Emulation, some see it as a dirty word, others as the saviour of the retro gaming scene. These days, retro games (what classes as retro now? I’ve even heard the PS2 referred to as “retro”) are hard to come by, and when you find them, can cost £100s if not more. For example, Pokemon Crystal for the GameBoy Colour sells for a whopping £335 at the retailer CEX. It’s prices like these that drive people to the morally grey area of Emulation. Recently, some companies have taken to bringing their retro classics to their current generation console, for example Sony with the Playstation Plus Premium subscription (and let us know your thoughts on that below) or Nintendo with their Online subscription. However, we are often finding they’re really missing the mark with many huge titles missing from these catalogues.
An example of this, as a fanboy of the series, is the original incarnations of Resident Evil 1 – 3. The most recent port of these was back on the PS3, two generations ago. With on-the-go consoles now a thing (Switch, Steamdeck etc) these could really be ported on to newer generations and allow both returning and new players the chance to experience survival horror at its finest.
It’s the lack of these titles that has really driven the emulation scene within gaming. As mentioned above, the Steamdeck has now become a real powerhouse within the Emulation scene, with incredible ability to emulate up to the more recent generation of consoles. On the debate of emulation, we went out to our social media profiles and Reddit to ask the question of peoples thoughts on Emulation. Here’s some of the thoughts shared with us:
I love that it brings a new audience to the game, with allll the nostalgia!
— 💀💜CarrieGhoul🖤💀 (@GamerGhoul6) February 20, 2024
An easy and cost effective way to preserve gaming history when said games are not readily available
— jack 👽 (@TheHellmouth_) February 20, 2024
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As you can see, most people support emulation in some form or another! Now it’s up to you game publishers, start bringing these retro titles on to your classic consoles to allow us, your end users, to play your game natively, rather than through emulation!
What do you think of emulation? Let us know in the comments down below!
