SoulBlazer, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:00 PM, said:
I persent for the court the following pieces of 'evidence':
5) Can use a nice modern large gaming setup with superior sound and options, even on a LCD monitor.
save2600, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:35 PM, said:
LCD is crap. Resolution, lag time, blockiness, etc. Vintage gaming is not meant to be played back on LCD screens.
Emulation is only "cool" when testing or trying something out short term. Nothing will ever replace the real thing, played on real controllers, viewed on real TV's or monitors. Ever.
Damn skippy. I have ten cabinets in my small basement arcade: 4 of those are original arcade hardware, 5 are running MAME (three of which use an LCD monitor, one uses a TV and the other a VGA monitor) and the other is a 60-in-1 JAMMA with an arcade monitor.
LCD monitors and VGA monitors look like crap. If I had the resources I'd replace all my MAME cabinets with the real thing but I don't have the money or space. Some of the games on my 60-in-1 are also on my MAME cabinets and I'll play off of the 60-in-1 because of the better graphics.
If you put an Asteroids arcade cabinet with a vector monitor side-by-side with a PC running MAME Asteroids you'll see how bad modern displays look for retro gaming.
Although, on LCD, vector games look much better than raster games. You can fiddle with the beam width and intensity settings along with gamma correction to make it look better than the default settings.
NE146, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:58 PM, said:
Where emulation generally will always fall short for me though is a lot of classic arcade games.. with physical attributes (e.g. visual hardware, lights, & controls) that just obviously can't be emulated. But that's another story. And yes I'm aware of the artwork options in Mame, but that's a far cry from an actual piece of painted plexiglass.

If you throw a retro gaming party, which of these will give your party goers a woody:
A genuine Tron cabinet with all the lights, artwork, the right monitor and controls
or
A PC sitting on a table with an LCD monitor and an X-Arcade controller?
Kirbot, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:59 PM, said:
SoulBlazer, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:48 PM, said:
So, in response, if I'm playing a real game, with a real controller, and on a real TV, what's the difference, I ask you? Especily if I don't care about ownership but just want the 'high' of the game?
If you can get that "high" with emulation, than it doesn't really matter what anybody else thinks.
But personally, I get much more enjoyment out of the "real thing".
I like to be able to hold a cartridge or cd, and the system.
I'm looking at my Sears Super Video Arcade right now, and there is a certain amount of pride of ownership and joy that comes with owning and using the real thing.
skaredmask, on Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:56 AM, said:
7.Senses like stated above but a little different. If you have ever turned on a old monitor or been at a arcade you can actrual smell the mechines.
9.Playing games as they where made to be played.
Reaperman, on Sun Apr 24, 2011 12:00 PM, said:
[*]The little extras. The smell of a newly opened game, the feel of the texture on a cartridge, etc.
[/list]
Totally agree. I like the smell of 80s wood whenever I walk into Richie Knucklez Arcade or in my Retrocade.
And it's not just about arcade for me. The only emulation I do is MAME. Any console gaming for me is on the real thing. There's no fun in downloading ROMs but there is when going to gaming expos or buying carts from peeps on AA to fill holes in your collection.
rhindlethereddragon, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 8:07 PM, said:
It all gets pretty abstract, the feelings a person has for thier game collections. YES, I could buy a Colecovision "multicart" with everything on it in one shot. But I would be missing out on the full experience.
I bought a Vectrex multicart and sold it because it just wasn't the same as owning the individual carts. It's more fun (because of the authenticity) to have a Star Castle cart and overlay on the Vectrex.
SoulBlazer, on Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:00 PM, said:
6) Can play over the internet with friends.
skaredmask, on Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:56 AM, said:
10. Human interactions like Atariage or video game stores or arcades or even at you own house and reason to get out of the house and blow some time.
That's a huge difference between gaming today compared to the arcades of the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s.
Richie Knucklez said it best (paraphrasing from memory):
Quote
Sitting on the couch, drinking Red Bulls and sweating playing Xbox ain't me, man. Going out to the arcade, socializing, gaming and having a good time with friends - now that's me.
And that's how it was BITD. The arcade wasn't just gaming - it was about hanging out with friends, meeting chicks and talkin' smack.
My son and I went out to Richie's this past Friday. It was great to see my son hook up with other kids his age (complete strangers) and play some two player games together. That's what we did BITD.
So all of us (including myself) that bitched and moaned about having arcade graphics in the home back in the early 80s got what we wanted. There are many other factors, but we also had a hand in putting arcades on the endangered list.