What would it take for you to switch to Emulators & Roms

[Anthony1]

What would it take, for you to switch from playing the actual system, and the real game, to just playing emulators and roms?

People have a lot of different reasons why they prefer to play the real system and the real games rather than play the roms or iso's on some type of emulator.

And there are those in the other camp, that think that people that waste their times actually having the physical systems all over their house, and this huge collections of the actual software, they think that people like that are somewhat behind the times and that they would be better off just playing the damn rom's and iso's on their computers or XBOXes or whatever.

Please provide the reason's either why you prefer to play the real systems and games, or you prefer to just play the roms and iso's.

Here are my reasons why I haven't gone to the emu and rom side of the fence:

1. Controller. I must have the real F'ing controller in my hands. The real controller for the TG-16, the real controller for the Genny, the real controller for the Jag, and N64 and Super Nintendo, etc, etc, etc. I'm actually suprised that there isn't some kind of usb adapter that you could use with all the real controllers. If that was the case, I would give emulation and roms more of a chance.

2. Portability. I like to play my games on my Big Screen. I like to play them on my large RGB Monitor in the master bedroom. I like playing them on my tiny RGB monitor in my little computer room. I like being able to take my systems from room to room. (Actually I don't take them from room to room, I have 2 versions of most systems!) But I like the fact that I can easily play my games on the different TV's. It's just not that easy to be lugging a freaking PC around. As for laptops, I don't have one. And I'm sure the kind that you would need to run just about any emulator, would have to be a super freaking expensive one.

3. I Like the Couch - This is similar to the reason above. Because I wouldn't be lugging a PC around from room to room, I would be playing Roms on my Computer. That means sitting in my computer chair. I prefer to play games while I'm enjoying the comfort of a nice sofa.

4. I Prefer playing my games in pure freaking RGB - Yes there are modes on the emulators to play the games in much higher resolutions and progressive scan and stuff like that, but I prefer the real natural thing on a real RGB monitor. I just love the incredible clarity and the colors and the crispness of this art on a RGB monitor. If emulators could actually output a RGB signal somehow through a video card that would output analog RGB, then that would be something really sweet. But that is unavailable.

5. I'm not that computer savvy to be messing around wtih Iso files and stuff - I'm just not that good with computers, and I don't really understand the whole iso file thing. I've played emulators for the Genesis and SNES, and found them to be very good, but until I can play basically every system that I have, easily, it's just too much work for me to get things to work right.



Basically, those are the 5 reasons why I'm not playing emulators and roms.

I do have to say though, that if I could use the actual real controller, if it was on a portable device (laptop), that I could easily hook up to different tv's (nice av out on the video card). If the video card had a magical "analog rgb" output, and if I could really figure out all these emulators, and iso images and all this stuff, then I might go to the darkside.

[NE146]

I really don't like to choose. Emulation is convenient. The real thing is best. Simple. Why limit your options though?

When I want to play Starfox, it's easier for me to play it on my "already-out" Xbox. The controllers are configured similarly so it's not such a big leap, and quite honestly if I wasn't holding that controller in my hand I couldn't tell it wasn't an SNES plugged into the tv. And yeah, it's very portable as well being perfectly playable from the couch.

That being said, there's no way in hell I'm giving up my SNES and Starfox cartridge. They stay right there safely stored away in my closet. If I want to, I'll break it out for whatever reason I happen to come up with.

(Repeat the above for any other pretty much 'perfectly' emulated console)

Then of course you couldn't pay me to play something like the XBOX Turbografx emulator in lieu of the real thing. Why? Because it's imperfect. The sound is off, etc. If I'm gonna play TG, I break out the real thing. The rest is debatable.

I like em all :)

[MarioAllStar2600]

I would never do it. If I had to, life or death stuff. I would want to live with Nolan Bushnell. Hes the man. ;)

[stargate]

Screw emulators. Seriously, playing a console game on my PC just doesn't cut it for me. I like the nostalgia of playing the actual thing. I like the whole experience of popping a cart into a 2600 or whatever, having the console set up in front of me just like I was 10 years old in 1980. I like looking at the consoles and all my games with the cool artwork. I mean that's half the fun.

Of course if I could have a couple of hours with Jenna Jameson, I might be persuaded to make the switch.

[ManekiNeko]

Are you kidding? I already have. There's an irresistable appeal to playing thousands of games, all on one system.

JR

[Jorpho]

I don't even have a decent TV right now (aside from the TV In on my video card), let alone the funds to purchase the games I would enjoy, the time to track them down, and the space to store them in.

[evilmess]

Let's take Nintendo as an example...
If they made all their SNES and NES games available for download to a digital medium llke SD cards for a buck a game or some NSider point system and made an add-on device for the gamecube like the game boy player.... I'd switch.

And they'd have to make the import games available internationally.

[AB Positive]

Anything Neo, there's no chance for emulation. I like to try and help the company to survive, allowing me to get more Neo games.


However, I do emulate here and there if it looks like I have no shot at getting the real thing. This doesn't happen often, but playing Tattoo Assassins is a good example of this.

-AG

[Retsudo]

It would take a lot for me too switch too console emulation. I'd rather have the real thing. Mostly because of the controls. I like to have the actual controller in my hands. As for Mame, I like the convience of playing some Arcade games that work well with the controller I have for my pc. Like games like Galaga or Asteroids. Sometimes I get too lazy to boot up the Playstation to play them. ;)

[The Clonus Horror]

Not to be a dick, but if you want to get technical, someone who abides by the laws of this country would have to collect all of the actual carts before they download the roms, right? (Like that ever happens) Either that, or they could only be downloading homemade roms and hacks.

Of course, the internet is essentially the New Wild West, so that theory is out of the window.

Does anyone else see the parallel here between downloading mp3's vs. owning the official LP's, CD's, or Cassettes?

I'm sure there are a lot of people who would use the argument that they can download a game for free, so why SHOULD they go seek out the original copy?!? Or perhaps the younger gaming crowd has an interest in video gaming history, but wouldn't go out of their way to buy the original systems because they never experienced the actual feel for the controllers or cartridges, so they could care less. Or, perhaps they have been McDonaldized to the point of wanting to have everything they crave NOW or FAST, if not IMMEDIATELY and for FREE!

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

Well If i had the money to buy the actual systems and games for it then I would, but until then I can use emulators to play the games.

[scooterb23]

If I was in a situation where I didn't have room for all my systems...then I'd emulate the ones that had "perfect emulation" and then keep the rest if possible :)

[omnedon]

If the video game collectible market ever goes nuts, and peaks like baseball cards did in the '90's, I'm out. If I end up having enough money tied up in my collection to buy half a house, I'm cashing out.

I would be torn, but I would do it.

[Gunstarhero]

Yeah, if I had the deal of a lifetime and my games would pay a good portion of the expenses of a house, then I would sell them, but I would still probably not emu.

Emu leaves out alot more than just physicalities of having a console and cartridge. People playing games on emulators aren't contributing to the videogame market. If you are buying the actual games and consoles you are contributing the market somehow, even if it is a 2600, you are contributing to OUR little game market we have set up here. You are helping a fellow gamer get some cash he might need and vice versa.

Emulation can suck my cock all the way around.Cheap asses.

[Sotenga]

Okay, emulators do suck when compared to the real thing, but I'm an emulation freak. Why? One reason... the ONLY reason why I emulate games...

Finances. I'm unemployed, and my own personal state of income has been suffering lately. That, and I don't just spend my money on video games, but lots of music CD's as well. I just don't have the cash. I'm not a bum, alright? If I was truly piss-poor, why do I have a computer and Comcast Digital Cable? My family does well, but as far as my entertainment budget goes... :(

I need to get more games for my Genesis. I'll do that someday, when I get more money... and have built up a greater CD collection. Until then, emulators will just have to do.

And thank God for MAME. If you think I'm going to obliterate my budget on an arcade cabinet, forget it! Not to say that it's wasted... I would like a certain sit-down Outrun cabinet.

[Flack]

Here are some positive points for emulation, since not many have been mentioned.

#1 - Portability.
I travel quite a bit for work. As such, that means I spend a lot of nights in hotel rooms, alone and bored. I have a 1.8ghz laptop, which runs emulators really well. Playing Shinobi on MAME is a hell of a lot easier than trying to drag my Shinobi cabinet onto an airplane and stow it in an overhead bin. Likewise, during my flight I can pull out my GP32, load up Frodo, and play some classic C64 games while flying across America. Ever try and set up a C64 on a seatback tray table? Not fun.

#2 - Practicality
Show of hands -- who here owns Chase the Chuckwagon for the Atari 2600? I've never personally seen one in the wild, and even if I did I wouldn't spend the hundreds it would most likely cost to take it home. Through emulation, I can at least check out the game and see what it's like. As a C64 fan, there are thousands of games out there I never got a chance to check out. Now, through emulation, I can!

#3 - Screenshots
For those of us who like to write reviews, emulation is a great way to take screenshots of games in action.

Put down a Gauntlet cabinet and a PC running Gauntlet next to it, and everyone would choose to play the real thing. Ask me again when I'm on a trip, in the car, or sitting at home (where I don't have a Gauntlet machine but do have a PC) and I would have to pick emulation.

[Ed Oscuro]

Put down a Gauntlet cabinet and a PC running Gauntlet next to it, and everyone would choose to play the real thing. Ask me again when I'm on a trip, in the car, or sitting at home (where I don't have a Gauntlet machine but do have a PC) and I would have to pick emulation.

One important qualifier, though: what if you can take that game of Gauntlet on the PC online, and there's nobody else to play that Gauntlet arcade machine with? Convenience is something emulation has going for it as well.

That said, I'm glad I've moved from emu to the real thing. I used to say that playing on the TV hurt my eyes, which must've been something to do with the N64's horrible frame rate issues.

[Dr. Morbis]

Sadly, this has turned into an argument about emulation and Anthony's topic has been skated. Good points have been made, but it's become akin to the "bash nintendo" threads: it's basically the same points made over and over ad infinitum. The question here is what would it take for you to switch to emulation?

For me it would take 3 things:

1) ability to use the original controller

2) ability to (conveniently) run the emu through the tv of my choice in the living room/game room/whatever, which leads directly to...

3) ability to play the games on my sofa or la-z-boy chair.

If all of these requirements could be conveniently satisfied by a PC, I would not necessarily abandon the real thing, but I would be much more inclined to use emulation on a regular basis for actual GAMING rather than just for screenshots, or try-before-you-buy, or whatever.

[The Clonus Horror]

Wait, if someone is saying they emu because they are unemployed, then go on to say that they continue to spend money on music CD's and such and that their family does alright for themselves, does that mean that you are still living at home? If you're a teen, that's great, but don't get used to it--just some friendly advice from someone who is a music teacher and is always in danger of being "cut" because art is not important in this country.

I'm not bashing here, just pointing out some flaws in logic.

[GaijinPunch]

Besides seeing if a game sucks or not, the Xbox is the way to go. For most 16-bit systems, it plays the game FLAWLESSLY, you don't damage them (or in FC/SFC's case, their boxes), don't have to get up and load them, and you can (if you want) get a converter for the controllers, although I think the japanese xbox controller is fine.

[Ed Oscuro]

Sadly, this has turned into an argument about emulation and Anthony's topic has been skated. Good points have been made, but it's become akin to the "bash nintendo" threads: it's basically the same points made over and over ad infinitum. The question here is what would it take for you to switch to emulation?

Quite true! I need to expand on one thing, borrowing from GaijinPunch so this really isn't anything new:

I don't play my imports unless they're CD games, or beat up cartridges in a beat up system (as I have no beat-up japanese systems, and few beat-up carts, that's not an option). I'll play anything that doesn't have a lot of value attached to it. Anything else is emulated, but I don't emulate much anymore.

[calthaer]

Kreed's SuperEagle Mode for SNES9x is the reason I play Zelda: A Link to the Past (or other SNES games) on emulator - and yes, I do own the original cartridge(s) and choose not to play it on the original system for that reason. In fact, Kreed's SuperEagle makes some games like FFIV - FFVI look better than their Playstation re-release counterparts, IMO.

That combined with the fact that the save / reload states is pretty much the only way I'd have patience to finish most of those impossible NES games nowadays.

[Nature Boy]

I'll never give up collecting the real thing for emulation. Emulation isn't collecting, it's acquiring. Collecting is all about the hunt, and that includes going to flea markets and pawn shops and thrift stores. It includes comparing prices and finding the best deal. It includes looking at the condition of something.

Acquiring roms means downloading.

Don't get me wrong though - I enjoy emulation. It lets me play 100s of games I won't get to play otherwise (like the more rare Atari 2600 games). I have a laptop so it's totally portable too (and I can emulate everything just fine - mind you I'm not interested in emulating anything less than, say, 10 years old).

But I'm a collector (if it's not video games it's comic books or DVDs or CDs or novels or whatever). And a collector I'll always be.

[Flack]

PSX/PS2/N64 controller on your PC
http://www.electricquarter.com/psusb.htm

Also check this out.
http://www.dreamcliff.com/personal/daniel/jump/index.html

[leonk]

I actually enjoy emulation & the real thing.. But I only emulate on the real hardware. (i.e. MAME on a real Arcade machine using real controls and a real RGB arcade monitor!)

My arcade machine is at my parents.. I play with MAME on it when ever I'm there.

I have the same ROM images on my home PC.. and HATE IT! I can't stand playing MAME games on a keyboard & PC monitor.. it's not the same!

So I guess for me, emulation is only good when you don't know/feel it's emulation.

[tynstar]

I wouldn't. I have tried some games on emulation and I just didn't like it. It would have to take me having nothing but a computer and no money to by a system.

[oesiii]

Emulation can suck my cock all the way around.Cheap asses.


LOL that's probably true.

I always prefer the real thing for my cartridge based systems but for whatever reason I like emulation on the PC/Mac for my CD-based systems more and more each day. I like being able to pop in a 3DO, SegaCD, or Playstation game into my PC and play the game with better graphics options, in a window or full-screen. And using a Gravis gamepad or a dual-shock usb adapter I find the gameplay to be excellent expecially using Gens or ePSXe.

[kai123]

I would never fully switch over like some people have said I enjoy the real thing to much. I also like looking over and seeing all of my games all lined up. It is mostly out of convenience and to try stuff that I would have to spend big bucks on.

[leonk]

Just as a side note..

there is a place for emulation, and companies are making $$$ on it too..

Intellivision emulation on your PC or PSX, old Namco games on the XBOX, and Nintendo emulating a lot of SNES games on the GBA.

Lets not forget what would be involved to play the original Dragon's Lair at home!! I for one purchased my Digital Leisure DVD copy of Dragon's Lair and enjoy the Daphne emulator!

[DogP]

It'll take a lot for me to switch to emulation... first, I'd need to make an adapter for every system controller to the xbox (definately system of choice because I'm not going to play it on a computer monitor), then DEFINATELY perfect emulation... but even that, I don't think is ever perfect. I want my NES emu to give me the blinking screen of death 7 times before working :P , and what I have always noticed and REALLY hate are those lines where the screen splits horizontally when the screen is scrolling.

I also dunno about anyone else, but the games that I usually like to play are games that I played when I was younger, and since I don't get rid of anything, I still have them on carts, and all my old systems are still hooked up, so why not play them on the real thing?

I do use emulation for some stuff though, like when I get bored at work, it's nice to be able to play a quick game of Galaga (which I own 4 pcb's of, plus the namco museum on xbox), or mario bros. I also download the ROMs to the arcade pcbs I own, that way if I have problems with the game, I can dump the ROMs and compare them, and before I buy a game on ebay that I haven't played but looks fun, I sometimes download the ROM to make sure it's worth the money, but if it isn't, then I delete the ROM, since it obviously wasn't any good ;) .

I just bought a Joust pcb on ebay last night, and the same seller had a game called Moto Frenzy, I had never played that before, but I downloaded the ROM, played it for a couple minutes, and decided that it was worth the extra $10 (since I was already paying for shipping 1 set of boards, another one wouldn't be much more).

BUT what I really hate... when people just download EVERY ROM just to have everything... DOWNLOADING != COLLECTING!!! :P . I dunno... I just can't stand scrolling through a list of games that totally suck to find one game that is actually good, I'd rather just have the few games that I enjoy. If you're too lazy to individually get the games you want, then maybe you have an emulation problem.

I do think that emulation is important, because we need to have EVERYTHING backed up, we don't want to lose a piece of history when it decides to die, plus I guess it might be nice to be able to set up generic controls in an arcade cabinet instead of having 5 games that use trackballs, but each board needing it's own type and/or connector.

DogP

[tholly]

I would never switch.

I love the feel of the original controllers. Also, playing games on a PC is never the same. I don't care how perfect emulation is to the real thing; to me there will always be something missing. I just can't bring myself to play a good old NES game on my computer.

[nesuser2]

well, i guess the only reason I can think of dropping the whole collection and fully emulating would be money. and for future systems, if the prices were outrageous and they were emulatable...I would definitly do it. Say, if games became $70-100, like some 64 games were($70) and consoles were $500.

On a semi-related note, I do currently emulate everything that is emulatable....or should I say, I have all the makins for it. I don't sit down every day and emulate because I don't sit down every day and game. Which is why it isn't practical for me to have all this stuff sitting around collecting dust. All of my stuff is stored away because I usually game once a week or so and not for very long at that. When vacations come up and whatnot, I usually break out my NES and really game on the real deal. But if I want a 20 minute fix of SMB, contra, or tecmo superbowl.....then i turn on the xbox, play and have it over with. I don't really think it's a matter of who emulates, it's who's really robbing from the gaming community. If you're going to emulate a game now and then, that's fine, but when you start liking it. It's time to start seriously consider buying it. I don't care if you hunt for 2 years, look for it from time to time and be willing to spend money on your hobby. Just because you're young and don't have money doesn't count. I'm 19 and currently attending college. I'm laid off until May and I plan on buying plenty of gaming stuff until then, so get a job. I'm not trying to get snobby but it just seems like some people want to use that as an excuse. Atleast start buying something, and I might be addressing a dead crowd because I don't think there are any regulars here that strictly emulate.....I hope

[Anthony1]

I would love to try do some emulating on my XBOX, but I really don't know the first place to start.


For me, the XBOX would qualify for alot of the points that I have problems with. Let's examine:

1. Controller - This is the first problem that I had. Now, If there was some way that I could get an adapter that would let me use a real Genesis controller, a real SNES controller, a real NES controller, a real Turbo controller, etc, etc, then it would be on like Donkey Kong! Well, I would try it at least.

2. Portability - As far as I know the XBOX will play the emulations in progressive scan mode. So that would be pretty sweet. Not the same as playing the real console on my actual RGB monitor, but still damn convienent. That would certainly be sweet.

3. I like the Couch - Well, this isn't a problem, I play my XBOX on the Couch.

4. I prefer having my games in pure freaking RGB - O.K., this would be the one problem. I could actually hook the XBOX up to my RGB monitors, but the systems that would be emulating wouldn't actually be giving a true native analog RGB signal, so that would be dumb. This is the one thing that I would have to live without, as far as emulation is concerned.

And of course, I haven't seen any adapter that will let you use any of the above controllers that I talked about on the XBOX. And that is the critical factor.

[nesuser2]

Sidenote, you could convert the retrocon to work on the Xbox.....or make your own convertors. It would be alot of work.....but worth it in the end...IMO

[slip81]

Like most people I enjoy both, but prefer the coolness of the actual system and games. I do play emulators though, mostly for import games, or for a system like NES and genesis where I don't want to spend the money for games I kinda like, so I play them on a PC. I also use MAME for arcade games (fighters mainly) since it is tough to find perfect console ports for the older neo geo ones, my laptop is plenty fast, so I play them on that. But like I said console gaming is definately the way to go. Although I would play the current next gen games on a PC if they exsisted with perfect emulation, mainly cause I have no love for the newer consoles (well I like the GC), for some reason it just isn't as cool to play the lastest "wow" game on the PS2 than it is to play something simple like tetris, phantasy star, gunstar heroes, or yoshi's island on the NES, SMS, genesis or SNES.