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If Next-Gen Is Too Pricey Go Retro
Posted by
Zonk
on Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:47 AM
from the so-forward-it-is-backwards dept.
from the so-forward-it-is-backwards dept.
Via RetroGaming with Racketboy, a story in the San Francisco Chronicle suggesting that you go retro if the new consoles are too expensive. They single out the (still excellent) Sega Dreamcast console as the best buy for your money vs. enjoyment. The folks at SF Gate also mention several other older games and consoles that will allow modern gamers their fun without breaking the bank. From the article: "Scenario 4: I'm poorer than any of the characters from 'Angela's Ashes' but not quite as poor as Jim Braddock's family when the heat got shut off in 'Cinderella Man.' (I pulled this newspaper out of the recycling bin at BART.): You've presented a challenge, but not an impossible one. I saw a copy of the PC game Grim Fandango, a complete masterpiece that most people never played, for $6 on eBay. Since it came out in 1998, you can probably find an abandoned computer on the curb that will play it. You'll be experiencing about 98.5 percent of the fun that the Getty heir who bought the PS3 is having, at about 1 percent of the price. "
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Atari Flashback 2.0 (Score:2, Informative)
The Atari 2600 has come back in several different forms, but the Atari Flashback 2.0 is the only product I've seen that captures the feel of the original late 1970s Atari 2600 console -- including the first Atari Flashback, which is a piece of junk. Among the console's 40 games are the three most important ones: Combat, Pitfall and Yar's Revenge. It's not hard to find a Flashback 2.0 discounted below its $29.82 retail price.
I was initially going to post that I bought one of these last
sad (Score:2, Insightful)
EMULATORS
I'd ask you to look the word up on wikipedia, but you've probably never heard of that either.
RIP SD
Re:sad (Score:5, Insightful)
Also the computers required to run an emulator with any sort of speed will always be more expensive than the console, unless you're talking about an antique console which you can no longer find. That kind of defeats the object of trying to be cheap; who doesn't have the money to buy a modern console but does have the money to buy a PC which can emulate one?
Parent
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Well then, you just need to go really retro and get SNES/Genesis-era games. Just think, you can go back and play all those rare "gems" you missed, like Michael Jackson's Moonwalker for the Genesis (seriously, it's hilarious for at least a couple of minutes)! : )
Not to mention you could also play actually good games, like Mario Kart and Ecco the Dolphin.
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why just last month... (Score:3, Informative)
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks about these things.
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You can emulate damned near everything from the Atari 2600 to the Playstation, and in some cases get better results than with the original system.
LK
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Buying an actual retro console, or atleast something properly licensed, comes without any moral qualms and includes controlers and all the other hardware for which these games were designed.
FYI, I used to have a vast col
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Once you have the game, the ROM is legal, or at least as close as you need to worry about being. (Technically, the ROM is only fully legal if you rip it yourself. It's just that you could claim to
Re:sad (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean emulators are great, but they never match the whole experience, how can they? I am sure that a dreamcast wouldn't cost that much. Every heard of ebay?
Parent
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'Every' heard of joypads?
I play all emulators with a ps2 controller plugged in with a usb adapter. While i have no idea for Soul Caliber on dreamcast, all variants of Street Fighter II and the entire Mortal Kombat franchise feel as good under mame as they are on arcade.
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don't get this emulator-rage (Score:2, Insightful)
Let's see. If people are reading this in /., they most probably already own a computer, so it is hard to say that it will be much more expensive than buying a second-hand console.
Second, most emulators allow you to use USB joysticks. So there goes the argument of two people crammed in front of a keyboard. Also, most decent (and that doesn't mean expensive) GPUs today sport some sort of TV-OUT capability, so you can just play the games in your TV-set.
I concede that sometimes emulation isn't up to pair with
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Of course the majority of Slashdotters know about emulators. Some people would rather play legally. Some people would rather play on consoles.
I am sure the majority of people on here know about wikipedia too. Instead of insulting people who are probably vastly smarter than you and more humble, you could try to present your thoughts in a way that doesn't make you look like a jerk. Just say something like "Another great way to experience classic games is em
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Played on about 10 of them for a fairly short period of time and that was only when we had hooked an X-Box in to a jamma cabinet.
Getting every game in existence usually means you play none of them. On the other hand my megadrive stack (MegaCD, megadrive, master system adaptor.) has us playing while drinking, chatting and generally relaxing.
Why this is is probably for various reasons. Easier
A new spin on it (Score:2, Interesting)
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I do still actually own the cartridges so it's legal too!
Really? You sure about that? Which part of Title 17 of the United States Code do you read as permitting reproduction into a different media for the purpose of playing (private performance)? 117 might apply, but you didn't reproduce the contents as an archival step, you made a transformation into a different media. Space-shifting as a fair use was built atop the Audio Home Recording Act's carveout, so I don't think RIAA v. Diamond helps you he
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Oh, well of course that would be subsection 42, paragraph Q, clause IV, entitled "Common Fucking Sense!" It's a little known clause, especially among those involved in the legal system...
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The mods today remind me of my girlfriend when I tell her we can't afford something...
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It could also be argued that, as the hardware used to play older games is no longer produced, space-shifting is in itself a form of archival preservation, and use of archival copies is simply fair use.
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The AHRA certainly puts a lot of pressure on other forms of media to conform to the same measure of "fair use". RIAA v. Diamond sets a strong precedent, and not just for audio.
The AHRA was a legislative construct where the 'private copying' exemption was (at least in theory) offset by the tariff [for lack of a better word] placed on blank media. The (c) industry as a whole is pretty strongly opposed to such "taking" and, representing our single largest export and ~5% of our GDP, has some pretty strong
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ROM sites put it on and don't get shut down. That's all the proof I need.
I was in a car going 95 mph, and I didn't get a ticket! It must be legal!
Btw don't copyrights run out after 10 years anyway?
At least in the U.S. (with most of Europe being similar, IIRC; part of the Berne Convention), for "corporate" works like most console video games, it's 95 years from date of first release.
And wtf, the RIAA has nothing to do with games at all.
There's this thing called stare decisis, you might know
ONLY "98.5%"?!! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Indie Games (Score:3, Interesting)
The Independent Games Festival [igf.com] is a good start. And to make things easier, there are a many sites and blogs that review indie games and make recommendations: the2bears [the2bears.com] and Shoot the Core [moonpod.com] cover shoot-em ups/STGs; Jay is Games [jayisgames.com] handles flash and casual games; and TIGSource [tigsource.com] (for which I'm an editor), Independent Gaming [blogspot.com], and Game Tunnel [gametunnel.com] cover all genres of games. You can expect to find some overlapping, but they each have plenty to search through.
C64 (Score:2)
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I'm going to have to agree with the article (Score:5, Interesting)
If you (like I) am a nostalgia style gamer there's so much fun to be had.
Graphics and online aren't everything, for those of us who enjoy a good single player experience with a good storyline - graphics help but aren't the be all and end all.
I could go into naming all the games but I don't see much point, it's opinion which counts - the fact is the PS2 and Xbox are cheap, a PC which will run games from 1985 (yes 85) to 2000 is dirt cheap and that's 15 years of gaming right there.
Now, some of it is despicably bad and just unplayable (example, X-Wing 1, fantastic game but I re-tried it recently and sorry but 320x200 is no good - it's just TOO blocky, specially on the big screens we all own now)
However Monkey Island 1, Loom, even the 256 colour version of Zak McCracken are all perfectly good games despite being dead old.
There's No one Lives forever a nice FPS with, frankly a fucking great storyline - awesome camp humour and good gameplay - it's seriously like they packed about 15 bond movies into one game.
The PS1 games will work on the PS2 and well the Xbox may have the least games for it but it can be used for NES / SNES / other old console emulation and a media centre (plus KOTOR, Fable, Psychonauts, Beyond good and Evil, Jade Empire)
I for one intend to finish Wing Commander 3 soon - it's a great game also and yet any old crappy PC can run it now.
I would recommend people go to Metacritic and pull up their listing of top games on the platforms - then pick and chose what you like.
Also be sure to get a modified PS2 or Xbox and load the games to the hard disk, if you've purchased a second hand unit of either the laser assembly could be somewhat worn and the faster load times are the ONLY way to play games in my opinion, screw noisy, slow, seeking discs
Here's the blog of a chap I know who focuses primarily on older games for the cheap price.
(excellent game on the main page at the moment too)
http://roushimsx.livejournal.com/ [livejournal.com]
Oh and the final good bulletpoint for you guys, the PS3, Xbox 360 and even the Wii will ALL still be there after you submerse yourself in a land of nostalgia for 6 months - only there will be MORE games, and CHEAPER games plus the systems could be cheaper too.
Personally, I'm hoping to hold out a good 12 - > 18 months.
Good luck.
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Play it in ScummVM and you can get them with nice antialiasing, too.
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There's a "collectors" edition which is a Windows-native copy. It runs at 640x480 - although that is still on the blocky side, it is much more comfortable than playing at the original resolution.
As for blockyness, try playing the game in a windowed mode - it may cause some other quirks, but it
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Xbox 1 = $100 + $50
PS2 = $100
Gamecube = $50
With a PS2, Gamecube, and modified Xbox 1 you'll have the equipment to play:
All for about HALF the price of a PS3, cheaper if you can find those
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Even apart from the inability to do true 3D, Virtual Boy emulation is not very advanced yet. Games run slowly with a lot of lag, and sound emulation is mostly unlistenable.
PS2 here I come (Score:2)
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Custom Team Fortress (Score:2)
Essentially, CustomTF is Team Fortress, but you can build your own classes, using a cost based system. It's a lot of fun, and I'm not just saying that since I wrote the mod myself. =)
Tremulous (Score:2)
Re:Blah,blah,blah,Zonk,PS3 too expensive,FUD,blah, (Score:2)
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Re:Blah,blah,blah,Zonk,PS3 too expensive,FUD,blah, (Score:2)
Yes.
I've played the PS3 in the store, and while it looks nice, it clearly didn't live up to the hype, and my overall impression was sort of "meh". Not worth the price. I may get one when it hits $250 or so.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
So far, while my PS3 sampling is anything but thorough, I am yet to see any engines that are any more advanced than anything on the PS2. Graphics? Nice, and I can't argue with the sharpness. (On TV equipment I don't own, but that topic's been done to death.)
I'm sure some Grand Theft Auto 4 sort of thing will eventually knock my socks off (Grand Theft Auto 3 was the first PS2 game that I saw that I really felt li
Re:Blah,blah,blah,Zonk,PS3 too expensive,FUD,blah, (Score:5, Insightful)
It's basically everyone being told that these expensive, shiny new systems are superior in every way, and people see the shiny graphics, drool, and believe every word of it. People want to believe what they are told, and especially those who buy these systems defend the price they paid for it in their minds by fooling themselves into believing it will do everything including curing cancer, and do it better. Sure, the PS3 and the XBox 360 are a bit more powerful than their predecessors. The issue is whether they are significantly more powerful so that games for them are truly next-gen. And in general, except for the graphics, they're really not. And graphics, sorry to say, are not the most important part of a game. If you like pretty graphics and stuff exploding, go watch a movie, go outside, or whatever.
On topic, it amazes me how we march forward into the next generation of gaming and are so willing to pay so much money to be entertained in the same way that we have been entertained by consoles in the past. Given that there are so many good games available for past consoles that you haven't played (unless you are just a hardcore, no-life-outside-of-games gamer that has literally played it all), it's hard to imagine the need for a new console generation. The same, unfortunately, can be said about other entertainment media, especially film which is suffering from the same style-over-substance problem that gaming has, so it is not just gaming that is at issue here. Just like many modern film fans who love the latest SFX-filled action yawner and turn their noses up at old black-and-white cinema classics, new gamers that drool over graphics and won't give old games a second look are shallow people who do not care about the substance of the medium.
It's sad, really.
Right now, I'm replaying (actually re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-replaying) The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past for SNES and loving it. Old Commodore 64 and Atari 2600 (granted, only a few 2600 games are compelling enough to get regular play, but there are a few of them) games get regular play. I even played through Zork 1 recently. All of these are gaming experiences lost on the latest generation of gamers whose gaming snobbery prevent them from even looking twice at a game without shiny new 3d graphics.
Their loss.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Or I can play my shiny new console. Why are you telling me I shouldn't look to videogames for my graphics fix? I was perfectly happy with the way games were played last generation. I was perfectly happy with the way they were played the generation before that too. The pace of gameplay innovations has been just fine in my eyes. Give me the gameplay types I've come to love with an extra dose of pretty and I'll
Re:Exactly right (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
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For professionally developed games, I recommend Ooga Booga... (Oh, and an import CD player and Shenmue II and Vampire Collection)...
Don't forget the VGA cable!
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I saw a copy of the PC game Grim Fandango, a complete masterpiece that most people never played, for $6 on eBay. Since it came out in 1998, you can probably find an abandoned computer on the curb that will play it. You'll be experiencing about 98.5 percent of the fun that the Getty heir who bought the PS3 is having, at about 1 percent of the price.
$6 game + $0 computer = $6. No Dreamcast involved there.
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So yeah.
Shameless plug (was: PONG) (Score:2)
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