Emulation vs. the Real Thing

[theaveng]

Which do you prefer?



"Real" vs. "Emulation"... If I had a mansion, I'd own (and use) every computer ever made. But alas, I live in a tiny apartment, so I only have room for one. But that one computer can play anything from Atari to N64, Commodore=64 to Amiga to PC. I am satisfied with that.

[digitalpress]

I love emulators and the consolidation they bring, but if it's put to a vote, there's no question about which I'd prefer. I defer to the pop culture saying:

"Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby".

[NoahsMyBro]

Seems to me this is a ready-made poll question...

I prefer the real thing. The clutter is an unfortunate side-effect, but to me the games just don't feel the same when I'm sitting in front of a computer, contending with different controls than the original.

[congobongo]

No comparison. The real thing.

[NvrMore]

Emulation is fair enough for checking out those games which catch your curiosity or for the purposes of "try before you buy", but they just can't match the real thing.

[maxlords]

I don't like emulation for the most part. It's only good for seeing if a game is worth buying, or playing a game that you can't otherwise afford Like Armed Formation Batrider, or one you don't want to buy (like Terranigma, where you need all the stuff to play PAL carts).

[Sylentwulf]

Emulation is just NEVER the same. The best emulation I've seen is the NES games on animal crossing. It's perfect, and it saves your high scores.

The ONLY other thing I use emulation for is arcade games for OBVIOUS reasons. I honestly don't think I've EVER played an emulated console game for more than 1-2 minutes.

[ashbourn]

The real thing is much better. u can play the way the game waws ment to be played.

[ventrra]

I prefer playing the real consoles most times, however there are certain systems that I prefer emulating (even when I own them) because the controllers for them leave a lot to be desired (i.e.: they really make my hands HURT badly).

[kainemaxwell]

I prefer both myself. Emulation does come in handy playing the old NES rpgs like the Dragon Warriors though.

[YoshiM]

For consoles, I'm on the same boat many are: play a game on an emu to see if I like it, then buy the real thing. My PSX-Wannabe gamepad just doesn't seem to have the control response my NES pad does.

[NE146]

Yeah the real thing is always better. But I guess it varies in regards to the platform.

CONSOLE
Of course the real stuff is the way to go, but sometimes the emulation comes pretty close. For example, the NES emulator on the dreamcast comes to mind where aside from the controller I'm holding, I can't tell the difference. Most console emu's are give and take from the real thing. But even if the emu is 100% accurate (a hard thing to achieve), for sheer coolness factor and the ability to play on the tv, the real thing still wins out. That being said, I love playing Super Metroid, Intellivision games, and many others via emu.

ARCADE:
Real thing is almost 100% of the time better. Especially with the dedicated arcade games (Pre-JAMMA). You just miss out on too much when playing an emulated version, hardware wise, control wise, sound wise and overall feel. Compare emulated Space Invaders to the real thing (yes I know the new mame has background support, but it's still not a mirrored playfield on a cardboard background) ;)
http://www.users.qwest.net/~userid946/invader/invaddlx.png vs .http://www.users.qwest.net/~userid946/invader/inv_D_playfield.jpg
And don't forget the echoey bass and other sounds as they reverberate throughout the cabinet. However, having said that, when it comes to a couple of generic JAMMA games or even NEO-GEO, you're not missing out on too much if playing the emu'd version imho.

[Achika]

Real thing for many many numerous reasons. Emulation is just too much of a hassle for me. Plus IMO emu can never touch the controls of the real thing.

[Memona]

Oops, sorry I didn't notice this post eariler, I was playing my SNES online with an EMU.

I own Chrono Trigger, I own Final Fantasy 3/6, I own Dragon Warrior 4 for the NES.

What does this mean for me? What does this come down too? I enjoy using any controller I want to, plus online play? With a few emulators such as the UltimateFCE it's exceeds what the orginal machine could do in some cases. You can use Save States. No more hunting for a save point. The ability to play games that I would never to able to play because of the language barrier (Dragon warrior 5, secret of Mana 2). OH, and the biggest reason. How about the struggle to get your machine to work? I've had more time fighting with my NES than I can think of. Makes it easier. The ability to check a game out before you spend any money on it? That is what I call quality control.

With all that said and done, I enjoy some things better on emulator, some things better on the real McCoy. (Unlike the Fake McCoy). The feel of holding the controller, the true SLOW response from the game.

How do you except to play a N64 game with a playstation controller i use for my main controller? Near impossiable, not to mention that N64 emulation is sub-par at best.

Emulation or the Real Thing. I for now have to stay with the real thing, but with the advances they are making in the emulation field, who knows what the future may hold.

[Mr. NEStalgia]

I don't see how anyone could PREFER emulation. I don't just like playing my NES, I also like collecting for it. I don't even like collecting for the playstation just because their discs. :roll: I like the feel of the old grey cartridge, and this may come as a shock, I like having to adjust it so that the darn NES stops blinking...only to a certain point of course. :) I tried dl'ing a lot of ROMS, but I kept getting this cheating feeling being able to save whenever I wanted. :P

-=Mr. NEStalgia=-

[chrisballer]

I prefer the real thing by far. Emu is great for checking out games for systems i don't plan on buying unless the games are fun ofcourse, or if everyone is talking about a game i can check it out to see what the hype is all about but thats about it.

[spoon]

Well If I made video games, you'd see me on T.V. crying like Britney Spears about taking my money.

I feel that emulation is god for checking out a game(remeber:curiousity kiled the cat) and helps us collectors from having to compete with others who just want to play the games as The NES scene has really oicked up. But emulation is not a substitute for the real thing. Also I can't stanlittle kids who brag about having everygame "game"/Rom. Who cares?

[Nature Boy]

Emulation is great because of it's portability (I have a laptop) and because of it's availability (I can actually *play* Chase the Chuckwagon, instead of debating whether I'll ever spend the money on getting the real thing).

But of course nothing beats the real thing. When people come over to visit they could care less about my laptop and what I can play on it. It's the real things on my book cases that get their attention. I imagine that would be true of 99% of the population (gamers and non gamers alike).

[zektor]

I prefer the real this of course, because the real this is...well real. But still, if it weren't for emulation I would never have been able to play Digital Press's impossible to get, 40 cartridges made only: Ms. Space Fury for the Colecovision!

[Lady Jaye]

Until the major computer crash I had last fall, I was heavily into emulation. I had a good collection of MAME, Neo-Geo, NES, SNES, Genesis, SMS, Colecovision, Atari roms. Of the above consoles, the only ones I don't own now are the Neo-Geo and the Colecovision. I've also gotten many of the games I consider must-haves for my consoles.

Anyway, all this to say that I've made the switch to the real mccoy and that I rarely ever use emulation now. I think that the Intellivision Lives! and Rocks! CDs are really cool, but the games are a hassle to play without a real Intelly controller. And there are games like Tomcat F-14 (Atari 2600) that are simply not emulated properly (Tomcat uses the switches on the console, which makes the game impossible to play in emulation).

I now mostly keep emulation for skyrocket-priced games like Ogre Battle on the SNES and for untranslated games like Final Fantasy II and III (although I'd rather play a PSX English remake than the roms of the originals with translation patches).

And it's true that nothing beats the coolness of the real carts and boxes and instruction manuals. Scanners may be able to reproduce the manuals visually, but it just isn't the same than looking at a vintage one.

For me, emulation now gets most of its usefulness from the possibility to make easy screenshots for websites or wallpapers.

It's true that it's great to play games on the TV via the consoles, but I have to admit that the experience isn't always a repeat from olden days, especially where the 2600 is concerned. You see, my old 2600 joysticks dried up and don't work properly now. As a result, I use Sega controllers instead of the Atari joysticks. Using a D-pad really isn't the same as using the Atari Pro Joystick (aka the 7800 joystick).

[mythicon]

While I certainly appreciate playing games on the "real thing" (especially paddle games) I can definitely see where emulation is handy handy handy. I used to have a garage full of video stuff, and, since I'm clutter-prone, I had to dig through boxes and boxes of stuff whenever, say, I wanted to play "Military Coup" on the C64 (public domain program which, for some reason, I can't find a rom of...), or Bobby is Going Home, or Worm Whomper. Now it's much easier.

I must say that the Dreamcast NES emulation scene is great--all the roms I could ever care to play on one CD, and it plays great. Plus I can play the hacked versions of Tecmo Super Bowl...

[Andy Rampage]

Yup,
Give me my "console" ... "ANYDAY!!!" :D
be it; NES, SNES or PLAY - STATION !!!

although emulators present a "special appeal", 8-)
to those of 'Us who "missed" OR just PLAIN didn't
GET THE GAMES !! (like my first emu.: NINJA WARRIORS for SNES)
and "presents" ANOTHER appeal, i think, to folks
who Say, can't Get the Old, for example, TATIO video GAMES!!
~hey! like Me!!
i kin "at least" WATCH the intro. To my ARCADE emu. Of:
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR ... now;" i NEED A JOYSTICK!! ~DOH!!" >:(

[NE146]

I think the best answer is they both have their place, and to deny one for the other is definitely cutting yourself short. Depending on the game (and whether I have it) I'll play the real mccoy, I'll also play emu'd versions. It's all good. :)

[Raedon]

Beyond MAME (which is the only way for me to play many of these games) I've only played one game emu'ed from start to finish.. Tales of Phantasia (JAP/Translated) for the Sfami.

[Metrackle]

Despends, but in both cases, I would only download older games, as recent games would not run well on my computer anyway...

Arcade: Depends on a few things: the condition of the game, how well the game is emulated, and the game itself. I would definitely use emulation if it's either to avoid wasting quarters on a really bad game such as Bravoman, to train for a game at no cost, to play games that have no chance in hell of entering my local arcade such as Guwange, or if the game is in really bad condition or dead, which is the condition of the only Raiden machine I have ever encountered to the best of my memory. I would go for the real thing to play the game like it was meant to be played (playing Arkanoid without the dial just doesn't feel the same), if the game is poorly emulated, or if the game is not emulated period (Battle Balls, for example).

Console: The real thing, because playing console games just doesn't feel the same on a Gravis Gamepad Pro, and I would prefer seeing games on my 25" Magnavox as opposed to a small window. The exception is Sega CD, since I can't find a CD Backup Ram Cart anywhere, and emulation is the only way I can get the third quest in Shining Force CD.

Handhelds: This time, it would be emulation (but only marginally) because the game is easier to see (especially in the dark unless the handheld is backlit), and emulators don't require batteries, which eliminates the threat of the game shutting off because the batteries die, and this can be really bad if you have gone very far into an RPG without saving. One advantage of the real thing is that you can take it anywhere, and that's for those who don't have labtops or are just too lazy to take a computer with you.

In general, emulation is helpful for not having to pay games that are either terrible or too expensive, to rip sprites (pretty helpful for website design), or to compare the differences between games of different regions, seeing what went wrong.

[spoon]

It kinda like asking: Sex the real thing or not the real thing?

[NE146]

It kinda like asking: Sex the real thing or not the real thing?

Not always. Like I said earlier, NES emulation on the Dreamcast is practically indistinguishable from the real thing unless you look at the controller in your hand or the console in front of the tv :P