Emulators or Real Consoles?

The thread Old Consoles and Hanhelds made me think of this question.

Let's have a situation where you want to play games on older console/handheld you do not own but there's an emulator for that hardware. But on the other hand, you could CFW (custom firmware == you could play downloaded games) the console/handheld in question as well.

Would you buy the hardware and play downloaded games or would you use emulators?

I'd rather use emulators since I don't really have money to buy the games (unless I'm really interested in the game) even if I have the console/handheld for it. Plus you can do many things with the game if you play it in an emulator. ;)

Real since I respect the dev and the time put into the projects

I would buy the respective systems to play ye olde games. I don't get the same joy or satisfaction by playing games on emulators as opposed to the ports the games are in.

I only emulate if there is no other option for me, if there is i'll just buy that system to play it.

Real, **** piracy. It's a crime.

On the other hand, genuine emulators (as in your ripped your own console and games), then that's absolutely fine, and in some cases, pretty great. Especially with the Wii and Gamecube.

I prefer real stuff, since emulators and ROMs are still a bit over my head. And I have a slight preference for consoles and handhelds over PCs for gaming.

I've personally never used an emulator before, and don't plan to mainly because I feel like it doesn't warrant the same feeling that a real console would \: That's just my personal preference though. Even though they cost hundreds of dollars, I appreciate the efforts of developers and such enough to buy it.

When at all possible, I'd much prefer to play old games on an actual console, since the experience never seems to be the same on an emulator. This is probably the biggest reason why I don't play emulated Pokemon games, since it just feels strange sitting at my computer using a keyboard to play. On the flip side, I do get a fair bit of use out of my Sega Genesis emulator, since I don't have my original any more, and I don't trust going out and buying a 20-25 year old system that may not last me very long.

Of course I'd prefer a real console, but if I really have no choice I use an emulator.
I guess there's always a choice, but by that I just meant, if I suddenly really want to play a GBA game or PS2, I'll use an emulator since those things don't exist in my home anymore.

ShadowE said:

I only emulate if there is no other option for me, if there is i'll just buy that system to play it.

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Same goes with me. I only emulate when there is no other option to access to a game. Plus - and this is just my view - I've always valued being able to hold a physical copy of an item (whether video game related or music related) instead of something digital.

Although if you own the game already and want to make it portable - such as playing it on your laptop or phone - I see no issue in emulating it.

I will only emulate if I can not find an copy of that said game at an good price

I'd like to play on a console. I just like holding console controllers more than computer emulators and stuff. It just seems more official.

It depends. I prefer play again old games of Pokémon or of other saga, for example, on my Game Boy just because of the nostalgia. It's a different feeling than playing on emulator. But i don't mind play games that i never played on a emulator, it's more accessible. And I am poor.

I'll always prefer playing any game on the console. I have been guilty of, and probably will so too in the feature, playing downloaded games on emulators, but the experience is just never the same. I realised that when finally getting to play Pokemon Black 2 quite a while ago. I often get tired of playing Pokemon games on emulators rather quickly, but that wasn't the case when I played it on the actual console. And it isn't just a question of whether it's something I'd played before or not, because I tried B/W on the emulator as well, and I didn't really enjoy that either.

But yeah, when it comes to old consoles/old games; I'll of course look to see if there are any/any to affordable prices, and if I already have the console, I'm much more likely to go buy the game. But in case there isn't anything, I'm more likely to emulate it D:

I greatly prefer actual consoles since that's how the game was intended to be experienced. But in certain circumstances, such as when the game is rarer than a shiny Pokemon, I'll emulate it for the experience. Or when I want to make some tweaks to make it more interesting, like I am for White 2 or I did for Expert Emerald (I do <3 that hack). I need challenge mode from the start and a trainer sprite that doesn't hurt my eyes. I also get to pick my team!

But yeah that's a rare exception that usually applies to Pokemon exclusively.

I'd go for consoles over emulators any day. Playing on an emulator doesn't have the same feeling as playing on a console. I only use emulators when I have no other options such as I don't have the console to play the game.

ie, I can't play Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal since I have no GBA/GBSP/GB to get those cartridges so I have to resort to emulators.

T!M said:

I would buy the respective systems to play ye olde games. I don't get the same joy or satisfaction by playing games on emulators as opposed to the ports the games are in.

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This is me. I just don't find playing emulators fun. I still have all of my old systems to play their respective games on. And the piracy thing is silly in this situation. I know on paper it is illegal, but if a game isn't being produced anymore, the developer/publisher don't get a dime whether I play an emulator or buy it from a used game shop.

The real thing.
Generally, I love playing multiplayer games, and the real things are the best.
Especially Mario Party, haha. So much rage.