tearing, extremely slow loading or constant frame rate drops.

Outside of this one instance though, I emulate everything unless it's on my steam account or my psn account to download onto my ps5.

I am almost all digital simply out of convenience. I do, however, have a 4k blu ray collection of the few movies I love as streaming is far from the best quality and so is compressed MKV files.

I do make exceptions for some games, sentimental value etc. but I like way too any games to have them physically and play them on their consoles.

 

[Gigano Reis]

Ever since I got a high end PC and a bunch of SSD's, I have been going all in on emulation. Especially with the use of an emulation front-end (I use Launchbox/Bigbox). Going into bigbox and seeing my large collection of games with 8 bit covers of anime/popular songs playing in the background just hits perfectly for me. Being able to upscale my games in certain emulator is also a blessing. And I've recently gotten into retro achievements which really makes me 100% my games to get the full experience of my retro classics.

But certain consoles/handhelds will always feel better on original hardware. The N64 and it's controller will always feel better on the OG hardware. And I still play DS and 3DS games on the original hardware.

In 2 days my Ayn Odin 2 MAX should be coming in. So full-on portable emulation is gonna be a new experience. The only portable emulation I have done in the past is PS2 on my phone, but having a fully dedicated portable emulation handheld should keep me busy.

 

[Arkista]

I prefer original hardware but emulation has its place and there's some things I emulate. Some games are either hard to find and/or really expensive where it makes more sense to emulate, though I like to treat myself and get physical copies. Plus if I didn't already own the hardware that I've had forever or acquired by luck by finding it cheap I'd purely emulate because the costs are getting pretty high now.

 

[kbcinharoxa]

I love, but I'm definitely a fan of playing games on OG hardware. Most of my console collection has been upgraded with ODE's or flash carts , alongside with special controllers for any special games that can use them. So many quality of life upgrades exist at this point for retro consoles, so happy I kept them to keep upgrading over time.

I’d love to build a retro game collection (even though I was born in 2005). My first video game experience was on the PS2, and even if it’s considered “old” nowadays, it would be really cool to have one on my shelf :,v
But… emulation is just so freaking good these days, I don’t know
Sorry if I’m rambling—just trying to make my first game relative comment here.

 

[Tqla]

I get the convinience of emulation but a big part of playing retro games, for me, is for the nostalgia. Having the OG hardware really takes me back and completes the package.

 

[Bridule]

Emulation for me. I only have 360/PS3 left. I have RG407V, RP5, ROG Ally and recently RG DS which definitely killed my DSI XL.

 

[raiden_dj]

i generally prefer emulation unless the console version offers something you cant replicate accerately enough like the wii pointing or when the emulation is not on par with the real thing like the saturn. But other than that, i dont really feel motivated to invest in real hardware, the nostalgia aspect of it doesnt work for me

 

[SeventhSon]

Emulation. It's more practical to have all your games stored digitally, and on top of that, most emulators can run older titles better than they did on original hardware, including support for higher-resolution rendering.

Even more so if you factor in quality of life improvements such as widescreen patches and bug fixes, which I appreciate.

Plus translation patches, QoL, "total conversion"

Playing on original hardware is cool... but for most platforms the best solution (easiest, most utility) is emulation

 

[ThatOneLum ThatOneLum]

Emulation for anything that I don't have a really personal connection wiith.

I used to have a huge physical collection, but trying to keep all of those systems meant that I had a house that was filled with crap and clutter.

Now I only have the systems that I love the most and emulate pretty much everything else.

Emulation has a ton of advantages of physical hardware, so unless it's something you just have to own, it's better off as a digital file on my HDD.

 

[gastd]

I think both are good just that emulation is illegal you have to be careful!! Be careful people!!

 

[Ikagura]

Even more so if you factor in quality of life improvements such as widescreen patches and bug fixes, which I appreciate.

I am aware it's not mandatory yet it gives a new life to some games.

Such as playing F-zero SNES with BSNES-HD or F-zero X with a Widescreen romhack.

I think both are good just that emulation is illegal you have to be careful!! Be careful people!!

Emulators are legal by the way, it's the sharing of rom, iso and bios files that fall into the copyright thing.

 

[gastd]

sharing of rom, iso and bios files that fall into the copyright thing.

Yes that's the Problem.

 

[Kovlak]

I prefer OG hardware over anything else, including remasters on newer consoles. But emulation, and remasters, often are much more convenient.

 

[Ikagura]

Yes that's the Problem.

If you're speaking of games recently released I can understand there's a risk but thankfully old stuff (up to the PS2/Xbox) is kinda safe (especially since you cannot access the Repo without an account).

 

[gastd]

If you're speaking of games recently released I can understand there's a risk but thankfully old stuff (up to the PS2/Xbox) is kinda safe (especially since you cannot access the Repo without an account).

Yeah, RGT did that well.

 

[diet_orange]

I feel like the happy middle ground is flash carts

 

[TechBlisSTer]

When the Emulator can do more than what the original hardware can do. Then Emulator.

When the FPGA, that's not sold by some awful company that uses FOMO and price gouging as their central marketing techniques, is more reliable and accessible than what the original hardware can offer. Then FPGA.

For everything else Real Hardware. And if you can authentic discs and cartridges. Or burned discs / ODE / FlashCarts. Of which I have many.

 

[masamvne]

I've gone primarily emulation these days, maknly for convenience. Buying retro is expensive in the UK, my flat is small, and I just generally like having my gaming centralised onto fewer devices these days. Most of my pre-3D retro gaming is on an Anbernic handheld, while I use a PC or Steam Deck for anything stronger. Improved performance (over cursed PAL 50hz) and hacks/translations just seal the deal for me.