The price of games and emulation.

[Ross PK]

How much more money do you think the games would go for if emulation didn't exist?

[Goochman]

I think commons and such would cost a bit more but the rare games would be about the same - anything collectable most folks would want - however with emu's people can play the commons for the nostaglic feeling and be done with it.

 

Prior to 2600 emu I was collecting some of the commons - but no matter what I wasnt going to dump more than $5 or so to play a 2600/8bit game. the rare exceptions to thie were Berzerk and Stargate for the 8bit - I paid $29.95 for each and would do so again today emu or not (Xenophobe another great example) - but I wouldnt buy a 2600 PacMan or ET cart for the once in 10 year itch I get to play those

Edited May 6, 2008 by Goochman

[Urchlay]

They might be cheaper... how many people who had Atari (or whatever classic) systems back in the day have gotten drawn back into the vintage gaming world due to emulation? I bet the potential market for the games would be much smaller if there were no emulators, which would keep the (sometimes) ridiculous ebay bidding wars from getting out of hand...

 

On the other hand, people who are gamers rather than collectors would have to spend some real money instead of just grabbing ROM/disk/tape images to play the games. However, such people (myself included) would be just as happy with a box full of pirated/cracked floppies, which would be much cheaper than buying the real thing.

 

Actually, if there were no emulation, but SIO2PC/MyIDE/etc still existed (ways to play downloaded games on real hardware), I guess people who just want to play the games still don't have to spend so much to get them...

 

However, if emulation didn't exist, someone would invent it, so it's a moot point

[Rybags]

The only way emulation wouldn't exist would be if we were still around the tech level of 1993 or so, ie - high end P4s, low end Pentiums.

 

But even they can emulate, albeit slowly. I even have an emulator somewhere for the ST that runs 8-bit stuff (albeit painfully slowly).

 

If we were still at the 1993 level of tech, then you could safely say the A8 would still be a viable "modern" gaming platform.

[Ross PK]

They might be cheaper... how many people who had Atari (or whatever classic) systems back in the day have gotten drawn back into the vintage gaming world due to emulation? I bet the potential market for the games would be much smaller if there were no emulators, which would keep the (sometimes) ridiculous ebay bidding wars from getting out of hand...

 

On the other hand, people who are gamers rather than collectors would have to spend some real money instead of just grabbing ROM/disk/tape images to play the games. However, such people (myself included) would be just as happy with a box full of pirated/cracked floppies, which would be much cheaper than buying the real thing.

 

Actually, if there were no emulation, but SIO2PC/MyIDE/etc still existed (ways to play downloaded games on real hardware), I guess people who just want to play the games still don't have to spend so much to get them...

 

However, if emulation didn't exist, someone would invent it, so it's a moot point

 

Well, it could end up getting banned, but I guess there'd always be somewhere where you could get it from on the net, probably mainly on P2P's, it'd just be more harder to find I suppose.

 

Personally what got me into buying the games again wasn't emulation, it was because I used to play these games back in the day as a kid, I enjoyed them, and I knew I'd enjoy them again. Since around 1991 when I sold the 800XL so I could get an ST, I had always regretted it, and I've always wanted an 800XL again and the games I used to play.

 

So, before I knew much about emulation, I finally got the chance to buy an 800XL and some games in 2001 when I had access to the Internet for the first time (which was through my Dreamcast).

 

There were actually a few occasions a few years back that I'd think 'What's the point in buying games when I can just play them for free on an emu?' But I don't think that anymore.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Ross PK

[ratfink]

For those of us who were collecting in the pre-emulation days, most classic or vintage games were dirt cheap. It was common to find boxes of old cartridges in people's trash, at flea markets, at thrift stores. I'm talking a box with 30 carts, controllers and a system for $5. By the time emulation really got good and ROMs were easily obtained on the Internet, it was getting harder to find games "in the wild" and that was a big part of why I gave up being an active collector. It was nice to know that I could always use an emulator to play all my old favorites but the thrill of the hunt -- which was a big part of my passion for collecting -- was gone due to old stuff just drying up at my usual hunting grounds.

 

It's no wonder that boxes, overlays, manuals and other ephemera garner the big money from collectors -- no emulator can ever replace that stuff.

[Rapture]

They might be cheaper... how many people who had Atari (or whatever classic) systems back in the day have gotten drawn back into the vintage gaming world due to emulation? I bet the potential market for the games would be much smaller if there were no emulators, which would keep the (sometimes) ridiculous ebay bidding wars from getting out of hand...

 

On the other hand, people who are gamers rather than collectors would have to spend some real money instead of just grabbing ROM/disk/tape images to play the games. However, such people (myself included) would be just as happy with a box full of pirated/cracked floppies, which would be much cheaper than buying the real thing.

 

Actually, if there were no emulation, but SIO2PC/MyIDE/etc still existed (ways to play downloaded games on real hardware), I guess people who just want to play the games still don't have to spend so much to get them...

 

However, if emulation didn't exist, someone would invent it, so it's a moot point

 

I agree, half the stuff I re-purchased was because I came across it via emulation. Seriously value wise I am not sure I would pay that much more to re-live games and apps from the past.

 

now if I could only get my XE Light gun to work on my LCD TV :I

[atarian63]

How much more money do you think the games would go for if emulation didn't exist?

no idea, I never use emulation

[DamageX]

If not for emulation I probably never would have been exposed to a lot of games that, in reality, I ended up buying. This is particularly true for imports.

 

There are many arcade game boards as well as console games (ie. Ginga Fukei Densetsu Saphire) that continue to fetch very high prices despite being perfectly playable under an emulator.