Aight /vr/ I have the terrible urge to ask you this. Given the

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Emulation:
>choice of pad
>can remap buttons even if games that don't allow it
>netplay
>translations / romhacks
>overlocking for lag reduction
>for older consoles, no sprite limit for reduced sprite flicker
>for less old consoles, different choices to improve 3D graphics
>in any case various filters at your disposal
>can adjust volumes of the console different channels
>savesates and/or screencap to avoid writing down passwords
>free

Real hardware:
>none of the above
>expensive
>their faces when

We already have that kind of device...

It's called a flashcart. Or those SD card mods that exist for PS1, Saturn, and Dreamcast. People already pay for and use those.

>>4196250
Yeah I know they exist. I'm saying in the case it exists for the particular hardware you want, I'm not aware if every slightly popular platform has one of those. Also I'm asking if you'd rather put the money on that.

Something like PSIO may not be worth the trouble for some, since it's not exactly cheap, you have to pretty much preorder it and you still have to modify your hardware for that. Some people might even prefer the good old buying an already chipped PS1 and just putting random CDs on it.

>>4196256
>I'm not aware if every slightly popular platform has one of those.
Basicly every platform has them. Get with the times.

At this point there are still advantages and disadvantages to both, in my experience. Let's take Playstation as your example and it's actually a good one because when really analyzed neither real hardware nor emulation are "perfect" while both are close enough to be almost apples-to-apples comparable and actually become subjective at this point.

For casuals there are probably some who have a better, easier time grabbing a $10 PSOne and small clutch of games from a thrift store or ebay, hooking it up to their TV and just playing while some other casuals may prefer downloading a simple emulator and several gigs of game files. Some people have better internet access, some people have better junk buying access and still personal preference plays a role.

At the other end of the spectrum when it comes to serious hobbyists it can still be subjective. Do you have more fun meticulously configuring emulators, tweaking geometry, lag-testing controllers etc or do you have more fun using CRTs, collecting games and/or modifying consoles?

For me, I still get more satisfaction from playing Playstation games on the real hardware (usually a PS2) and will do so if I'm seriously playing a Playstation game but on the other hand the convenience of emulation ultimately means that more Playstation games get played through emulation - largely on the go.

My mame cabinet conversion will take my emulation experience to the next level. Even my ~20mbps non-fiber broadband is inadequate to download the multiple tb of the complete libraries of disc based /vr/ consoles so I plan to pay for a service by mail. Then when I have literally everything sitting there in an authentic period cabinet with quality arcade controls it may very well relegate my actual media collection to just that, a collection but that doesn't mean I'll stop building it when I get an opportunity to pick something up cheap because I do enjoy collecting. Not everyone does though and that's fine too. Different strokes.

>>4196237
Emulation isn't much of an option in the case of some systems.

For those that can be emulated well, it's always the best option. No fuckass lasers that die, no internal battery deaths...you have less hardware to maintain and it's more practical.

>>4196292
In my case I have a PSTwo I use with it. Let's say that the experience is a mixed bag. I have to deal with patched discs due to my region, lack of memory for saving (well, that's an obvious one) and disc swapping. However I get the best experience out of it. Because I do have the rest of the setup to enjoy it properly.

But it's a really difficult example, because you have several ways of dealing with this. On a PSTwo you can even play converted PS1 games through a flash drive, but the compatibility is poor and there is a fair amount of glitches, to the point where you might as well just use an emulator.

But then if you have a good connection and availability you might be tempted to make a collection of games, which can end up large enough to play through a quarter of it and will definitely be much more convenient to handle on a digital format. That is coupled with the fact that it's easier to "preserve" in a way and not have issues like disc read errors and such.

>>4196237
Even before it was accurate I preferred it. By now, no contest.

Personally, I like physical copies. I can't justify playing old ass games on a power sucking ma-cheen.
But, having allllllll the games available, restored to what they shoulda been, has a nice ring to it. If the big companies could just sign off on making them legit (it's not like THEY'RE picking up and putting them back together) with a small cut, of course, then I think we'd have thebest of both worlds.
THEY could keep making new shit, and Emu Lords could keep on restoring and introducing retro shit to the masses. Gaming isn't just THIS generation, it's allllll generations.

>>4196317
That program to play PS1 games on PS2 from HDD/network is actually an emulator itself, derived from an official one but still an emulator so you truly would be better off just emulating with your much more powerful PC.

Also, even with real retail media the discs may be scratched, your laser will become dirty and/or worn over time leading to read errors while a well-moderated collection of ISOs is an ephemeral thing that only costs the storage media you keep backing it up to which willonly get cheaper over time.

However, at the risk of venturing into not-retro area we can assume you're also playing PS2 games on your PS2 which considering the extent of PS2 cracking compared to PS2 emulation it's objectively better to play that library on real hardware and we're still years away from it even being close so that serves as a great example of why to play on real hardware - but even when the emulation becomes perfect it may still be preferable to many people to play on real, cheap hardware rather than using their high powered PC that can't even currently be bought at any price.

I don't have much of an option since I'm poor and have been playing PC games for most of my life anyway.