# Emulation vs hardware, talk some about your thoughts.



## Chary (May 7, 2018)

So long as the game plays at full speed and doesn't have any major gamebreaking issues, I'm fine with emulating it on any platform. I don't notice the 0.0001 frame lag discrepancies that some seem to.


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## Deleted User (May 7, 2018)

I prefer original input methods e.g. gamecube controller compared to 3rd party systems like Nvidia Shield (that is why I love my Wii U which is the perfect Nintendo console in aspects of emulation AND hardware)


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

I like to take a middle ground, like for example the Analogue Super NT. It uses an FPGA and at its core, it's hardware emulation, far more accurate than software to the point of being indistinguishable. It's a fantastic compromise.


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## jimmyj (May 7, 2018)

as long as it's playable I don't really care


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## Zumoly (May 7, 2018)

I think hardware beats emulation anytime as it has the best compatibility with the game. It is sometimes a nightmare to even approach emulation (all the configurations, optimizations, etc involved) and the end result would always be a half baked product no so much enjoyable like the original. I would most of the time go for the actual hardware to keep my "peace of mind". And that is the reason I quit PC gaming (newer hardware all the time, higher game requirements, etc.). Still...emulation would have been tolerable if it was not ruining gaming experience with "cheats, instant saves."


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## CallmeBerto (May 7, 2018)

Emulation all day everyday and twice on Sundays.

Emulation means I don't need the original hardware which saves me space in my home. It also offers convinces such as save states, cheats, the ability to transfer my games and saves to multiple devices, multiple controller options.

Emulation is not perfect however, this is a limitation of the emulator itself though as not all games look and play like they did on original hardware. No I don't care about pixel perfection emulation either.


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## Tom Bombadildo (May 7, 2018)

Depends on the console. If it has a relatively simple and inexpensive method of loading "backups", then I much prefer actual hardware. Otherwise, I stick to emulation (which ends up being most of the time) unless the emulation is awful. 

A good example here would be things like the N64 or the SNES, the "good" flashcarts for both consoles are easily $100+, which is something I'm not generally willing to initially spend (especially when they become 2-3x more expensive than the actual hardware itself). So, I generally stick to just emulating those on whatever.

And then there are consoles like the Saturn or the original XBOX, which have generally poor emulation (though CXBX's development is picking up speed, finally), and hacking either one is generally cheap and super simple (ie the Phantom Universal modchip for the Saturn, $30-ish and only requires you to solder 5v power to it).


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## RedoLane (May 7, 2018)

My experience at the emulation scenes comes into 2 different parts:
1. when I play for fun.
2. when I play for the sake of reporting issues.

When it comes to what is more superior, I can't really pick a side.
On one hand, when you play a PS3 game on the real console, you can't really notice any slowdowns(unless that's the game's fault), which won't require you to apply patches or any other bypassing methods.
On the other hand, emulation IMPROVES the overall experience. Custom shaders/filters, internal resolution boost which transforms PS2 games into a marvelous HD showoff, the ability to use different controllers through input plugins, I can name so much stuff that the real hardware will never support.
Well, I can't deny that even the real hardware has its own improvements after a jailbreak, but visually, you can either keep it native or downgrade it using filters(for example, CRT filter).

My favorite part in emulators is that they are being developed for consoles as well! It was pretty cool playing my favorite GBA games on a PSP, with the support of grade 3 filters, which was so easy to install.
HOWEVER! While it may look simple, configuring an emulator like PCSX2 every time I want to load a different game is a pain in the ass, but worth it in the end.
Also I should mention that not every console has an emulator yet(for example, the PS Vita), but the thought of looking at people working hard to recreate these consoles, always put a smile on my face.


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## SirNapkin1334 (May 7, 2018)

Hardware is better of course if you just want to play the games, but emulation is probably the way to go if you want tools, like speed up, slow down, savestates, etc.


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## Kioku_Dreams (May 7, 2018)

Chary said:


> So long as the game plays at full speed and doesn't have any major gamebreaking issues, I'm fine with emulating it on any platform. I don't notice the 0.0001 frame lag discrepancies that some seem to.


.0001? Is that legit? Lol


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## Axido (May 7, 2018)

Memoir said:


> .0001? Is that legit? Lol



It is scientifically proven by a study that I just made up.


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## Kioku_Dreams (May 7, 2018)

Axido said:


> It is scientifically proven by a study that I just made up.


I was never good at statistics..


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## osaka35 (May 7, 2018)

Curious you didn't mention one of the legit reasons to prefer old hardware, and that's of original experience.

Gaming can be seen as a collection of experiences. Some see the original hardware and original software as all important for having the experience everyone else did while playing the game. Emulators usually use very different hardware (meaning things like controllers, delay, monitor, etc) and only the software is the same (with varying degrees of accuracy, but usually "good enough").

Some folks require old CRTs as part of the original experience, though I personally don't mind a nice 1080p output through mods. But I do prefer original controllers (or "close enough" which is rather quite hard to find) and original delays, etc. Emulators feel more like an imperfect facsimile experience than a complete recreation. This is what's so infuriating about those "play all your old games!" devices that just dump the rom and emulate a (sometimes iffy) rip, rather than try and use as close to old hardware as possible. They go out of their way to not divulge the information, which just pisses me off.

I'm fine with playing with a snes/nes/etc controller adapter on a PC, as long as the input isn't too bad, but I can totally understand the desire to go all the way.


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## Deleted User (May 7, 2018)

I like running a ds emulator on my ds


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## mituzora (May 7, 2018)

I like both.  I love having the original hardware, I love to play on the original hardware, but I have zero issues emulating something either.  
For starters, I have a TV with a single composite output, and my consoles look like garbage on there.  I'd rather boot up retroarch and get a better picture.
It's much more convenient to have a ROM file and boot it up via an emulator instead of looking through my library, finding the game I want,  finding the cables for the console, unhooking any hooked up console to the composite input, then finding all of the controllers, memory cards, etc.  
and no, I refuse to buy a CRT television for the sole purpose of era-fitting gameplay experience.   they take up way too much room.  and a framemeister is waaaay to expensive.

It boils down to price, and convenience for me.  I'd rather fire up my emulator then going through all of the clunky process just to hook up one of my old systems.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

SirNapkin1334 said:


> Hardware is better of course if you just want to play the games, but emulation is probably the way to go if you want tools, like speed up, slow down, savestates, etc.



Yes and no, on original hardware, and using modern TVs, old consoles look like hot garbage. Scaling them with HDMI is the best way to play older games.


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## snails1221 (May 7, 2018)

While emulation is great, it will never feel the same as playing on the real hardware. I own multiple CRT tvs so older consoles aren't much of a problem for me.


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## chirogan (May 7, 2018)

Playing on a genuine platform is one of the greatest feelings. 

But emulation has that great important role in gaming. Piracy is not the main reason. 

Emulation lets you play games upscaled. With all the enhancements possible. 
Emulation also plays a big role in preservation of games, meaning, if someday these consoles are not available anymore, you can play them on any device you currently have. 

Emulation's main role for me is for future generations to see and experience the wonderful games and ideas brought up by people, and to see how far we've gone.


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## kuwanger (May 7, 2018)

To me it's not a question of "emulation vs hardware".  It's a question of "not exaggerating the pros and cons or simply skipping over them entirely".  Yes, sometimes accuracy is king to fixing bugs, but there's no requirement that every emulator be accurate.  In the end, it's about the right tool for the job.  If you don't know what other people want, don't assume.  Just give them the information you know, and they can decide what they want.

PS - There's some games on the GBA I'd prefer to play on real hardware and others I'd rather use an emulator--mostly to skip past dialog.  This definitely creates a different game experience (for better or worse).  Whether one way is "right" doesn't even make sense to me.

PPS - Can't wait until we have accurate Saturn, N64, and XBox emulators.   Oh, and DOS of course.  Long-term archiving of real hardware but also emulation to avoid touching that hardware as much as possible is something I definitely support.  For a long time I didn't think games were art--or at least, I felt it was very much a gray area--but I tend to now.  Regardless of if it's art or not, I think it's valuable to preserve the history of computers and gaming and make it as accessible to future generations as possible.  In 300 years, maybe Nintendo/Sega/Etc will be the Mozart of games.


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## mightymuffy (May 7, 2018)

Some good points for both sides of the coin here, from the OP and replies: I've been playing on emulators for a good 20 years now and have no problems continuing either. I don't need pixel perfection, neither do I need the exact controller (just one that's good enough for me). If the experience is lessened enough, as in the DS on a PC monitor then I'll pass, and sure if I had a big lottery win and could afford the money/space I'd probably set a line of my fave consoles up on CRTs, but no, I'm quite happy with emulation


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## ov3rkill (May 7, 2018)

I'm particularly picky. I want to play to a stable frame at least 30 fps, better at 60 fps, depending on the game and the actual output of the sound as intended. 
That's pretty much it. Hardware emulation like super analogue nt or replica is still better than software emulation any time of the day.


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## 8BitWalugi (May 7, 2018)

Original hardware all the way. Nothing beats simple composite output on a good Trinitron CRT. Yeah, S-Video and SCART are a thing, but at that point you’re getting too complicated. I’m sure it looks great though.

Emulation just doesn’t feel right. Using a different controller in a program that might not be running the game correctly just doesn’t make sense. It still has its merits though (especially with higher developed emulators such as Dolphin) but the vast majority of emulators just don’t compare.

EDIT: That said, mad props to people like byuu striving for hardware accurate emulators. There’s no knocking that, that’s just fantastic no matter how you look at it.


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## SirNapkin1334 (May 7, 2018)

Eix said:


> I like running a ds emulator on my ds


thats called backup loaders
backup loaders are called piracy
piracy is sea of thieves
you play sea of thieves


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

chirogan said:


> Playing on a genuine platform is one of the greatest feelings.
> 
> But emulation has that great important role in gaming. Piracy is not the main reason.
> 
> ...



That's precisely why I have a Super NT with an SD2SNES, play all the games on want on hardware emulation.


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## comput3rus3r (May 7, 2018)

before i got into ds games I had a ds emulator on my android tablet and I finished a few games on it until i got fed up with the touch controls and bought a DSIxl and i've never looked back on emulators for android. Emulators on pc for classic systems are great however.


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## BlueFox gui (May 7, 2018)

i use emulators because consoles are too expensive to afford
if it's playable good i play, if not.. i try to play XD


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## x65943 (May 7, 2018)

There's something special about using original hardware that I can't understand. For whatever reason I find myself enjoying the games more. 

It's kind of like the stradivarius vs modern violin debate. Functionally there isn't much difference - but knowing that one is older/original makes it more special.


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## Jack Daniels (May 7, 2018)

for me loving some old games like snes and sega mega drive (pal versions) i'd notice one big difference in emulation VSA the real hardware: some games slowed down when there wore many ennemies on my screen at the same time wich don't occur on the emulators.
guess it comes from the proc. and ram back then were low specs, and though cycle speed's tuned, it doesn't get over heated/low on free ram as much. had only seen 1 emulated machines so far that almost excactly had the same bugs in it as my original snes has when it comes to these classics.
since timing is critical on those old games in most cases, these bugs were part of the games as i remember them and though it's a bug i kinda antissipate on these bugs.
so yes emulation is fun, but it's not yet done perfect.
i do understand this is almost impossible to accomplish, but emulation feels like cheating a bit.
hope my spelling is alright.


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## LukeHasAWii (May 7, 2018)

Emulators except for modern consoles and the Saturn and og xbox.


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## Ryccardo (May 7, 2018)

Myself... "original" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) hardware, unless I'm in for the glitches/figuring out item values/understanding some mechanic (which becomes significantly easier with full memory viewing/editing/backup/restore)

I do believe that emulators that try to do "better than the original" out of the box are not really interesting.


FAST6191 said:


> Ask a video engineer what NTSC stands for and they may quip "never the same colour"



       SECAM:
               Used by France and the former Soviet union.
               No tint control. No color control.
               Full socialism. The state knows exactly what color you should see, and how strong that color should be.

       PAL:
               Used by Germany & UK, Australia etc.
               No tint control. A color control.
               Partial socialism. The state knows exactly what color you should see, but you get a choice as to how strong it can be.

       NTSC:
               Used in USA and Canada, Japan etc.
               A tint control, A color control.
               Uncontrolled socialism. The state lets you chose what color you see and how strong it can be. They then tax you regardless.
(Robert Rolf)​


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## pedro702 (May 7, 2018)

emulation this day and age is better than hardware, what good would it do if someone released an n64 1:1 clone and your still stuck on using the awnful memory cards, rumble packs and the god awful resolution that makes n64 look like the worst crap on any hd tv, i would prefer an emulation n64 console with a cartrige slot imo.


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## Deleted member 281690 (May 7, 2018)

I'm a bit of both, I love emulation for the power, for example hirer rez graphics, smoother faster gameplay by overclocking and hitting that smooth 60 fps, the amazing fact you can play games in stereoscopic 3d and if you top it of with a decent frontend its a magical experience, I'm currently running a 4tb setup with over 16000 games ranging over 40 systems, all games have boxart and a vast majority have cart,disk art , pdf manuals and video previews and easily navigated with a beautiful interface, saving space and time, I try and use original controllers, especially n64 and gamecube because of there layout.

But also I like the real thing, My pride and joy is my original Gameboy modified with led backlight and a gb everdrive, also I have a Snes and SD2snes, Switchless region free Mega Drive 2 with a Mega CD 2 and Mega everdrive cart, gb micro and ezflash iv, vita with sd2vita on 3.5 enso,pstv 3.5 enso, pspgo custom firmware, ps2 with freemc and harddrive, new3ds custom firmware and a wiiu with custom firmware.


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## retrofan_k (May 7, 2018)

Always use all original hardware on my PVM's, CRT Tv's and monitors for me.  I Recently dropped money on Darksoft's MVS multi cart for Neo Geo and Terraonion's Super System Sd 3 for PCengine.  Emulation does not appeal to me and never will


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## BlackWizzard17 (May 7, 2018)

If my hardware can play it, then I can at it.


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## matpower (May 7, 2018)

I am fine with emulation as long as the game is close enough to the real deal, I collect the real hardware myself, but I know it isn't going to last forever, that puts emulation as the best alternative for preservation those titles and one of the reasons we should strive for getting it perfect. Plus it has some enhancements like shaders for mimicking the CRT effect in a modern display, save states for those pesky password only games, etc.



the_randomizer said:


> I like to take a middle ground, like for example the Analogue Super NT. It uses an FPGA and at its core, it's hardware emulation, far more accurate than software to the point of being indistinguishable. It's a fantastic compromise.


That's a major lie, FPGA is the same as software emulator, and it is far from 100% compatible like the Super NT specifically promised. Byuu himself countered the marketing hype over those FGPA consoles. Whoever says FGPA is superior to software emulation is obviously lying/doesn't know what they are talking about.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

matpower said:


> I am fine with emulation as long as the game is close enough to the real deal, I collect the real hardware myself, but I know it isn't going to last forever, that puts emulation as the best alternative for preservation those titles and one of the reasons we should strive for getting it perfect. Plus it has some enhancements like shaders for mimicking the CRT effect in a modern display, save states for those pesky password only games, etc.
> 
> 
> That's a major lie, FPGA is the same as software emulator, and it is far from 100% compatible like the Super NT specifically promised. Byuu himself countered the marketing hype over those FGPA consoles. Whoever says FGPA is superior to software emulation is obviously lying/doesn't know what they are talking about.



Well *sooo sorry *for being wrong  At least it doesn't have much of the input lag emulators on PC has, and better than anything Nintendo has ever made with Snes emulators, they couldn't even get Yoshi's Island's fuzzy effect right.


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## matpower (May 7, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Well *sooo sorry *for being wrong at least it has none of the lag emulators on PC has, and better than anything Nintendo has ever made  Sorry for breathing the same air as you.


What about less lag than the real thing, is that good enough for you?  Plus whatever lag you might notice often comes from your display rather than the emulators themselves.
Not trying to be rude or anything (I might have come as such), I just dislike how people believe that FPGA is better than software emulation when it has its own shortcomings and inaccuracies that can be worked around.


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## dAVID_ (May 7, 2018)

Emulation is a wonderful way to be able to play any game without having the original console.
I'm always up for emulation as long as it's 25+ FPS.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

matpower said:


> What about less lag than the real thing, is that good enough for you?  Plus whatever lag you might notice often comes from your display rather than the emulators themselves.
> Not trying to be rude or anything (I might have come as such), I just dislike how people believe that FPGA is better than software emulation when it has its own shortcomings and inaccuracies that can be worked around.



Fine. I should have kept my bloody mouth shut on the whole thing, would that have been better? Sure getting that vibe from you   I don't like Higan, I don't like its interface, the way it needs to be configured, and it's why I use Super NT with an SD2SNES. But yeah, I'm  bailing out of this discussion, I've dug myself deep enough.


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## matpower (May 7, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Fine. I should have kept my bloody mouth shut on the whole thing, would that have been better? Sure getting that vibe from you   I don't like Higan, I don't like its interface, the way it needs to be configured, and it's why I use Super NT with an SD2SNES. But yeah, I'm  bailing out of this discussion, I've dug myself deep enough.


Nah, you're just being overly dramatic there, mate. I have just stated something to contribute to the thread, and I never said FPGA was inferior, I said it was the same. As for Higan, you can use another UI with Higan, I use RetroArch myself since I don't need to convert the games to Higan-compatible formats and integrates well with other cores.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

matpower said:


> Nah, you're just being overly dramatic there, mate. I have just stated something to contribute to the thread, and I never said FPGA was inferior, I said it was the same. As for Higan, you can use another UI with Higan, I use RetroArch myself since I don't need to convert the games to Higan-compatible formats and integrates well with other cores.



I can't even tell a difference in Snes9x 1.55 or Higan for the games I use, save for like, two games, to be honest. As such I don't even use Snes9x aside from recording game footage. I simply use my Super NT because it feels more authentic playing it on a TV than on Windows, nothing more.


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## Deleted User (May 7, 2018)

hardware cost money. not good.
emulation is free. very good.
sometimes emulation cost more than hardware. wii u emulator for example cuz you need storng and manly pc.

if it's home console emulation and the emulation is near perfect then it's good enough cuz you can use the controller from the original console. if its handheld console especially consoles like ds and 3ds then hardware is the only way to get the best Experience.


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## ReigningSemtex (May 7, 2018)

I prefer playing on original hardware whenever I can however if a system I own has the ability to play other game systems through emulation I will always make sure that's an option too


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## Qtis (May 7, 2018)

Depends on the console. Mostly playing old games on a modern TV make them look like a potato, but luckily old crts are still around. Sometimes it is more convenient to use emulation (esp with SNES mini or the likes) or even flashcarts (SD2SNES, EverDrives, etc) than originals, but again, depends on the console


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## RMZK (May 7, 2018)

Its just a matter of preference and picking the option that best suits your needs

_Original Hardware_

*If you have deep pockets* - If you like the retro aesthetic and original hardware, you'll probably invest a lot of money but the results you'll get will be the best of all options. both RGB CRT monitors and good quality analog to digital upscalers are somewhat expensive but are really worth it. I personally prefer this option.












*If you just wanna play without lag in *- just grab a cheap CRT TV if you are lucky enough you can get a tv with S-video and component inputs







_Emulation
_
*Low End/Mid End computer - *This is the place where most of the emulation community resides. most modern computers will run all games up to the 6th generation of console with minor hasle.

*Emulation on the go *- just pick up a hackable PS vita, it is more discrete than a switch and more powerful than a 3DS, a GPD win is also an option

*PC Master Race MLG no scope* - just go nuts, I really like this option for special situations like when I want to grab some HD footage of a DS/3DS game or play more modern games like Persona 5 on the PS3 emulator with high settings looks better than on a PS4 IMO






In summary have fun playing with the option that best suits you, all options are valid. just remember that if you are gonna emulate common games that are easy to get on retail or ebay, consider buying an original copy of the game. the emulation community has a bad reputation because of pirates. Obviosly there are exceptions where a physical copy is very difficult to get or very expensive, which is the case of many arcade cames.



the_randomizer said:


> Yes and no, on original hardware, and using modern TVs, old consoles look like hot garbage. Scaling them with HDMI is the best way to play older games.



Well, if you have the correct equipment for playing on the original hardware on a LCD display, the results are amazing.


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## Taffy (May 7, 2018)

Hardware is what you want when it is current. eg, you want a Switch not a Switch emulator right now. But if access to said hardware becomes scarce, we turn to emulators.

That said, you want a _hardware-accurate_ emulator. And one that runs at reasonable speed, too.

The SNES for an example. Those are hard to find nowadays. I have one that has no video cable or power supply, but it still works. Probably.


I can't use it, but I CAN use bsnes, snes9x, lsnes, zsnes, and other emulators to play games made for it.


...Speaking of emulation and the snes, did you know that the 65c816 had an emulation mode so it could run code for its predecessor, the 6502?

On startup, it starts in emulation mode. Until you set a certain bit, it stays in this mode and operates like a 6502. Limited instruction set, 8-bit address bus, things like that.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

RMZK said:


> Its just a matter of preference and picking the option that best suits your needs
> 
> _Original Hardware_
> 
> ...



See, therein lies the problem, upscaling original hardware is expensive and cumbersome; console FPGA clones like the Super NT do all that for a heck of a lot cheaper and just as good. I play my Super NT on my 25" gaming monitor and with scanlines, it looks very crisp and clear, and the colors are quite nice too.  I shouldn't have to pay some idiot scalper hundreds of dollars for a Framemeister.


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## Deleted User (May 7, 2018)

I have nothing against playing games on original hardware and those who choose to do so. Heck, I even went to the trouble of buying a Genesis/Mega Drive myself, for collection purposes. 

That said, there will always be inherent advantages to emulating the game over playing it on original hardware. Emulators have essentially rendered thousands of games cross-platform, and, thanks to cloud storage services, it's entirely possible to pick up a game on your phone for a few minutes, continue playing it on your Raspberry Pi later on, play a little more on your PC the next day, then transfer it to actual hardware if you have the proper equipment for it. Something about that has always been incredibly cool to me. 

Some may argue that save states and cheats may break the pacing and progression of a game. While I must admit that such conveniences do have a tendency to cheapen the experience provided by old games, the player is always given the option to not use them at all. 

Plus, speaking as someone who uses Fightcade, an online multiplayer service for old fighting games, fairly regularly, emulators are practically indispensable for someone who wants to train on an arcade-perfect version of a game. Some fighters didn't receive console ports at all, and others had significant differences made to the home releases, such as unique combos or changes in a character's moveset. Being able to use chests to train on the original arcade versions is very important, especially for high-level play.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

Taffy said:


> Hardware is what you want when it is current. eg, you want a Switch not a Switch emulator right now. But if access to said hardware becomes scarce, we turn to emulators.
> 
> That said, you want a _hardware-accurate_ emulator. And one that runs at reasonable speed, too.
> 
> ...



I wouldn't wish or recommend Zsnes to my worst enemy, but I get what you're saying. Super NT is just as accurate as Higan, but on an FPGA level, and with a flashcart, it becomes the
perfect way to play Snes on modern TVs. No having to pay for overpriced unnecessary upscalers.


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## dubbz82 (May 7, 2018)

Hardware whenever possible.  Too many problems with anything remotely modern in terms of emulation.  Games that will plainly not load, games that will load but play incorrectly, etc.  For older stuff...still hardware whenever possible.  I kinda like the feeling of playing old games on an orginal console.


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## RMZK (May 7, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> See, therein lies the problem, upscaling original hardware is expensive and cumbersome; console FPGA clones like the Super NT do all that for a heck of a lot cheaper and just as good. I play my Super NT on my 25" gaming monitor and with scanlines, it looks very crisp and clear, and the colors are quite nice too.  I shouldn't have to pay some idiot scalper hundreds of dollars for a Framemeister.



I agree with you that FPGA based consoles are the future in terms of playability, but there is something about playing on real hardware that cannot be described, and I don't think it's nostalgia, because I never had a Sega Genesis until last month and it feels amazing to play on the original thing.

BTW I would recommend avoiding the XRGB mini framemeister as it is too expensive and for me the fact that it cannot handle dynamic resolution changes (PSX and Sega saturn) is a deal breaker.


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## the_randomizer (May 7, 2018)

RMZK said:


> I agree with you that FPGA based consoles are the future in terms of playability, but there is something about playing on real hardware that cannot be described, and I don't think it's nostalgia, because I never had a Sega Genesis until last month and it feels amazing to play on the original thing.
> 
> BTW I would recommend avoiding the XRGB mini framemeister as it is too expensive and for me the fact that it cannot handle dynamic resolution changes (PSX and Sega saturn) is a deal breaker.



Super NT, real hardware, most people wouldn't be able to tell the diff on a newer TV.


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## Kurt91 (May 7, 2018)

For me, it all comes down to capturing the same feeling I had as a kid when I played these games. That not only means the emulator has to work well, but whatever I'm using as a controller has to be right as well.

Personally, I love using my 3DS for emulators to play NES, SNES, and GBA. When I was a kid, my two favorite games on the NES were "Batman" and "Ninja Gaiden". I played those games so much, I would need an emulator that could hit full-speed, no noticeable visual issues, and comfortable controls. Yes, I can always use my PC to emulate these games, but I've never been able to find an XBox360 controller with a comfortable D-Pad. The 3DS has a great D-Pad, made by the same company that made the console I originally used for these games, plays the game fine as far as speed and graphics, and the smaller lower-resolution screen means I don't necessarily need to fiddle with video filters.

Now, let's say that I'm playing something that I'm not as familiar with, such as when I played Castlevania 64. I played that on an emulator on my PC. I play a lot of games like Kingdom Hearts, so when I started up the game, I remapped the controls for my 360 controller to something similar to that. I played through the game, and had a lot of fun. However, I owned a Nintendo 64 as a kid, and I can easily imagine how uncomfortable the controls would have been on the original controller. For one thing, I would have had to take my hand off of the Control Stick handle in order to reach the D-Pad and turn the camera, while my emulator setup allowed me to easily spin the camera at will without having to stop moving my character.

Basically, I'll prefer comfort and convenience if it's a game I've never played before, but if it's something I grew up with, it's better if you can hit me in the nostalgia hard. While I'm just fine with an emulator, I'd absolutely love getting to hook up the original console to an old-school television, and play it that way. I get to hold the original controller in my hand, and I have yet to find a video filter that looks the same as an old-school TV for things like Donkey Kong Country. (Also, some graphical effects were designed with those physical TVs in mind, such as the transparency and shimmering on the waterfalls in Sonic the Hedgehog)

The biggest killer for me, though, is if you can't get the music to work right. If everything is working perfectly, but the music sounds like crap, I'm going to be miserable and just stop playing. I'll put up with slowdown and graphical issues much more easily if I can listen to the music the way it's supposed to sound.


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## DS1 (May 7, 2018)

For consoles that require batteries (with the exception of the Neo Geo Pocket Color), I'm fine with emulation, because expendable batteries are an awful waste. For everything else (let's specify Playstation 2 and onward), I prefer the original console. 

If you've played a game for 5-10 years, and then play it on a PC, you notice every little hiccup. The problem only intensifies if, like me, your PC is about the same age as said consoles. I never get rid of my old systems (why the hell would you?!), so it really comes down to whether those consoles were region-locked and whether you can find the games.


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## raulpica (May 7, 2018)

Hardware 4 lief.

You just can't replicate the feeling of the original controller (yes, you can buy USB converters, but that's beside the point) along with the super-satisfactory feeling of those clicky buttons of yore. Those little LED lights coming up to life... It's just all part of the experience.

Also, I just feel that emulation is terribly off sometimes. I modded some time ago a Neo Geo MVS for a friend and we were both stunned to how different it was compared to playing the same game on MAME. It just felt smoother, even on an LCD.

Sometimes hardware is expensive, but you just have to look for good deals. Also I seriously hope this stupid "retro collecting" fad will die in a fire soon and us people that ACTUALLY play the shit we buy instead of letting it rot and gather dust can finally go back to paying sane prices for old hardware.


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## FAST6191 (May 7, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Fine. I should have kept my bloody mouth shut on the whole thing, would that have been better?


Every time a discussion does not seem to be going your way you seem to have a habit of throwing your hands up and trying to run away. Might want to work on that.

Anyway on FPGAs then I suspect I should probably have covered things in more detail than I did and that Byuu article risks misleading people at the same time. I have no reason do doubt Byuu's findings here but matpower's assessment risks giving people the wrong idea.

Weak emulation is weak emulation whether you do it in high level software, low level software, a FPGA*, hand soldered transistors or with 5 million people cranking away at calculations on paper. A FPGA is not a magic bullet in and of itself. By their very nature they do however allow you to recreate things down to the transistor level in hardware which makes them signals wise functionally indistinguishable (or bug for bug compatible should you prefer that phrase) should your emulation/recreation go for that, they might consume more power and have a few other issues that prevent them from being a simple drop in replacement for original hardware but that is a different story.

Do that and you are then left arguing about all those nice features you now lack (so you have a perfect CPU + other hardware model, congrats but you still don't have turbo, savestates, cheats and whatnot that my decades old DOS emulators had) and manufacturer tolerances -- if you ever heard stories of different xboxes running things are different speeds then MS supposedly used RAM chips rated for different speeds to get the cost down. Depending upon what goes you can also turn your FPGA code into a new chip which could well function as a drop in replacement, and if you are recreating things more than a few years old you will find a bunch of fabs willing and able to do it for you.


*for instance nothing stopping you from implementing some random 90s nightly build of ZSNES in all its glory on a FPGA.

Re retro.
More people getting into games, more people looking back, supply going down (at least until clones start popping up, the part about FPGAs being converted into chips should make the repro or not set start sweating)... not going to happen any time soon.

Re: Hardware when it is current -- I dare say Dolphin had surpassed the wii before it died (or at least its online died) and basically throughout the GBA lifetime ( https://gbatemp.net/threads/bbb-release-two-more-switch-master-keys.499492/page-5#post-7891452 ) emulation was very much at the forefront. PS1 stuff also started making some serious headway, though Sony kneecapped that somewhat.


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## bi388 (May 7, 2018)

Depends on the system and game. For super Mario bros 3 or Pokemon emerald, id rather pull out my cart. Even for some ps1 games like sotn or ff7 I'll use my disks and ps1. But for most 3d games, id rather play silent hill 2 or demons souls in 1080p, or breath of the wild in 60 fps compared to the inferior original hardware.


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## Valery0p (May 7, 2018)

FAST6191 said:


> Some of this might have a basis in limitations and mastering, though we spare bringing the loudness wars to our fair site, but in the end if any sample of sound can be described by a series of sine waves and thus are maths which can be modified.


Just leaving a note here, about "emulating" a certain synthesizer 
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea...Valley-quest-to-preserve-Stephen-12759775.php
They also used some code from higan, probably the best off topic of the history


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## Dillw33d (May 7, 2018)

I know that original hardware will always be more reliable than emulation, but I don't have the money to buy every console ever made. I love the upgrades that communities have given us to play our favorite games at better frame rates, with better image quality, and how they provide more for the game through ROM hacks, and mods. In fact, I don't even need modded hardware if I want to play with any mods. I can use an emulator instead. If you want the original game in its true glory, hardware is the way to go, but if you want an extension to the experience, emulation will never cease to amaze.


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## Darksabre72 (May 7, 2018)

tbh i go both ways with emulation and hardware, but emulation is really helpful to be able to play games that is hard to obtain.


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## Deleted User (May 7, 2018)

Hardware always


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## DarthDub (May 7, 2018)

I do a mixture of both. Just like people said in this thread before, Sega Saturn and original XBOX emulation is kinda crappy. Same with N64 emulation. Sometimes original hardware is your best option.


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## Deleted User (May 7, 2018)

Personally I think some N64 games look better in their original resolution and some are just unplayable without the original controller.

I honestly don't care what I play most games on as long as it plays and displays properly


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## Deleted User (May 8, 2018)

Getting retro consoles right is a fucking pain in the ass. RGB mods, upscalers, 60hz mods, region mods and finding the best motherboard revision. While there is a valid argument that emulators don't quite feel the same because you don't actually insert the cartridge or flip a power switch, its just not worth the trouble of everything mentioned in the previous sentence. An emulator and console controller to USB adapter is a very good compromise.

When you're dealing with 3D systems the resolution and framerate boost and high-res textures makes emulators superior to actual hardware. Why do we love Dolphin and CEMU so much?

With as others have mentioned some less popular gaming systems are not very well emulated and their games are best played on actual hardware.

EDIT: Last time I played Zelda: OoT on a real N64 I thought the framerate made it borderline unplayable. As technology has evolved our standards have risen.


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## RyanAnayaMc (May 8, 2018)

It depends. Sometimes, for me, the actual hardware is more convenient (case in point: portable consoles). Generally, if it is more convenient, I'll opt for the actual hardware. If not? Well, I don't mind emulation. For some games, I actually prefer emulation, like with Project M so I can netplay with my friends, use my Wii U Pro controller, and play a Wii game in HD (because honestly Wii emulation is way better than the actual Wii IMO).


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## Another World (May 8, 2018)

my philosophy has always been emulation for everything but actual hardware and flash kits for actual hardware. i'll always be about the gaming, not the physicality of the hobby.

-another world


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## The Catboy (May 8, 2018)

I personally prefer real hardware if that option is possible, but most of the time it's not possible so I settle with emulation. From there I just look for the best method of emulation possible.


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## HamBone41801 (May 8, 2018)

I prefer Hardware over emulation, but its not really about performance. I'm just a huge retro-computing geek, so I like having the consoles.


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## netovsk (May 8, 2018)

I play on a monitor so hardware is not always a choice.


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## slaphappygamer (May 8, 2018)

Emulating sega genesis on the 3ds is weird. It’s all about the controller layout for me. I mean, the 3ds and genesis are nothing alike. The dpad is not in a good spot. The nes is ok on the 3ds. I’ll try to go with actual hardware if I’m able.


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## cracker (May 8, 2018)

Emulation as long as it gets the job done without much lag, graphics glitches, or game breaking bugs. I prefer to play on handhelds for single player games (while I watch TV or listen to YouTube or podcasts) so emulation comes in real handy for most games I want to play — many more when emulators on Switch mature.


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## eriol33 (May 8, 2018)

I like emulation better than hardware, however I think sound effects truly affect the nostalgia factor. To this date I am still uncomfortable playing FF taxtics on any emulators because they have been unable to emulate the sound effects of the attacks perfectly.


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## SpiffyJUNIOR (May 8, 2018)

Too used to sw emulation to go back to hardware.
Not to mention I spend 99% of my time testing shit in RPCS3


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## lincruste (May 8, 2018)

the_randomizer said:


> Fine. I should have kept my bloody mouth shut on the whole thing, would that have been better? Sure getting that vibe from you   I don't like Higan, I don't like its interface, the way it needs to be configured, and it's why I use Super NT with an SD2SNES. But yeah, I'm  bailing out of this discussion, I've dug myself deep enough.


That's one passive-aggressive way to agree for sure.


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## the_randomizer (May 8, 2018)

lincruste said:


> That's one passive-aggressive way to agree for sure.



Any other advice to give me at 1 AM?


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## Deleted member 420418 (May 8, 2018)

I'm fine as long as the games run at 60fps even if the resolution is like 480p.


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## DjoeN (May 8, 2018)

BAN  emulation - Real hardware all The way!!!

Till i sold all my retro consoles for crazy high prices , after that, unban it again  so i can emulate my old retro games on whatever i have 


[EDIT]
Just kidding
Real hardware on old tube TV for me, but emulation is also fine for me


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## kapapt (May 8, 2018)

For me original HW is the way to go, what i do is to look a way to run backups on all the plataforms so i can play whatever i want on the original HW.


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## invaderyoyo (May 8, 2018)

matpower said:


> I am fine with emulation as long as the game is close enough to the real deal, I collect the real hardware myself, but I know it isn't going to last forever, that puts emulation as the best alternative for preservation those titles and one of the reasons we should strive for getting it perfect. Plus it has some enhancements like shaders for mimicking the CRT effect in a modern display, save states for those pesky password only games, etc.
> 
> 
> That's a major lie, FPGA is the same as software emulator, and it is far from 100% compatible like the Super NT specifically promised. Byuu himself countered the marketing hype over those FGPA consoles. Whoever says FGPA is superior to software emulation is obviously lying/doesn't know what they are talking about.


FPGA is definitely superior at the moment. It's not a lie. It's the same as emulating on a PC, save for two huge advantages. Latency and power.

With emulation it isn't a "0.0001 frame lag". It's very noticeable to anyone that regulary plays on real hardware.

To get accurate emulation on a PC you need a ton of computing power. This means you need an expensive PC. This might not be an issue for some people, but there's still the latency problem.

Anyway, I have a Super NT and a real SNES that I have hooked up to a PVM (a very high-end CRT), and the Super NT just doesn't compare. Even upscaled, old games just don't look their best on modern display.

Of course, if you just want to play the game, emulation is great. However, if you want the best experience you need the real console and a PVM. It really is incredible.


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## Pandaxclone2 (May 8, 2018)

I enjoy using hardware mixed in with some backups (if only to spare my discs/carts from additional wear for longer, though I'm not afraid of using original copies provided they aren't expensive to replace), and emulation is a good alternative too, especially for allowing convenient recording of gameplay. In the end it honestly just depends on what you want/need, rather than any inherently "right" way of playing your games.


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## modbrain (May 8, 2018)

.

Just look at it - a *great old* rally game - ugly as hell on a hdtv - but check out what emulation did to it:



and this:




.


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## IzeC0ld (May 9, 2018)

Im kinda of a noob at emulation, But why does when you emulate on  a more powerful console or system, why is there still lag and graphics and audio issues? Is it because the hardware built for the newer console isnt meant to play older games then its console famliy and meant for that one system. Is there not specific hardware to fully emulate games that that game's console had? Does the emulator used for a console, try to maximize the emulation by using the target console's hardware that it wants to emulate and try to link some hardware that that old console had for the newer console hardware to try to use for emulation? Idk if you guys know at all


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## FAST6191 (May 9, 2018)

CreeperdivoHomebrewer said:


> Im kinda of a noob at emulation, But why does when you emulate on  a more powerful console or system, why is there still lag and graphics and audio issues? Is it because the hardware built for the newer console isnt meant to play older games then its console famliy and meant for that one system. Is there not specific hardware to fully emulate games that that game's console had? Does the emulator used for a console, try to maximize the emulation by using the target console's hardware that it wants to emulate and try to link some hardware that that old console had for the newer console hardware to try to use for emulation? Idk if you guys know at all


You are technically asking multiple things, even if you did not quite realise it.

For the best accuracy you need a fully working model of a system inside another, if you want to get really insane you can model the transistors inside the chips or recreate the chips in programmable hardware (see the opening post as I linked a few things up there) but nobody really does that for end user things right now. You can however get useful results for some games if you sacrifice some accuracy. In sacrificing accuracy it can also be possible to gain some speed.

Speed then. Emulating a single chip is usually doable enough. Most consoles are not just one chip though -- a CPU, possibly multiple CPUs, a graphics chip, some sound chips, in the case of the NES and SNES they often had chips on the carts themselves that enhanced the processing power of the system (see also why certain games pose problems for certain flash carts and emulators), some chips governing controllers/drive reads/the system itself... and they all have to be in sync as it were which itself is a nightmare -- not strictly for emulation but look up Amdahl's law for more on that. Many years ago we used to have a rule of thumb that you wanted a computer 10 times faster than the machine you are emulating to do it well, though it can get more extreme than that -- https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011...-3ghz-quest-to-build-a-perfect-snes-emulator/

An example of accuracy might be... saving. A while ago there was a thread from someone looking for some help to save their high scores in gameboy tetris between sessions (the base game technically lacks it, probably as it would be expensive to add that feature to however many millions of gameboy tetris carts were being made -- 20 cents x millions is still a lot of money). Fair enough, have a little hack that writes the data from the score table into the save section (it is only being emulated after all) and read it back out afterwards. Simple copy was employed. Worked fine on most emulators. Flash carts and super accurate emulators failed. The problem in the end? Most chips have a "write enable" command so you first have to tell it you want to write, then do the writing and then disable the writing mode. No normal game would ever write without it (give or take someone use it for anti piracy/anti emulator) so you just ignore the enable command and you have saved yourself some resources in emulating that functionality at no cost to any commercial game or homebrew. That is probably a small saving but make enough of those and it adds up.

You may also notice that your host device has a similarity with the system being emulated. If you can use this inherent feature then you don't have to emulate -- if you are emulating the GBA on a 3ds then as they both have ARM processors you don't have to mess about reformulating say an ADD command as much as you would for a PC which also has ADD (despite what I will say below everything in computers is adding) but it works in a fairly different way. Accuracy can also come back here. A good example might be SNES emulation on the GBA -- graphics come in layers (backgrounds, a few sprites, some more sprites... see any tutorial on sprite animations really) and the GBA has layers but not the same as the SNES. As there are so few layers (4 of the things which is not many combinations when all is said and done, even fewer if you have some toggle switches) you can be expected to manage it yourself and not have to handle it in software, so the SNES emu devs on the GBA did just that.

There are also other tricks. The first one most would suggest we look at is dynamic recompilation. Owing to a fundamental aspect of computing (the halting problem -- short version is much of computing boils down to "if this then that, otherwise do something else" and if you don't know what the conditions will be when it hits that if statement then you can't predict the outcome of a program. It also informs going backwards from compiled code the CPU runs to a human readable type of code, though you can recognise fragments. If you are running the code then you might well know what the conditions are in that instant and you can then predict what happens next. In doing this you can change emulation from being a thing where you have to simulate all the chips involved to something that runs like a normal program on that system which is so much faster. This is not very useful for older systems that for the most part saw games written in code like the CPU uses (a hard way of writing code but exceptionally fast if you can do it well) but for things like the PS1 and N64 on up it (which famously used higher level languages that more devs could handle) becomes very useful indeed.

Lag is more that most consoles/things emulated work on frames. They do one frame, then they do another and another and another (varies but the usual suspects are 25,30,50 or 60 a second depending upon region). If your host system can't keep up then it is not going to be outputting the frames fast enough and you have slowdowns. Some emulators will employ a technique called frameskip where they skip rendering a few frames here and there. This allows your host machine to keep up (you hope anyway) but obviously if you are missing frames it is going to start to affect gameplay -- no great loss for a turn based game but possibly fatal for an action one.

Your PC though is a computing monster, with the added benefit that some of the finest minds in computing have spent decades and probably trillions of dollars refining it, making tools for it and otherwise understanding what it is (even before computers took over designing themselves the implications of a given arrangement might still take years to understand fully).
Your hacked console though is probably a bit less powerful than your PC, certainly will be if it is a handheld, and its tools are made by some very talented people in their free time ( https://devkitpro.org/ ) or stolen from the original developers and patched to get working (the GBA had some of this but most here would look at the original xbox), said original developers equally having only put it together on the cheap over a couple of years.
Alternatively your hacked console might be using an emulator made by the console developers. As they sell one game at a time they can/only have to make the emulator work for only one game -- back to our save example from earlier then if the devs are selling classic GB tetris then they have no incentive at all to spend time making save support for it. Saves are not terribly important but if you found the original game did not use a fairly in depth part of the graphics hardware and you don't then have to spend a few hundred hours of dev time wrestling with it then you skip if, would be console hackers then trying to use that emulator will find it lacks support for that graphics feature and games that use it will fail.


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## Psionic Roshambo (May 9, 2018)

I love original games and hardware... I have literally a metric ton of games and machines (not sure how many games I own but surely a thousand at least....) That being said I am an emulation junky when done right on the right hardware the experience can at time beat the original hardware and game in quality and in game play.... Some of the old systems controllers are awful NES had a great Day pad and buttons but the ergonomics of a torture device.... I am physically disfigured from the use of it as a child (Nintendo fingers) give me an emulator and a 360 gamepad any day of the week. 

On the flip side there are emulators I have tried and tried and tried and just get so upset with  Dreamcast is a favorite system of mine I own just a ton of the stuff for it but I'd like to emulate it better. Also like Tom a Saturn emulator of quality is high on my wish list.Xbox I am good on it has composite and can run 720p and looks nice even on a modern TV although an emulator with a 360 pad would be lovely!

So my opinion? Both yes please as long as I have fun either works fine for me!


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## Exaltys (May 9, 2018)

higan w/ usb adaptor for an original SNES controller


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## xpoverzion (May 9, 2018)

Hardware all the way.  Too many glitches and lag issues with emulation.  I remember trying the rasberry pi gizmo a while for nintendo, atari, etc..  That things was a piece of crap.  From what I have seen, emulation on a powerful PC is just as horrendous for the most part.


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## starburst (May 10, 2018)

For me, there is a trade between recreating the experience of playing an old console and convenience.

For example, even if SNES emulation were perfectly accurate, playing it on a super ultra wide curved 7k OLED with a Triple Shock PS8 ergonomic controller has nothing to do with how I remember playing it; no matter how 'better' this 'enhanced' experience may be. Yet, one can 'calibrate' a modern TV to display the SNES games as faithfully as possible (or even purchase an old CRT TV) and use (replicas of) original controllers. I mean, using a SNES Classic already brings more memories than using a SNES emulator on a laptop (however accurate it may be.)

A more difficult experience to recreate is playing arcade games; not only because of the cabinet, but because of the atmosphere at the venues themselves. Trying to relive playing in those public, colourful, noisy places is impossible. And when the past and present experiences are so different, for me it is only a matter of convenience on how to play those games; nothing I can do now is similar to what I used to do back then anyway.


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## Deleted User (May 11, 2018)

emulators vs orginal hardware:
emulation pros:
+its free
+you dont need to buy games, hack the system or worrying about firmware
+easier to use cheats
+save states
+you can upscale the resolution up to 4 times of the original consoles
+you have the freedom to use alomst any controller.
hardware pros:
+100% prefect compatibility and speed.
no glitchs or games that not working.
+you not depending on the development of the emulator.
+you don't need powerful and expensive pc for high demanding emulators.
+sometimes emulation is more expensive than the original hardware itself becuse of the reason above.
+some games makes benefit from the accessories and hardware that available only on the orginal console.
+better gaming experience on the original hardware.
result: 6 vs 6.
conclusion: it's a draw.


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## Ziko (May 29, 2018)

B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N said:


> I have nothing against playing games on original hardware and those who choose to do so. Heck, I even went to the trouble of buying a Genesis/Mega Drive myself, for collection purposes.
> 
> That said, there will always be inherent advantages to emulating the game over playing it on original hardware. Emulators have essentially rendered thousands of games cross-platform, and, thanks to cloud storage services, it's entirely possible to pick up a game on your phone for a few minutes, continue playing it on your Raspberry Pi later on, play a little more on your PC the next day, then transfer it to actual hardware if you have the proper equipment for it. Something about that has always been incredibly cool to me.
> 
> ...



I like the arcade versions of fighting games and it didn't dawn upon me till recently that most all of the games I still play today that I play home versions of are way better on MAME or NeoDS which I use for Neo-Geo games, and it's not the same at all! The home ports feel in a way like a completely different game. Is this why most tournaments don't use home versions of games at all?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Kurt91 said:


> For me, it all comes down to capturing the same feeling I had as a kid when I played these games. That not only means the emulator has to work well, but whatever I'm using as a controller has to be right as well.
> 
> Personally, I love using my 3DS for emulators to play NES, SNES, and GBA. When I was a kid, my two favorite games on the NES were "Batman" and "Ninja Gaiden". I played those games so much, I would need an emulator that could hit full-speed, no noticeable visual issues, and comfortable controls. Yes, I can always use my PC to emulate these games, but I've never been able to find an XBox360 controller with a comfortable D-Pad. The 3DS has a great D-Pad, made by the same company that made the console I originally used for these games, plays the game fine as far as speed and graphics, and the smaller lower-resolution screen means I don't necessarily need to fiddle with video filters.
> 
> ...



That's why I can't play Genesis games on my DS because the music is off or sounds awful. Also, the graphics in some of the games look like shit. I use a PC emulator for that stuff. Gens is really great as it emulates all of Sega's 16-bit stuff such as the Genesis, 32x, & even the Sega CD.


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## Deleted User (May 29, 2018)

Ziko said:


> I like the arcade versions of fighting games and it didn't dawn upon me till recently that most all of the games I still play today that I play home versions of are way better on MAME or NeoDS which I use for Neo-Geo games, and it's not the same at all! The home ports feel in a way like a completely different game. Is this why most tournaments don't use home versions of games at all?


Pretty much, yeah.  I occasionally play JoJo on FightCade, and because of this, the arcade version of the game is pretty much everyone's go-to.  The Dreamcast version, despite being very close to the arcade version, still has a few key differences that prevent widespread competitive play on it.  Shame, too, because that version of the game actually has some exclusive combos.

It's like this with a lot of fighters.  Often, because consoles are running different CPU architectures, different code has to be written in order to get the game to play the same.  Entire frames of animation, and sometimes, in the more egregious cases, entire moves and game mechanics would be cut from the home console ports.  The worst case I can think of would be MvC's PlayStation port totally ditching tag-team combat (unless it was a mirror match) due to memory constraints.

Something similar happened Super Street Fighter II Turbo: none of the home ports played exactly like the arcade version.  Even the Dreamcast and PS2 versions of the games suffered from slight delays and inaccuracies that affected high-level play.  It's pretty funny how some millisecond-long differences in delays and animation can so heavily impact a fighting game.  I guess, unless you're running pretty much the same code, you aren't getting the same game as far as fighters are concerned.  That's where emulation comes in, so that you _can_ run the game's original code, and supplement it with features far beyond the capabilities of the original hardware (cheats to recreate training mode, online play, etc.).


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## Ziko (May 29, 2018)

B_E_P_I_S_M_A_N said:


> Pretty much, yeah.  I occasionally play JoJo on FightCade, and because of this, the arcade version of the game is pretty much everyone's go-to.  The Dreamcast version, despite being very close to the arcade version, still has a few key differences that prevent widespread competitive play on it.  Shame, too, because that version of the game actually has some exclusive combos.
> 
> It's like this with a lot of fighters.  Often, because consoles are running different CPU architectures, different code has to be written in order to get the game to play the same.  Entire frames of animation, and sometimes, in the more egregious cases, entire moves and game mechanics would be cut from the home console ports.  The worst case I can think of would be MvC's PlayStation port totally ditching tag-team combat (unless it was a mirror match) due to memory constraints.
> 
> Something similar happened Super Street Fighter II Turbo: none of the home ports played exactly like the arcade version.  Even the Dreamcast and PS2 versions of the games suffered from slight delays and inaccuracies that affected high-level play.  It's pretty funny how some millisecond-long differences in delays and animation can so heavily impact a fighting game.  I guess, unless you're running pretty much the same code, you aren't getting the same game as far as fighters are concerned.  That's where emulation comes in, so that you _can_ run the game's original code, and supplement it with features far beyond the capabilities of the original hardware (cheats to recreate training mode, online play, etc.).



Yeah no wonder everything I played on all the old consoles ran like hell. All of Capcom's fighters had issues to some degree. It's stuns me that I can play freaking Samurai Showdown on my DS and run it at 60fps with no slowdown, and yet you port the thing and it can't do nothing? The SNES port of the game had slowdown, music sounding like ass, and the characters all moved like they had hemorrhoids or something.


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## SG854 (May 29, 2018)

Emulation is so sexy. I likes it.


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## Deleted User (Oct 20, 2019)

According to some law I saw in some place, an emulator is legal as long as it doesn’t use the original console code. So a dev can’t use the Wii code (for example) on Dolphin, but he can get very close to it.


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