Anybody completely switch to emulation and not look back?

[Brian R.]

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

 

Hell no! Never, never, ever!

 

For me, a BIG part of the fun is using the authentic hardware and software. I don't even like multicarts. I like having and handling the individual carts. I enjoy having this old stuff still working, and saving it from the landfill.

 

Take away the Atari console, the joystick and the cartridge - and it's just not worth it, IMO.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Brian R.

[Shannon]

I mostly use emulation, but that is more out of convenience than anything. I have most everything handily available on my xbox. No doubt though, the real hardware is better.

[Rom Hunter]

Now answer this:

 

Who plays the real thing on a genuine seventies/eighties tube?

 

[Shawn]

Now answer this:

 

Who plays the real thing on a genuine seventies/eighties tube?

 

 

 

I do. I got a brand new TV upstairs in the faimly living room and a 1985 PAL\NTSC Sears CRT downstairs in what my wife calls "Shawn's Apartment".

[Emehr]

MAME emulation is the most practical since it's unlikely I'll ever own an arcade cabinet. Anymore, though, most of the games I'd want to play are already out on arcade compilations for the modern systems.

 

As for 2600 emulation, I'd much rather play it on the real thing. Emulators are good for development or just tinkering with code and trying out new homebrews or games I don't own. As for other systems, I go for the real thing. Nothing beats the experience and tactile feel of playing on the original hardware.

[128bytes]

Now answer this:

 

Who plays the real thing on a genuine seventies/eighties tube?

 

 

 

I do. I got a brand new TV upstairs in the faimly living room and a 1985 PAL\NTSC Sears CRT downstairs in what my wife calls "Shawn's Apartment".

 

I use an 80's era TV also. And I get the best of both worlds -- with my Cuttle Cart II and my 7800, all my carts can stay in their drawers (except Pitfall! II), and I get to use the handy built-in menu to play any other of my games without getting up - just like an emulator, but with the better gameplay of real hardware.

[Recycled]

Now answer this:

 

Who plays the real thing on a genuine seventies/eighties tube?

 

 

 

I do. I have an ancient Zenith tv I play my 2600 on.

 

 

ps I was just fiddling around with the idea of buying a stelladapter and forget buying the actual games...but it seems that would take some of the magic out of the experience. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt as well.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Recycled

[mimo]

On the real thing, unless I am out and about, then I use the DS, well it's better than going without!

I guess I am lucky that I have got a 7800 and CC2 as the main console so I can play all the rares and hombrews.

I still prefer to plug a real cart in though

[NE146]

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.

 

Half true.. yes, the u.s. licensed Midway version of Space Invaders used buttons. The ORIGINAL Taito version however, used a dedicated L/R joystick with a fat white ball

 

 

I remember I used to hate it when I'd come across a Midway one (which was rare in my area) and had to play with buttons...

[keilbaca]

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).

 

S-Video modded Atari 7800 with a Cuttle Cart 2.

 

It looks fantastic.

 

emulation sucks. real hardware or not at all.

 

That's exactly how I feel, which is why I am getting a Krokodile Cart the next time they are available, I have an atari 2600 built into my computer, and soon, a 3"x3" LCD display I am mounting to the front of the computer.

Edited September 28, 2007 by keilbaca

[Jess Ragan]

On the real thing, unless I am out and about, then I use the DS, well it's better than going without!

 

Is the 2600 emulator for the Nintendo DS any good? Or are you just playing Activision Anthology?

[mos6507]

On the real thing, unless I am out and about, then I use the DS, well it's better than going without!

 

Is the 2600 emulator for the Nintendo DS any good? Or are you just playing Activision Anthology?

 

To me, no emulator on a portable system that can't do 1:1 pixel mapping is going to be any good.

[keilbaca]

On the real thing, unless I am out and about, then I use the DS, well it's better than going without!

 

Is the 2600 emulator for the Nintendo DS any good? Or are you just playing Activision Anthology?

 

I, too, am wondering about this. It would be amazing to play a true 2600 emu on the road, and not just Activision Anthology.

[MausBoy]

I guess I should just say hardware since I still own and play it all.

Edited September 30, 2007 by MausBoy

[homerwannabee]

Definetly more into the real thing. There is nothing like the feel of an old school joystick. Also it is kind of neat to press down on the reset and game select switches as well. Also there is something kind of cool in knowing that what you are playing is coming from equipment that is over 25 years old.

[Video]

Emulators are ok, I guess. I mean, it's great to be able to play those uber rare games (or just released homebrew games) or stuff, I just can't find for whatever reason. But don't get me wrong....Emulators will NEVER replace the real console (for those that played a real console, those that didn't, wouldn't give a shit, and wouldn't be able to pick out what's wrong)

 

First, it's the look, the feel of the system, carts, and controllers in your hands...(yes...REAL controllers, can't replace that with a friggin keyboard) Second...even the crusty old ass 2600, one of the most ancient multicart machines out there, that everybody knows the insides and outsides, and every nook and cranny in between....STILL cannot perfectly emulate the 2600. To say nothing of newer systems (most 8, and even quiet a few 16 bit systems do good, but they go to crap beyond that, even on the best hardware money can buy today)

 

And I do still in fact play my 2600 on my old ass 'solid state' early 80's TV that's still in my room. I did hook it to a few different modern tv's (including a Plasma...LCD, and one of those giant back projector tv/s....BTW...most, if not all, still feature a coax input of some kind so the "no RCA" defense doesn't work) It played just fine on all of them (probably due to us not going out and buying the latest greatest whyen it first comes out, so we don't have synching problems that apparently some people have) Thoughts on that...Plasma? No, you'll burn a hole in the screen (it's worse for burnin than the old projection TV's were) Projector...awesome...just awesome. LCD, same there. But when you remove that slight fuzz of the old CRT TV, your takeing something away from the experiance IMO.

 

Anyhow, I don't have anything against emulators, they will replace the hardware, cause eventually it will all quit working (though the current gen won't have to worry about that, it'll last our lifetimes at least) And a few generations down the road, there will be people that have never seen the real hardware, and not know it's not emulated perfectly...or who knows, maybe it will eventually be emulated perfectly (I know if we ever had startrek transporter tech, I'd probably use it to make a few Atari's myself Like that'll ever happen...much less in my life time)

[Jess Ragan]

For those of you wondering, the 2600 emulation on the Nintendo DS is pretty good. It doesn't run at full speed and the graphics are slightly compressed, but it's a step up from Activision Anthology where some games straddled the fence between "boring" and "unplayable." I played several titles, including Solar Plexus, the homebrew that everyone loves to hate*, and they all performed pretty well. This is one of those instances where I'd have to agree that the real thing is better than emulation, but this is an adequate substitute if you're on the go and don't have the money for one of Heckendorn's custom made handhelds.

 

* Me, bitter?

[Albert]

Now answer this:

 

Who plays the real thing on a genuine seventies/eighties tube?

 

I have quite a few Commodore 1702 monitors that I use with my classic consoles. Those were all built in 1983 and 1984..

 

..Al

[kidnicky]

I've actually never figured out how to get Stella up and running,so it's all real hardware for me.

[supercat]

* Me, bitter?

 

Don't be upset because your first game wasn't the best. Consider that the guy who inflicted "Slot Machine" on the world also programmed Fishing Derby, Grand Prix, Pitfall II, and quite a few other good games. Oh, and Laser Blast too.

 

Yours was the first game to use bB. And as they saying goes, "the early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

[+SpiceWare]

Now answer this:

 

Who plays the real thing on a genuine seventies/eighties tube?

 

I have quite a few Commodore 1702 monitors that I use with my classic consoles. Those were all built in 1983 and 1984..

 

..Al

Commodore 1084S for me. I have a 4 way video switch so I can select between the VCS, Amiga CD32, VIC 20 and Sega Genesis Nomad. Also have a 1084(not stereo) for my 128.

[supercat]

Commodore 1084S for me. I have a 4 way video switch so I can select between the VCS, Amiga CD32, VIC 20 and Sega Genesis Nomad. Also have a 1084(not stereo) for my 128.

 

I have a 1902 monitor that seems flaky. Do I need to squirt some contact cleaner into the mode-select switch, or would that not be a good idea?

[+SpiceWare]

I have a 1902 monitor that seems flaky. Do I need to squirt some contact cleaner into the mode-select switch, or would that not be a good idea?

that'd be the first thing I'd try. could also be a broken solder joint, but it probably won't be easy to get to it.

[Zwackery]

While I have StellaX and all the ROMs you can get, the only thing I use emulation for is MAME. Everything else I prefer the original hardware.

[Artlover]

I have a 1902 monitor that seems flaky. Do I need to squirt some contact cleaner into the mode-select switch, or would that not be a good idea?

Flaky how?