who dislikes emulators?

[GamecubeFreek]

Am I the only one who does not use emulators, or what. Every time I turn around, somebody is talking about emulators, either here, at school, the store, whatever. What's the deal? Am I the only one who refuses to use them?

[Kejoriv]

I love emulators. Only time I can play the old school arcade games.

[swlovinist]

They have their place, but I refuse to use them. I am a purist, and I kind of feel cheap when I play them. I would rather play a game in its true form then something trying to emulate it. It is not the same, it will never be the same. At the best it captures the "spirit" of the original. Nobody who plays emaulatiors can say that it feels the same....unless you are using the origional controller, and who is doing that? Emulatiors are great to play a game you cannot find or if you want to preview a game before spending money on the original....for me it is not a choice I will ever choose, but I can see why the causual gamer or non collector plays them.

[Dahne]

I'm not crazy about them. Making stuff work on the computer always takes too much effort. Plus, I've got a mouse-rash on my wrist already. :p

[AB Positive]

I very very VERY rarely use emulators. I used mame recently to play Tattoo assassins since I'd never be able to play it normally (2 machines in existance, period). Plus, it's the only way usually to play hacks/homebrews people have made. But if it's in existance and I can get it, I do.

I toy occasionally with using Kaillera to get some Neo 2-player action, but only with games I own. I don't do it now, but I occasionally think about it, since I can't play aganist anyone normally.

-AG

[Flack]

I love WinVICE, the Commodore 64 emulator. Yeah, I have C64's still -- actually, I've got about half a dozen of them, including an SX64 which is currently hooked up and everything, and another one coming from Maxlords. Unfortunately, playing on the real system is not always practical.

For one thing, a C64, even an SX64, takes up a significant amount of desk space. It's a pain in the ass to hook and unhook everything. That makes the SX64 convenient, but it has a 5" screen. Try playing a text adventure on that. Even most games are somewhat tough to play on it -- it's nothing like my laptop's screen.

Another problem I have is my original C64 disks are beginning to die. They've been stored in cardboard boxes for the past 12-13 years and stored in garages. A couple of years ago I had about a 90-95% success rate. Recently, I had about a 75% success rate, and it's dropping. They're not going to last forever.

As I stated in another one of these emulator threads, I also travel quite a bit for work. I like playing C64, MAME, NES, SNES, and Genesis games while I'm on the road. Dragging all those systems along with me would be impossible. Today on my lunch break I played Tony Hawk II for the PSX on my laptop. While I'm sure my boss would frown about me hooking up a Playstation in my cubicle, they really don't care what we do on our computers during our breaks.

The GP32, for all intents and purposes, IS a portable emulator. It's native games, for the most part, suck. However, I can pull it out in the doctor's office waiting room and play Atari 2600, NES, SNES, or C64 games while I wait. If your doctor doesn't mind if you hook up your Atari 2600 in the waiting room, be my guest.

For some people, playing on anything other than the original system is unacceptable. For me and millions other like me, the convenience outweighs the drawbacks. I don't think there's anyone who would pick emulation over playing a game on the real thing, but I see picking "not gaming" over "not emulating" as just shutting the door on a lot of gaming opportunities.

[Epicenter]

I like Emulators, since I can run one off a disc on some lab computer somewhere and play a bit of my favorite games and kill some time .. or play arcade games that I could never play without trying to keep 500 PCBs and a SuperGun/JAMMA harness in my room, which would be absurd ..

.. but I hate all the inaccuracies. Even the better ones like Gens still make a lot of mistakes and it can be aggravating .. also, the sound emulation is never as awesome-sounding as the real deal. So whenever I can, I always use the real thing.

[Felixthegamer]

While I rarely use emulators, I understand their importance. Where else could you play some of those rare or hard to find titles? I've tried a few, but it doesn't feel the same to me.

[jerkov]

I'm not an emulator fan either. I might get MAME eventually to play some old arcade games, but haven't done so yet. I have downloaded some rare Famicom stuff in the past just so I could play some games I'll probably never find, but that was a while ago and I never played the games for more than a few minutes. Personally, I love interacting with the original system. I enjoy admiring the artwork on the cartridge (or disc), placing it into the system, switching it on, grasping the controller and playing. I also prefer TV's over computer monitors by a lot, and the sound is always much better using the real thing. I also like having tangible games to collect and show off, rather than some file on a computer. I think most people out there probably consider it strange, but I bet a lot of people on here sympathize with me.

[maxlords]

I don't particularly care for them. I do make an exception for fan translations of RPGs and other games that weren't released in English, but I still have trouble bothering to actually PLAY the emulators. Mostly I just use em to test expensive games and decide if I want to buy them...stuff like PCBs, Neo games, Gleylancer for MD, etc etc. I'll play a few min...and if I like it, I'll buy the game. I don't see any issues with that.

[djbeatmongrel]

i think emulators are good to a degree like when it comes to overpriced rpgs (chrono trigger), rarities and arcade releases. it pisses me off a lot now because at school i hear about kids wanting to get those ram carts or whatever the hell they are for the gba. the games the plan on downloading most of the time are dirt cheap commons for the nes and it makes me wonder why the hell dont they get a nes and play the games in their real state. oh well :angry:

[Flack]

i think emulators are good to a degree like when it comes to overpriced rpgs (chrono trigger), rarities and arcade releases. it pisses me off a lot now because at school i hear about kids wanting to get those ram carts or whatever the hell they are for the gba. the games the plan on downloading most of the time are dirt cheap commons for the nes and it makes me wonder why the hell dont they get a nes and play the games in their real state. oh well :angry:

Probably because it's hard to play a real NES on the bus.

[djbeatmongrel]

meh, thats what game axes are for hahaha. (unconventional for the average gamer but sacrifices can be made)

[hu6800]

Am I the only one who does not use emulators, or what. Every time I turn around, somebody is talking about emulators, either here, at school, the store, whatever. What's the deal? Am I the only one who refuses to use them?

Well....
can you loan me $10.000 so i can go buy an entire game collection?
didnt think so.

Some people are curious .. they wanna see what they cant afford or find.
i dont blame them.
I mean shit .... Anybody handing out cheap TRON arcade machines?

[Ze_ro]

Damn, I love emulators. They're not as fun as the real thing (which is why I still have a ton of consoles hooked up), but they're great for trying out games that you'll never get otherwise (including prototypes and whatnot)... and it's a nice way to try a game out before you actually buy it. It's like a free rental.

I almost can't believe there was a time in my life where I didn't have MAME installed. What the hell did I used to do with my free time back then?

--Zero

[NE146]

Like them or not they aren't going anywhere and will only keep getting improved and ported to more sources. As y'all know. I'm a whore who likes everything. Who am I to deny one thing over another? Heck, I'm enjoying it all if I can.

Anyway I'm one of the first to say the real thing is always better.. but after tonight's lode runner gaming session, I had to think:

Would I rather have an Apple 2e sitting here with a monochrome green monitor and whole stacks of 5" floppies? Well.. Not really! O_O AppleWIN does such an amazing job of transforming my pc into a monochrome apple 2, with the entire software library and utilities all in one handy dandy hard drive.. You gotta be nuts to setup an Apple 2! (no offense to the collectors of it ;)) But I think in a case like that I'll leave it to the collectors and purists :D

Consoles and arcade games are another story however... 8-)

[SoulBlazer]

I use emulators all the time for my older systems because they often run better then the systems (on my new end PC), have more features (like save states), take up less room, are cheaper, and allow me to try out on numerous games I missed years ago.

[Garry Silljo]

Emulators WOULD be fine if they were used properly, but too many people abuse them and for that reason I refuse to be apart of it. Emulators are NOT so you can save money and have an entire system library on your hard drive. THey overall cheapen the experience of true gaming, and I overall hate them.

[jonjandran]

meh, thats what game axes are for hahaha. (unconventional for the average gamer but sacrifices can be made)

How is that any better than a GBA Flash kit ?
It's still pirate hardware. Or did you think the GameAxe is licensed by Nintendo ? :roll:

[Arcade Antics]

Why the need to dislike emulators? An emulator is a tool, and they've been around forever and ever. Like any tool, they can be used well or abused, but that doesn't make an emulator (or a hammer or a band saw) bad.

If you don't want to use one - then don't. :) And if John Doe in Portland uses one to play an old Channel F game, it doesn't affect or cheapen anyone's gameplay experience outside of John Doe.

[SegaTecToy]

I love emulators but I will always prefer the real thing. But it is unfeasible to have all systems ready to play whenever you want. And many games are impossible to get anyway. The main problem with emus is that even the best emulators are still a little rough.

The last thought about emulators is that someday (years or decades ahead, depends on the quality of the hardware) all classic systems ever made will be broken and emulators will be the only way to play classic games. :hmm:

[farfel]

I use emulators all the time for my older systems because they often run better then the systems (on my new end PC), have more features (like save states), take up less room, are cheaper, and allow me to try out on numerous games I missed years ago.

ditto. they save space too. The room lacks space for 10 consoles 50 games each.

[Nikkita]

I guess I'm one of the only non-purists here...

My emulated games collection on this computer are games I previously owned, and all for the Sega Genesis console (because they are the ones I miss the most).

Yes, I can say it "feels" just like playing the original -- if not, better than when I played them on the actual unit. I don't need to worry about my games breaking, or younger siblings "accidentally" spilling crap on it and ruining them.

I don't download playstation games, however. I don't have the time nor patience to continuously look for each disc, or worried about disconnects and looking for the same damned file to resume, blah blah blah. I'll play the playstation games on the computer using an emulator as opposed to the playsation console (I don't have an additional 200-something to fork over what is essentially a miniature computer :D)

Yeah. D:

Emulated games are fun. What I find annoying, personally, are "purists" who shun, or roll their eyes at people who try to get interested in the same thing as other people by playing emulated games.

There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, I guess the same could be said to people who buy classic games in lots of 10 for $10 =/ Why not just buy it for it's release price? ;D

[badinsults]

Having an emulator is a must for running my website. Also it allows you to play games that were never translated and released in North America (no RPG fan can say that they didn't want Dragon Warrior V and VI). If I own a game, though, I will play it on a console (hence why I bought the Sonic Mega Collection for the Gamecube). Of course the irony is that the Sonic Mega Collection runs on a Genesis emulator...

[Ze_ro]

Emulators WOULD be fine if they were used properly, but too many people abuse them and for that reason I refuse to be apart of it. Emulators are NOT so you can save money and have an entire system library on your hard drive. THey overall cheapen the experience of true gaming, and I overall hate them.

I hate when I'm talking to someone and I mention that I'm really into classic gaming, and they say something like "Oh yeah! I have tons of old NES games!" and later I find out they're just talking about emulator roms. Sorry, but roms do not count as a collection... they get tossed in the same pile as "backups".

People who think Nesticle is what classic gaming is all about are really missing out.

--Zero

[Ed Oscuro]

Haha, that's true. It's funny when somebody goes "well I have more games than you ED!" in AIM and go on about their ROM collection.

My MAME ROM folder is pretty darn big, and I've had various ROMs since at least around November '01, but I always thought it'd be cool to have the real thing. Even though I don't play my AES games, I still buy 'em, and I've got my eye set on a MVS setup. I dunno, though...I haven't done much emulation recently.

I'm just a guy who likes to have everything. I'll be buying Metroid Zero Mission new in a while, so Nintendo can't complain that my getting into emulation has caused me to just play the ROMs instead of the real thing.

The real problem is that iD Software and the shareware concept has evolved into the idea of "demos." John Carmack has said that he's run into a lot of folks who consider themselves to have "beaten DOOM" when all they've done is the shareware version, which means that a lot of people played the game through a bit until they got tired of it. The current idea of a demo is much more practical -- usually just a level or two -- but it has the unfortunate effect of making folks say "well I want to try out this cartridge to see if it sucks."

It's not practical for companies to produce demo carts for the GBA. Instore displays only reach so many people, and there you lose the convenience of checking at home. In a way, machines like the Phantom will help change this rift in business models between the home computer and console world, but, for the moment, it's still a fact of life.

[Garry Silljo]

That's what I'm talking about. I was at a friends house and his cocky little brother was making fun of me and telling me how pathetic my collection is cause he has all the games 6 different systems. Sounds impressive till you see his "collection" is a total of 8 CD's. Thanks for giving video game collecting a bad name!

[Cmosfm]

Well, I personally love to play games either at home on a console or at the arcades. That's what I prefer.

Buuuuuuuut....I work almost every day for 11 hours a day. And here, when Im not helping a customer theres nothing else to do so I either post here, check eBay, check a site out I'm into at the time, or play emulated video games. I've been madly into MAME lately. Now, on the other hand, I can't afford nor have the room for actual machines, so I'd rather play MAME. I can afford consoles and have a huge collection at home and I'd rather play Mario Bros. on the TV then on the computer with a keyboard. But when you have no other choice sometimes and are craving Mario....gotta get your fix somewhere! :D

[hu6800]

Emulators WOULD be fine if they were used properly, but too many people abuse them and for that reason I refuse to be apart of it. Emulators are NOT so you can save money and have an entire system library on your hard drive. THey overall cheapen the experience of true gaming, and I overall hate them.


REALLY? How many Duo-R's do you own with a games express card
plugged into it?

Magic Engine allows you to try those games without paying out the ass.

[§ Gideon §]

An emulator is a tool...
That's exactly how I feel. I don't really use emulators to play games, and when I do, it's on a try-before-I-buy basis.

[davidleeroth]

I haven't tried one yet but I guess it would be good for playing translated RPG titles and such.

It's just the more you have games, the less time you spend per game.
I have too many games on my collection already and adding a couple of hundred emulator games would certainly diminish the time used/game ratio to seconds.

[Garry Silljo]

REALLY? How many Duo-R's do you own with a games express card
plugged into it?


I have zero, because right now I don't have any desire for said items. When I do though, I will buy them.

I just don't see emulators as easy access to the otherwise untouchable.

The people I and I stress the word 'I' know personally who use them, use them purely so they wont have to pay for the games, and that goes for new games as well as old. I find the practice terribly unbearable when the items are still being pressed, I can relax a little bit on retired systems. Still when I see someone getting a game and especially 100's of games for free with an emulator, all I can see the is the people who are getting shafted. Even with retired systems, all the people getting the free games are hurting the used market which in my area isnt that great to begin with.

[GamecubeFreek]

That's what I'm talking about. I was at a friends house and his cocky little brother was making fun of me and telling me how pathetic my collection is cause he has all the games 6 different systems. Sounds impressive till you see his "collection" is a total of 8 CD's. Thanks for giving video game collecting a bad name!

I know a ton of people like that... I especially hate when I get talking to a person and he finds out that I collect games, so he asks me if I want to buy any of his games. I ask if he has certain games which I am looking for and he says yes, so I agree to buy it. Then he shows up the next day with a burnt copy and gets mad when I refuse to buy it. I know that burnt games are not the same as emulators, but those people give collecting a bad name as well!

[Flack]

I still don't get it. You guys hate emulators because someone tried to sell you a pirated CD-R, and another guy brags about his ROM collection?

Ok, well I hate cars now because gosh, look how many people get killed in cars each year. And they are always used in bank robberies and high speed police chases, so cars are stupid.

I have the perfect solution. Let's let the people who hate emulators argue about it some more. The rest of us have some gaming to do.

[Ed Oscuro]

Haha. Our Forum has lobbyists, Flack just made me realize that.

Personally, I like emulators 'cuz they let me play some of my unopened games, and keep ones that are in good shape that way. Money's still an object. It's a simple economic decision. If I don't own it and like it, I'll buy it. I don't look for ROMs of new games or otherwise still make a company revenue, but I'm not too picky about details (especially if I own that game...Metroid Fusion, for example, and some classics that have been rereleased apply).

That's really all I can say on the matter. I use emulators but I try to keep a high standard of morals. I know I should say "and I'll never visit one of these topics again," but you know I'm going to be posting in one of these topics again. "Emulators: good or bad" topics are a sure-fire sucker punch as far as I'm concerned.

[Garry Silljo]

You know what? I DO hate cars. For many more reasons than listed above. However as much as I try to avoid them, cars are a far more necessary evil than emulators. If I didn't have a car, I would have to walk to work, stores, and everything else that is SO far from my apartment that there is truly not enough hours in the day.

Emulators on the other hand aren't needed by the gaming world, and are only a tool when used properly. However as mentioned before in my corner of the world they are used 99% of the time for stealing.

As for why any person would even TRY to sell a burned game for anything over the cost of the disc itself is beyond me.