EDIT: Updated poll options because I wasn't aware of the MiSTer. This should be more clear now. You may want to update/change your votes as well.
I've recently upgraded my small old 13 inch tube to a 32 inch tube for some good old retro action (and I have no clue where to put that monster). After playing a few games on it I wasn't really disappointed but not overwhelmed either about the image quality (people often claim how impress the image is on a tube so I expected A LOT!). Now, I've been switching between playing on an emulator and the tube constantly for weeks now and while both options have some advantages over the other one, I think I'm going to stick with emulators.
For one thing, I really like taking screenshots and gameplay footage. Setting up everything correctly with all them cables and devices and routing it to my PC and achieving a good quality video while simultaneously playing on the tube is actually a big huge pain in the ass. Emulators on the hand and while often come with their own caveats (like being sometimes glitchy, buggy, requiring at least some tinkering depending on the emulated platform) offer much more convenience in that regard: I can play them in my always ready-to-go PC environment (which is also connected to my TV in the living room, so my PC is practically my multimedia central for music, films and games; I can easily switch to my monitor if I need to work and want to play more competitive games).
However, I can understand that for some people and setups it's more convenient to just play on original hardware: insert your cartridge/disc, hit the power button and play. And of course there people who believe old pixels only look good on an old display.
I don't care too much about the graphics improvements on an emulator because bumping the resolution ever so often reveal many technical flaws (e.g. the water having no waves and only showing a blue texture in the distance in Wave Race 64) or, at least on PCSX2, mess with certain games and certain UI elements. But being able to switch between work, modern games, old games and non-native PC games and having them all on one machine is actually amazing. And with some emulators supporting a wide range of shaders it's actually very close to playing on a tube (which is, I know, blasphemy for some people). I simply love all these options emulators are offering these days. It's fantastic!
So here is my question: How do you guys like to play your retro games? Do you prefer original hardware or emulators? Please give reasons when you post :)
I've recently upgraded my small old 13 inch tube to a 32 inch tube for some good old retro action (and I have no clue where to put that monster). After playing a few games on it I wasn't really disappointed but not overwhelmed either about the image quality (people often claim how impress the image is on a tube so I expected A LOT!). Now, I've been switching between playing on an emulator and the tube constantly for weeks now and while both options have some advantages over the other one, I think I'm going to stick with emulators.
For one thing, I really like taking screenshots and gameplay footage. Setting up everything correctly with all them cables and devices and routing it to my PC and achieving a good quality video while simultaneously playing on the tube is actually a big huge pain in the ass. Emulators on the hand and while often come with their own caveats (like being sometimes glitchy, buggy, requiring at least some tinkering depending on the emulated platform) offer much more convenience in that regard: I can play them in my always ready-to-go PC environment (which is also connected to my TV in the living room, so my PC is practically my multimedia central for music, films and games; I can easily switch to my monitor if I need to work and want to play more competitive games).
However, I can understand that for some people and setups it's more convenient to just play on original hardware: insert your cartridge/disc, hit the power button and play. And of course there people who believe old pixels only look good on an old display.
I don't care too much about the graphics improvements on an emulator because bumping the resolution ever so often reveal many technical flaws (e.g. the water having no waves and only showing a blue texture in the distance in Wave Race 64) or, at least on PCSX2, mess with certain games and certain UI elements. But being able to switch between work, modern games, old games and non-native PC games and having them all on one machine is actually amazing. And with some emulators supporting a wide range of shaders it's actually very close to playing on a tube (which is, I know, blasphemy for some people). I simply love all these options emulators are offering these days. It's fantastic!
So here is my question: How do you guys like to play your retro games? Do you prefer original hardware or emulators? Please give reasons when you post :)
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