Anybody completely switch to emulation and not look back?

[Recycled]

I'm just curious. Wondering if it's as satisfying as playing the games on the real hardware.

[Shawn]

emulation sucks. real hardware or not at all.

[dwh]

I have only used emulation to play around with really rare games and prototype games.So the answer is NO!

[PressureCooker2600]

Real hardware unless it's an ultra rare game I don't have.

 

Like Shawn said, real or not at all.

 

There's no feeling or emotion in emulation.

[sandmountainslim]

Never switch! It is like cybersex versus a romp with a chick in a cheerleader outfit.

WP

[Blackjack]

I have almost completely switched now that I have a stelladapter.

 

I still keep a 2600 hooked up though.

[Recycled]

I have almost completely switched now that I have a stelladapter.

 

I still keep a 2600 hooked up though.

 

 

so you think the stelladapter gives an experience like the real thing?

[+Psionic]

Never switch! It is like cybersex versus a romp with a chick in a cheerleader outfit.

WP

Agreed.

Like most people here, I use emu primarily for rare games I don't have or to try out games before I buy them, but that's about it.

[+Random Terrain]

I don't have an Atari 2600 or 7800 with new modified hookups (they're still in old interference-vision), so I play using an emulator and a controller (not the keyboard). Emulators still can't get the sound exactly right, so I'd rather play on a real Atari if I could.

 

I want to be clear that I am not pooping on emulators since they will probably become as good as the real thing one day and there is now an online version of Stella so people will be able to play my future Atari 2600 games on my web site. You can't do that with a real Atari.

[Artlover]

I'm not really in a position to hook up my old console. It's all still packed in boxes. When it comes to everything older (2600, 5200, 7800, 800, Coleco, Inteli), I much prefer emulation on a whole. Just so much more convienent.

 

More or less, they look the same, sound the same, play the same.

 

Other then 7800 emus not correctly supporting dual fire buttons, and some of the 2600 roms don't run (digi picture carts), it's more then good enough.

[Jess Ragan]

Geez, you guys. Have you ever tried playing an Atari 2600 on a modern day television set? It's a terrible experience. Anyone who can look me in the face and tell me that playing a real Atari 2600 (RF connection and all) is superior to emulation, with its crystal clear VGA output, is either joking or has let nostalgia cloud their vision (along with the aforementioned RF video).

[SRGilbert]

For arcade machines, emulation with Mame rocks, but I have to agree that for consoles, can't beat the real thing. Maybe for the same reason I won't EVER watch a movie on my computer, consoles just weren't meant to be played sitting at a desk on a 19" screen.

[AtariRocks]

Geez, you guys. Have you ever tried playing an Atari 2600 on a modern day television set? It's a terrible experience. Anyone who can look me in the face and tell me that playing a real Atari 2600 (RF connection and all) is superior to emulation, with its crystal clear VGA output, is either joking or has let nostalgia cloud their vision (along with the aforementioned RF video).

 

I still have a CRT TV so my games don't look any different than they did 25 - 30 years ago.

[SRGilbert]

Geez, you guys. Have you ever tried playing an Atari 2600 on a modern day television set? It's a terrible experience.

Then don't play it on a modern TV. I agree, I have a 42" plasma for my living room, and wouldn't dream of hooking up a 2600 to it, it would look terrible (although I did have my Flashback2 on it for a while.) Instead, I bought a decent used 32" Toshiba tube tv for my gameroom and it looks awesome.

[Artlover]

For arcade machines, emulation with Mame rocks, but I have to agree that for consoles, can't beat the real thing. Maybe for the same reason I won't EVER watch a movie on my computer, consoles just weren't meant to be played sitting at a desk on a 19" screen.

Why do you assume emulation means computer?

 

Personaly, I do all my emulation on Xbox on a TV. Which also has the advantage of screen positioning so you can compensate for overscan.

[Jess Ragan]

See, that's the thing. I'm trying to steer clear of old tube displays. I do have a couple of old-school composite monitors but of course, they won't work with an unmodified 2600, and I'm still having trouble finishing the mod on my 2600 Junior. So emulation is the best choice for me.

[Major_Havoc]

Pointless. I personally have every single video game I've ever owned from the 70's until now. I'll never give them up.

 

Also I have basically every single rom & iso for almost every major u.s. console taking up gigs and gigs of space over many hard drives. Most of them can be called up on a whim on any xbox or pc scattered around the house. It'll never replace the real things. But I'm not about to limit myself from them.

 

Let me just say when I get an inkling to play Gates of Thunder, I fire up an xbox and turn on the mednefen-PCE emulation and play it there. If push comes to shove though, it's also nothing to break out the Turbo-grafx 16 & CD attachment and the cd and play it there as well. I got the real thing. I got the emu'd version. And what.

[Blackjack]

so you think the stelladapter gives an experience like the real thing?

 

Mostly yes.... I can't speak highly enough of the stelladapter, one of the best things I've ever bought. Although if I'm playing with someone else, then I go to the real 2600 on my tv.

 

For me, emulations biggest drawback is using a keyboard instead of the real controllers. That's why I put down a month's rent on a Slik Stik classic for using with MAME...... and never regretted it.

[rockman_x_2002]

Emulation works fine enough when the real thing isn't handy or available. But as a rule, I go for the real deal whenever possible. The hardware is as much of the experience as the game itself.

[jferio]

I'll play with emulation if I'm in a hurry, or it's something I don't have. But on the whole, I'm into the ritual. Plugging in the controller, inserting the cart or disc, and finally pressing that big power button or flipping that huge switch.

 

Yes, this means despite the fact that I can play 'em for free in the comfort of my own home, I'll occasionally get together with friends and hit a real, bonafide arcade, where the machines still actually take quarters. Because I need the ritual in my life.

[mos6507]

See, that's the thing. I'm trying to steer clear of old tube displays. I do have a couple of old-school composite monitors but of course, they won't work with an unmodified 2600, and I'm still having trouble finishing the mod on my 2600 Junior. So emulation is the best choice for me.

 

You should have just ordered an a/v board from 8bitdomain.

[Midnight Synergy]

The real thing, if possible. There's just something about holding that Atari joystick in your hand.

[almightytodd]

Never switch! It is like cybersex versus a romp with a chick in a cheerleader outfit.

WP

That's just frikkin' hilarious! "...a chick in a cheerleader outfit".

 

How about a chick in bright yellow bell-bottoms?

 

 

Seriously though: I think some arcade ports, like Asteroids and Space Invaders "feel" more like the original games when played using a keyboard, because the arcade versions used buttons instead of a joystick. It kinda makes me wish someone would rig up a "reverse Stelladapter" that lets me hook a PC keyboard up to an Atari!

 

Also, there's something to be said for seeing vintage Atari graphics displayed on an LCD screen. It's like futuristic and retro at the same time...

[Jess Ragan]

See, that's the thing. I'm trying to steer clear of old tube displays. I do have a couple of old-school composite monitors but of course, they won't work with an unmodified 2600, and I'm still having trouble finishing the mod on my 2600 Junior. So emulation is the best choice for me.

 

You should have just ordered an a/v board from 8bitdomain.

 

(Stares coldly at Mos6507. For twenty straight minutes.)

You're kidding me, right? Maybe if I ordered the stupid thing three months ago, I'd have it now. MAYBE.

[Artlover]

Hey mos6507, you hold him down, I'll get the salt and lemon juice.