Consoles Vs. Emulators

Retro gaming is a lot more complicated now than simply picking up a retro console w/ games. So many options, so much to consider, countless pros and cons on both sides. I've been active on both sides of the console vs emulator debate and find that while each have their shortcomings, retro gamers have it better than ever before.

Misc Links:
@Voultar
@Nerrel
@MachoNachoProductions
@DigitalFoundry

Music Used:
Stickerbush Symphony - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Forest Interlude - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Crystal Teardrops - Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Quartz Quadrant (Good Future JP) - Sonic CD
Prelude - Final Fantasy X
Airshow Antics - Frogger (PS1)

Outro Song: Frogger (PS1) - Menu

EDIT: I incorrectly labeled the Link's Awakening PC port as a decomp. I presumed it was as seemingly every other retro PC port came from a decompilation project. Link's Awakening on PC was simply a complete fan made recreation without any of the original code used. It's still really cool nonetheless.

[WinspearUltima]

For me I love both playing in original hardware and playing on emulators, this is why I’m all for emulators being the future of Retro gaming.

[lxfhtfe]

0:08 Picking up a console for $20??! What world are you loving in?!

[kylespevak]

"Emulation is too complicated" Meanwhile, this guy's console set up

[SacrificAbominat]

A big reason why I opt for emulators more nowadays is that my setup at my desk has literally no more room for anything other than my PC, Switch, and PS5. The enhancements and convenience of not having to put in discs or cartridges is also really nice too, but my biggest issue is definitely space.

[MetalJody]

If not for emulators, I wouldn't be nearly as big into retro gaming as I am today. It's truly amazing how many options and ways there are to play old console games in the modern age. Learning RetroArch was rough for me a few years back, but now I find it so freaking useful and essential for many of my devices (PC, Vita, Shield TV, etc). The CRT shaders alone make me want to buy a 4K OLED VRR display.
I tend to only use CRT shaders for 2D games or 3D games with heavy use of 2D assets / low res backdrops. If a game leans heavily towards 3D, then I'll try to push the internal res as high as my system can handle + other enhancements, such as the ones in DuckStation.
As for my controller setup, I use a DualShock 4, a bluetooth adapter, and DS4Windows (software). I find it much more reliable than Steam for emulation. These days I only use Steam Input for old PC games that have little to no controller support.
Nintendo 64 games... Most of them I can barely stand to play on original hardware. Gotta have the majority of them overclocked to reduce the frame stutters / slowdown.

This video was great to listen to while I drove. Nice work, man!

[Kdot]

When I start up pcsx2 I always I turn off fast boot so I can see the whole startup and make it feel like a real ps2 to me and it does. Makes me feel like I’m still playing on one even tho my older brother took our childhood ps2 when he moved out 😂

[Fragrance-dark]

I've always been an advocate for emulation but since I got my steam deck, my appreciation for it has grown massively. Being able to play backups of the majority of my game collection conveniently and on the go is simply incredible.

Physical hardware definitely still has its place. Even games from systems like the DS and 3DS, I'd prefer to play on their respective consoles due to their unique hardware gimmicks. Whilst playing on original hardware is for sure a special experience, it's getting difficult for me to go back since PC emulation continues to be super convenient and further enhance the gaming experience for numerous consoles.

[Jabjabs]

I used to have a large collection of retro machines but abut 3 years ago I decided to move them on to friends that still had an interest in these things. A big part of it was just that maintaining the hardware was starting to get problematic and combined with things like disc rot, I figure I would leave it to folks that still had the time and passion to maintain those things.

To that emulation now is at the point where it is 'god enough'. Yes, it isn't exactly the same but the trade off for convenience and simplicity was worth it too me. It is great just having a single PC do everything, not having to worry when a disc drive dies or a capacitor leaks through the PCB, having to mentally block out that - yes these controllers are dying, etc.

Big respect to those that can keep the original hardware running because more it is feeling like Sisyphus trying to keep these things going. Looking at the retro computer space, you can see a vision of the future where getting parts becomes ever more difficult and obscure. For those that can do it, kudos to you!

[emilioavealr]

I just set up Dolphin today based on your last video. Perfect timing for this one. Love the content man keep it up.

[anno]

Spot on... I moved from Europe to Asia and left a huge collection behind. As much as the "real deal" is concerned, there is a slight difference, but then there is also different ways of emulation like FPGAs. It is more accurate but you can still play through the games no matter what method.
And then there is that other "controversy"... some are self proclaimed "collectors" trying to defend their "investment"; the copy of a 30 year old game someone tries to sell for 30$ today while I got it for 2$ at a backyard sale 20 years ago doesn't change the game; go, collect what is really important to us that really grew up with those games: the memories of kids sitting together with their friends for a video game session, not "connect to likeminded individuals" that you will never meet real life and will never have any meaningful impact on your life

[Lucromis]

I love all of the options today. It is very case by case on the game to me. The performance can be awful on original hardware on say n64, or the look and controls of the game can be nearly impossible to replicate by emulation. Having experienced a lot of games for the first time on original hardware, sometimes I prefer to experience it in a new way on emulation as a fan remaster. Online games shut down by companies, can be played again today thanks to fans.

[MrIndigoninja]

The Mister FPGA project is a great all-in-one solution. I find it provides the best of both worlds in terms of ease of use. It's one little box that I can plug into a CRT or modern display with no fuss, it just werks.

[natejohnson]

CRTs are a massive pain in the ass. How much of a pain in the ass? I legitimately had the thought 'Oh no, the earth's magnetic field is moving a couple of degrees to the south, I had better redo my geometry calibrations' about a week ago.

[Loki-]

This video is fantastic. I never thought of using CRT filters, or how many options there were, until you showed it here. Also, I agree with about 95% of your opinions stated.

Around 2006 I got a wired Xbox 360 controller for $20 from Circuit City and played countless hours of games I already enjoyed (and ones I couldn't get as a kid) on consoles I had next to me. It showed me a parallel world I could've grown up in if I chose different games in the game store. Emulators are a god-send and I thank those hard working people for bringing them to us for free.

[seguramlk]

I believe Consoles should be preserved as part of our history where many men came together and created these machines that were part of our childhoods.

I say preserve both Games AND Consoles

[UrCasualGamer]

This was a good video. You hit all points.

[lHckrCmfr]

I've recently been busy diving into NTSC colorspaces and colorspace emulation. It's so interesting to figure out the many layers that make retro games look faithful to their original CRT look.

For example, did you know US TVs and Japanese TVs, despite both being NTSC, do NOT share the same colorspace? NTSC-J uses D65, while NTSC-U uses D93. As a result, games actually looked a lot bluer in Japan. As a post-retro kid that doesn't actually have any nostalgic affiliation to these games as I haven't played any of them in their original form when I was younger, I find that the bluer D65 colors are probably what the developers originally intended, and prefer that to the warmer color palette you may be more familiar with.

Most emulators, capture devices and modern displays actually need this kind of colorspace conversion, because they assume the input is in sRGB. And even some consoles like the Sega Genesis have a natural color or even exposure bias baked into their analog video DACs, that can be lost in emulation and RGB mods along with the antialiasing-like smoothing and color generation properties of composite video. It's a lot more involved than just slapping a CRT shader on your output and calling it a day (even a fancy multipass one like CRT-Royale!). Even the image scaling algorithm (bilinear vs. bicubic or catmull-rom) and how scanlines are factored in affects the realism of the simulated CRT output. I don't know how hardware scalers hold up in this regard. The big ones, probably not too badly.

[kennethd]

As someone who has played consoles since the late 80's and emulation since the late 90's it's amazing how far we have come.. from console mods to emulators to FPGA... what is now available for someone to pick up and play their favorite games it's like a kid in a candy store. There are so many options.. if I want to play OG hardware on one of my CRT TV's, or use my Mister, or upscale to my 4K TV, or on my PC, or on one of the many handhelds now available... it's so nice to not be constricted to one type of setup.

[casedistorted]

Hey, good video. I had a massive retro collection in the age before crt’s were fully gone but I had to sell it all due to needing money (over 15 years ago now), but I always told myself “if I really want to play these games I can just use an emulator on PC”, and I still do that to this day. Emulation on my
Steam deck’s new OLED screen works pretty well!

[Szabolcs]

For me the biggest blow against original hardware is the saving. A lot of cartridge games that can save can have their battery die at any time now, and even if they don't, saves can get corrupted by bad connection or the console moved by wire tripping or something. Ironically this makes the less fancy password saving method more reliable.

It truly sucks, because I love playing on original hardware, but it's getting less and less convenient. Also they don't support bluetooth headphones like the PC or Switch does.