A personal epiphany: no, all my consoles don't need to be hooked up
This is just something I've realized about my game setup and my life... I used to desire all my consoles placed on shelves beside their respective game collections, all hooked up in my home theater at the same time with high quality switchboxes and whatnot. Now I've given up that dream. It's a logistical nightmare having this huge videogame setup with your high tech AV setup. It looks ugly. 9/10 people don't understand. It's just not elegant.
Essentially, I've given up the "room of doom"
I've decided to keep the modern consoles out with my living room setup (which 9/10 people DO understand.) No game boxes, even. The whole thing is so clean, and so much more zen. The retro videogame collection IS shelved in a cool displayed way.... but tucked away into the bedroom.
some revelations (some might be obvious to some people.. but it was not obvious to me in my previous ideology)
1. There is a 14 inch TV to demo the "retro" collection on a whim (appropriately retro itself)... but the actual idea is that if you want to play SNES games on the home theater.. you can. Just lug it out to the main TV like the old days. It's much more fun to bring out the whole console anyway. I suppose I treat old consoles like those "TV Games" now. The truth is that this is how game consoles were originally designed and used by the Japanese... they actually put the game machine away in the box when they aren't using it. I always treated it like a permanent fixture like a microwave or something. If you look at the toylike designs of the consoles you see that they are meant to be lugged around.
2. Backwards compatibility takes care of 99% of the games I want to play in the home theater. Sometimes I secretly rooted for the end of BC because it would make my old consoles obsolete. How silly that was. My PS3 is 100% a PS1 and 2 (I have the 60GB model). My Wii is 100% a Gamecube and also has the VC. Most Xbox classics work on 360. This is simplification... and at social gatherings where people play games... the less technological complication the better. You just want to play the games.
3. There is very little complication with wiring. I keep a Gamecube S-video monster cable hooked up to service most old Nintendo systems. I used to wish I had 3 of these to keep SNES/N64/Cube hooked up the the same time. Why, when you could just swap one cable? Most other old consoles have proprietary composite or s-video connections, and this is where the front inputs on my theater receiver are my best friend.
So... just some alternate thoughts on the topic of game collection and setup. I know I obsessed over how to build the "perfect game room" for years... but the unfortunate side effect of that mess is that it is such a spectacle, and very hard to manage. Now I just have a shelved game collection in my bedroom with no logistical concerns... The actual game playing is done in a clean room that is intended for living. I'm much happier.
okay, so I do have an Arkanoid machine in my living room, but that is pure class man
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Originally Posted by thedeityofhardcore
