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Famicom owner checking in.
I really need to get around to buying a SNES. I have an NES as well but it’s dead. eBay the best spot to get either of these consoles?
It depends on what you want and where you are, honestly. I would recommend different things to people depending on whether they have a large pre-existing library of cartridges and a CRT or they just want to play some old stuff every now and then.
How dead is that NES? There are a few frequent faults in some models that aren’t terribly hard to repair and used old consoles are getting expensive in general.
How dead is that NES?
You try blowing in it?
I’m still trying to find a place that can resurrect my Atari 7800.
I have so many games for it.
Same, but a 2600. A hand me down from one of my older cousins
I look on local classifieds. But a lot of people inflate the price.
I picked up an SNES junior for $50 at a garage sale a few years ago. Finds like that are rare but they do exist.
My brother and I have opposing views on this.
He likes to collect hardware. He loves buying old systems and cartridges.
I like to collect software. Very few games are worth much to me individually, but I love the ability to fire up any old game when it pops in my head.
I ended up buying an SNES Mini on eBay that was jacked and loaded with ROMs from EVERY system it was capable of running. I understand wanting the original hardware, but for me, getting EVERYTHING preloaded for about $200 just made more sense for me.
I have bought two of those hacked systems from the same seller. I can check if they still offer them, and share a link to the product, but only if someone asks for the info. I’m not trying to promote anyone, but I feel like this is a market that could be prone to fakes, and I personally would appreciate someone suggesting a trustworthy seller.
Do that, but get a Raspberry Pi and put ROMs on it yourself instead of buying shady, possibly backdoored stuff.
That’s a great solution as well, but the mini has no internet connection, so there’s no “backdoor.”
I do. I don’t want or need top notch graphics. My ps5 collects dust.
SNES, Genesis and TG16 do have top notch graphics for those who can’t do without them.
Gameplay is always king.
Graphics can contribute a lot - some games are fucking gorgeous, and I’ll stop and appreciate good scenery in digital environment the same as IRL.
But jaw-droppingly incredible graphics can never compensate for bad or even mediocre gameplay.
And shit graphics will never kill a game with good gameplay. Done right, shit graphics can even be charming in a nostalgic kind of way.
My wireless snes controllers just came in yesterday. Love em.
Does software count?
I’m knee deep in Caesar II and Total Annihilation campaigns
There’s not a lot of video games that don’t have software.
You’d have to back to what, Pong? I see Monaco GP from 1979 listed as one of the last TTL-based games from Sega, but not sure about other companies.
I should’ve just said PC, I don’t know what I was thinking
My brain must have just frozen when I was trying to think of a word in the absence of console
All good. I used to make a strong distinction between “video games” and “computer games” and at the time it was true but now the line has blurred to the point that the distinction is in interface style and the scale between reliability and versatility.
References this site: https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/media-formats/holding-on-to-physical-media-a3747629925/
Actual data here: https://article.images.consumerreports.org/image/upload/v1718112414/prod/content/dam/surveys/Consumer_Reports_AES_May_2024.pdf
Actual question references “Classic videogame systems that came out before 2000, like the NES or GameBoy” and “used at home in the past year” of which 14% responded yes out of a group of 2022 surveyed in North America (demographic details available in link).
Does it in anyway phrase the question to reference real hardware or original versions?
I feel like a lot of people emulate (including using Nintendo Switch Online) or play modernized remixes of titles like Super Mario 99
Full text is ‘Below are some types of visual media that some might consider old or outdated. Which, if any, have you used in the past year?’ and that is an item on the list, it’s not an incredibly detailed survey.
I will say from the rest of the survey responses, the demographics they’ve selected seem to lean more technically competent and security focused than I’d expect.
My 3080ti is mostly used for snes and n64 emulation.
Does emulation count?
The survey question seems to make it seem like it’s referring to original hardware, but I imagine a lot of respondents didn’t limit it that way.
With emulation being common even officially these days (NSO, emulated games on Steam, etc), I think it’s fair to factor that in as well.
Yes, the survey summary below shows no exceptions for physical hardware vs emulation in the question
The percentage should be way, way higher, then, since lots of people use the emulators on Nintendo Switch Online.
A lot of people using official channel emulators probably don’t think of it as emulation. I have one of the original style PS3 systems where it had PS2 hardware to play the older games. Does that count as emulation or using an older system? Hard to say where one draws the line.
I’ve been tinkering with Canoe (the emulator the SNES Classsic and NSO both use) for years, so it’s very much emulation to me. Compatibility is so-so, but performance on weak hardware is really good, better than any unofficial SNES emulator. The launch PS3 does not count as emulation for PS2, but every version after does.
It’s May 2024 data from 2022 respondents, biased towards people willing to respond to pretty long consumer surveys. I have similar suspicions you’d see a higher % from a larger sample size or reporting from video game platform and store owners who can differentiate that better than your average consumer.
Only if you use an emulator released before the year 2000.
I still own my real SNES from circa-1995, but I’d rather play on an emulator than put wear and tear on it, so yes.
It should! It’s allowed me to play so many games that are hard to find or expensive these days.
I mean you OWNED the games after purchase back then, now the publishers and game studios can revoke your “purchased” license anytime…
No you didn’t. They just had no way of deactivating your copy.
I hate this >:( Let me exaplain myself. What I hate is that way that people see videogames, like, if you play something old you are stuck in the past, but hey! If you read a book that is 100yo or watch a movie that is 40yo it is okay! but if you play in atari, what are you? a caveman?
That stigma seems to be getting slightly better, but it’s always bothered me.
“OMG you’ve been playing that game for hours! Why don’t you go DO something! You’re rotting your brain!!” -Someone who’s about to sit in front of the TV until they fall asleep.
What I hate is that way that people see videogames, like, if you play something old you are stuck in the past
I must not operate in those circles. I’ve never heard that before, but I’m also old and playing old games and fewer newer ones.
I’m kind of mixed on that depending on the game. In general I say I’d rather the kids play a game than watch a show because it’s interactive rather than just pushing mush into their face.
The other side though is how so many games (most notoriously mobile ones) are so keyed into scratching those little itches to keep someone playing for way longer than should be healthy.
I really miss the early mobile games days, when they were still experimenting with the format and you had games like Angry Birds, Infinity Blade, Peggle, and various Marble Madness or Monkey Ball clones, just for starters.
People were making games designed to be fun, and if they were addictive, it was because you were enjoying yourself. If you bought the game they didn’t care how addicted you got or not, only that you didn’t tell all your friends it sucked! Lol
Once it started taking notes from the casino industry, that was it. I don’t even open the Play Store anymore.
Just now had a thought: If places like Newgrounds or ArmorGames were pay to play for developers like the mainline mobile stores are, I bet we would have seen a lot more of that nonsense a lot sooner. (kongregate seems to serve a perfect example of this.)
I just openly laughed right at them when I was told that, especially because my dad was no longer able to keep up with my math homework by the seventh grade.
These days I’m out on my own, with a house and a fiancée, still play video games as a primary hobby, and he’s a Trump voter in a shitty apartment that doesn’t talk about anything except crying about all the n[REDACTED]s and transes. One of us sure rotted his brain and I’m pretty confident saying it probably wasn’t me.
For a second I thought “he” was your fiancée. The trump voter. I was like “why would you marry a… Oh, he means his dad.”
Without piracy and the industry wanting to move digital only we are doomed.
Keyword: “without”.
None of my game consoles are younger than 2000. I can’t deal with PC gaming, I hate subscription models, and refuse to download “games” to my phone.
I like old and new. I love my retro emulators (which I put a lot of effort into setting up just right; and I’d love some original hardware if I could afford it). I also love my PS5.
Red Alert 2 on a 4090
I wonder how many people “still” drive cars “released” before 2000?
Game consoles are solid-state and tend to not wear out like cars.
That said, my car is from 2003.
