Why Emulate?

This is a blog I've been wanting to write, but hearing about the Brazil museum fire that may have destroyed nearly all of its thousands of year old artifacts and relics, as well as a YouTube video about preserving game history, I have a reason to write this particular blog. Back in July, Nintendo sued a couple rom sites and it had a ripple effect on the emulation scene. For a number of people, including myself, emulation may be the only viable option when it comes to certain games. But why?

1. Availability: It's not a surprise that as the Internet has risen, gamers have immersed themselves in not just Nintendo stuff, but a lot of gaming history since at least the 70s. Unfortunately, when sites like EmuParadise close shop, thousands of games are lost. That's not to say they are entirely lost, but losing tons of Arcade games, DOS, and any system between the Atari 2600 and the PSP/DS, it really hurts. We can't always go to an arcade or use an old Windows 95 or XP computer. We can't always find a Sega Saturn or a 3DO out in the open in terms of both systems and games. It's sad that although Nintendo is within their rights, it hurts a lot more than they think just because they want to offer the same NES games for the fifth or sixth time.

2. Prices: Obviously, pirates will do whatever they can to emulate and not buy games. At times, however, we don't have all this money just to buy something like a Panzer Dragoon Saga or the Neo Geo library. At the same time, not everyone is willing to splurge 50 bucks on a used Nintendo game. Similar with availability, your choices may be limited depending on the systems you have and what games that are seen in at used game stores, yard sales. How much they are charging may make your decision easy or hard.

There's probably other reasons other people have, but that's what it boils down to. Unless you keep all your computers and have them well maintained, you have no choice but to use DOSBox. And Steam and GOG are not going to have every title due to copyright limbo, companies that have disappeared or have been bought, or losing a source code. There's a reason why Abandonware is loved. My Abandonware's top downloaded games are Doom II, Wolfenstein 3D, and WarCraft II. Thousands of DOS, Windows, and Mac games are available, but a very small amount can still be found on Steam and GOG.

Consoles suffer, too. Even with something like a Virtual Console, it only accounts for the big name titles or stuff that is owned by companies that have survived. We're talking anywhere from 5 to maybe 15 percent. Could be higher or lower, but overall, a lot of titles don't see the light of day again. Compilations have really helped since 1995-96 to help preserve a lot of arcade and console games, but there's still tons of them that have never gotten a port or anything. Licensed games suffer the worst along with any that have lost source codes. I'll go with the Crash Bandicoot trilogy. Vicarious Visions had to do the remaster from the ground up. People tremendously love Goldeneye on the N64, but it's license keeps it from being re-released.

Rambling aside, emulation is something that is dedicated by gamers. They put the effort in to make sure that a number of these titles can be looked at. From hits like Mario to the unfamiliar games like SkyRoads, it's a painstakingly approach and risk to ensure future generations can enjoy the over 40 plus years of what has been seen since Pong. Emulation will not disappear, and Nintendo's old fart executives in Japan will never understand that despite being within their rights to protect their copyright.

Investing in Last Generation Consoles

No doubt, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are about finished. There might still be a couple titles coming out for each of those systems, but when, I don't know. Most stores will try to get whatever remaining stock they have of the older systems software, so with that in mind, let's get into the main discussion. Should you be going after the last generation consoles?

Personally, I would get into it now. There are a lot of titles that you can find for relatively low prices, especially for some of the base games. One of these examples is Grand Theft Auto IV. Not every store will be like this, but I saw it at GameStop for practically nothing. You can find a lot for PS3 and 360 for 20 dollars and under. There are exceptions like Ghostbusters from Atari and even kids games like Toy Story 3. For the most part however, the local stores and some GameStops should be fair enough with these two systems, both hardware and software.

What about Nintendo systems? To be honest, it's hard to discuss this company. The systems they have are the hardest to deal with due to expensive prices. No average person is going to waste 60 dollars on an N64 Mario Kart or a GameCube Smash Bros. Melee. For the Wii, it might be an exception for now. If you're dead set on getting that system, invest now on those games that are coveted. Odds are most of the shovelware and certain ports will stay very low, while something like a Zack and Wiki or Metroid Prime Trilogy will get higher prices. I wish I would recommend getting the system purely on the Virtual Console and its physical library, but with Nintendo shutting down the ability to add Wii Points in March, I can't put it high on the must buy list.

With handhelds, it shouldn't be too bad. The problem is finding all sorts of licensed junk. That is one of my gripes with the Game Boy Advance. It seemed like the later half of its life was littered with just about every Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network show getting a game adaptation if it weren't a 16-bit port. The DS still has that problem, but there's still a rich library that you can have. Outside of some Nintendo games, it shouldn't be cost prohibitive. Try finding them at the local used stores. Finding them in the cases is critical.

In regards to the PSP, it's going to be very tough. Despite 70 million in hardware sold, it's library had a tough time finding audiences. Your best bet is seeing if the local used stores have them. Even then, it could be slim pickings with some baseball titles, a Syphon Filter game, and maybe some UMD movies typically seen in a small section. I'm not sure if price will be a huge problem as much as finding any games. You can still download some games, but not on a PSP. More so with a Vita or maybe PS3 if you can find anything or if they are compatible such as PS1 Classics.