Hardware Hardware purity vs convenience

[Skv0ra]

Where are we at on the subject today?

Back in the day, I feel like new tech convenience was taking over to save all the hassle of swapping out games/consoles, but now there's a definite shift towards seeing old titles on their original screens and ran on the original chips.

I always leaned towards convenience and still do, to some degree, since games were always a digital medium and enjoying it was the gameplay itself rather than old tiny screens or bulky CRTs (though all the CRT light guns will forever be dearly missed).

 

[emigre]

Convenience. I'm a poor immigrants kid. We did not have the money to buy the different hardware I would love to play on. As an adult, I'm not buying money on hardware which is 20 plus years old. I understand having attachment to your childhood systems but I'm not going to buy a fucking Neo Geo in this day and age. Not even going to bother getting a CRT. Coupled with the retro market being more and more expensive, I much rather put that money on a holiday or PC upgrade. I'm happy to set up my SSD with games and use CRT filters or use an emulation device. Plus my mum would kill me if I brought a heavy CRT into the house and my dad already wonders how I turned out to be such a massive fucking nerd..

I like the modern retro controllers from 8bitdo but that's my limit.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

Here's my opinion

I own a fairly decent number of original console hardware and it has its pros and cons.

NES, SNES, N64, GBC, GBA SP, GameCube, NDS Lite, new 3DS, Switch 2
All my Nintendo stuff works pretty ok without much issue. DS Lite has shoulder button issues and GameCube struggles to read or spin discs sometimes.

Then we have the Microsoft consoles... :|
Original Xbox 1.0, Xbox 1.6, Xbox 360 (fat, Falcon), Xbox 360 E, Xbox One
The 1.0 works perfectly, 1.6 has a bad power supply, 360 fat has a bad disc drive, 360 E is perfect, and Xbox One (just got today) has a bad disc drive.

PlayStation
PS1 7501, PS2 50001, PS2 50001, PS3 CECHH01
PS1 starting to fall apart (had to replace eject spring, disc spindle doesn't always grip/stay on properly), had to have one of the PS2's repaired by a friend for disc drive issues and frayed ribbon connectors (latter was my fault, oops), and the PS3 has thermal issues and other issues I'm not comfortable trying to fix myself.

All this is to say that if you're buying old hardware now, you can almost *expect* to have some kind of issues and if you care to have everything fully functional it gets insanely expensive after a while, even if you get a pretty good deal on the cost of your console(s).

Then, if you want CRTs (I know because I have 4 of them), you can add a broken back to the list of problems, and also might struggle to find one that does what you want it to for free or for cheap even if you do have help to carry it.

In a lot of ways, I prefer just having a MiSTer FPGA setup for everything up through N64 (console) and GBA (handheld). It feels about the same, costs about the same or less, and works everywhere without having to deal with random hardware issues from consoles just being old.
What I am not a fan of for older consoles is software emulation. When people say it's not the same, it's because it genuinely isn't, and if you're susceptible to perceiving that difference, it never will feel the same. I also like playing GB/GBC/GBA via the Game Boy Player using Game Boy Interface because it provides a good experience and can actually save data to the game carts.

 

[Vixi]

Some games were designed to be rendered a specific way and the visuals fall apart when rendered too sharply.

Some GBC games were color graded for a GBC LCD's colors and look totally different on a vibrant display.

Some games don't translate well to modern controllers.

I enjoy the magic of putting a cartridge or flat piece or plastic and ink into a box and having an entire other world appear on screen.

 

[shadowflare7799]

I enjoy both playing games on the original hardware (and I own a fair amount of games for older consoles) and having a high end emulation rig as well as pc gaming. The retro gaming market is getting wayy too expensive. I do like the sinden light guns but don't currently own them. I've been looking to collect more bullet hell games on some older consoles but they are expensive be prepared to pay over $100 for some of them. There's a nice japanese gaming site that sells them. I can't stand big corporate giants that are against game preservation. Oh well, emulation is so important as it gives gamers the chance to enjoy a lot of older games out there that companies won't release them on newer consoles. I also miss the days where on ps2 you could unlock certain features by earning it and using skill to unlock things. Now everything is all about the money and DLC packs.

 

[Exnor]

I have a nice collection of systems that I've collected over the years and I only use emulators to play older systems.

In fact nowadays the only old system I still power on is my Wii U. All others I use emulators.

It is too much of a hassle to fetch the cables from their storage, hook everything up and whatnot just to play 5 min of Sonic or Mario 64 or some PS2 games.

So yes I choose convenience.

Edit: I still use my N3DSXL and Vita, so i guess those also count.

 

[Sicklyboy]

A lot of my gaming interests recently have ended up landing on modern-retro hardware, usually by Analogue lol. Between GB/GBC/GBA games and Sega Genesis games, I've been playing those on my Analogue Pocket and Mega Sg respectively, and that kind of gets you the best intersection of purity and convenience IMO. It's about as close to the original hardware as you can get but with a lot of the modern amenities you'd expect like HDMI or backlit LCD screens, SD card storage, and still able to function with the original cartridges, controllers, link cable, etc.

And that's despite owning a bunch of retro consoles, some of which are themselves modded with HDMI kits and flash carts or ODEs. The Analogue stuff is just still more convenient and dare I say reliable than the OG console versions are even with any mods I may have installed.

Otherwise I'll just throw something up quick on my Steam Deck or desktop. When I want to play it, I make it happen

 

[Skv0ra]

A lot of my gaming interests recently have ended up landing on modern-retro hardware, usually by Analogue lol. Between GB/GBC/GBA games and Sega Genesis games, I've been playing those on my Analogue Pocket and Mega Sg respectively, and that kind of gets you the best intersection of purity and convenience IMO. It's about as close to the original hardware as you can get but with a lot of the modern amenities you'd expect like HDMI or backlit LCD screens, SD card storage, and still able to function with the original cartridges, controllers, link cable, etc.

And that's despite owning a bunch of retro consoles, some of which are themselves modded with HDMI kits and flash carts or ODEs. The Analogue stuff is just still more convenient and dare I say reliable than the OG console versions are even with any mods I may have installed.

Otherwise I'll just throw something up quick on my Steam Deck or desktop. When I want to play it, I make it happen

Hell, that's probably one thing I got to do before upgrading my GBA to IPS and a LiPo - go play it while touching grass, in the sun, the way it was built to be played. I have plenty of disdain for lcds that have to be backlit to see anything, and GBC/A are probably my last H/W pieces that have the good old screens.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Where are we at on the subject today?

Back in the day, I feel like new tech convenience was taking over to save all the hassle of swapping out games/consoles, but now there's a definite shift towards seeing old titles on their original screens and ran on the original chips.

I always leaned towards convenience and still do, to some degree, since games were always a digital medium and enjoying it was the gameplay itself rather than old tiny screens or bulky CRTs (though all the CRT light guns will forever be dearly missed).

Convenience. I don't have the space to keep all my retro consoles hooked up, much less space for a CRT. So for me, it's either emulation or nothing, because if I have to unplug and plug stuff (and dig stuff out of storage) just to play a game, I'm going to end up not playing anything.

I still prefer real hardware for handheld games when possible, they don't tend to scale up to large screens that well, and (3)DS games are difficult to get the proper dual screen experience. Sometimes I bring a DMG with me when I go traveling or camping. It's really hard to beat in terms of how much fun you can pack into a small size, and I find the brick shape to be more comfortable than other handhelds. Need to mod my GBA with a screen kit as well at some point.

 

[Reploid]

Convenience for normal ppl. Whims for bored folk.

 

[Skv0ra]

Convenience. I don't have the space to keep all my retro consoles hooked up, much less space for a CRT. So for me, it's either emulation or nothing, because if I have to unplug and plug stuff (and dig stuff out of storage) just to play a game, I'm going to end up not playing anything.

I still prefer real hardware for handheld games when possible, they don't tend to scale up to large screens that well, and (3)DS games are difficult to get the proper dual screen experience. Sometimes I bring a DMG with me when I go traveling or camping. It's really hard to beat in terms of how much fun you can pack into a small size, and I find the brick shape to be more comfortable than other handhelds. Need to mod my GBA with a screen kit as well at some point.

I'll also say that whole touch aspect was such an awkward gimmick and remains so to this day. Only a handful of games were properly made for it (Meteos, that died with oDS where it spawned) and the rest was just a battery drain and unnecessary hardware wear.

 

[Vixi]

FYI there's ares if you want an fpga experience on a PC.

 

[hippy dave]

Both have their charms. I've mostly rocked emulation for a long time (hacked Switch and more recently Steam Deck are convenient for playing in bed), but I've also treated myself to a GBA with an ITA screen upgrade for GBA/GBC, and an AV-modded Famicom which looks beautiful on the old CRT which had otherwise been serving as a table for our bedroom LCD TV for like a decade.

 

[lightwo]

It really comes down to the details. In the vast majority of cases, playing on an original home console makes no difference* in regards to gameplay compared to emulating in software on [insert device here].

The most prominent reason is to preserve the original feel. It is always a nice factor, but tends to come at a price. The looks of the shell/case can be solved with official "mini" console releases or unofficial re-creations, but the only guaranteed way of applying screen filters to look the way you want is to run on anything you can run RetroArch (or alternatives) on.

Handhelds are a common pain point. Multi-system ones tend to have a higher/lower resolution screen than the system you're trying to emulate, and in many cases would result in massive borders if integer scaling is picked. Despite that, scaling algorithms are generally a compromise worth taking.

Gimmicks are another factor to consider. At least if only the controller is gimmicky, as long as it's possible to connect it to whatever you want to run the game on (or emulate by some other means), you don't need the whole system. Otherwise, there are solutions for things like 3D screens (emulation in VR), but they may be costlier than just getting the original system.

And lastly, in some instances, you actually need the original system regardless. Particularly in case of 7th generation consoles and onward, playing online games with players on original hardware tends to require access to a real console, either because the online services are completely separate, or as means of hardware identification to combat cheating.

---

* And of course, to address the FPGA in the room: it is one step above regular emulation with minimal latency and stellar compatibility. That being said, the advantages are so minor that most people aren't going to notice, and compatibility problems can usually be solved by finding one software emulator among many that has the best compatibility with a given game.

It, too, comes at a price, but combining the amount of systems a MiSTer/openFPGA system can run, it could beat the price of acquiring and maintaining all the older systems.

Post automatically merged: Nov 24, 2025

It is too much of a hassle to fetch the cables from their storage, hook everything up and whatnot just to play 5 min of Sonic or Mario 64 or some PS2 games.

Here's a pro tip: have something like a dedicated storage box for cables, adaptors, etc., and put the cables of each separate system into storage ("Ziploc") bags, one per system. Still takes a few minutes to set everything up, but as long as you stick to playing one system at a time, it's pretty OK.

 

[Exnor]

Here's a pro tip: have something like a dedicated storage box for cables, adaptors, etc., and put the cables of each separate system into storage ("Ziploc") bags, one per system. Still takes a few minutes to set everything up, but as long as you stick to playing one system at a time, it's pretty OK.

I do have my cables and accessories organized and i still feel that its too much work just to play a few minutes.

Having the systems is nice, and i do like my collection, but imho its only worth if one has the space to have them all hook up all the time otherwise, again for me, emulation is the most convenient way to play.

 

[lightwo]

I do have my cables and accessories organized and i still feel that its too much work just to play a few minutes.

Having the systems is nice, and i do like my collection, but imho its only worth if one has the space to have them all hook up all the time otherwise, again for me, emulation is the most convenient way to play.

Honestly, a tidy and organised box beats having a million tangled-up cables, because that takes even longer to deal with and is even more frustrating

Either way, it's a lot less of a hassle if you make it a habit.