As a newer parent, I’ve done a little research on this kind of thing. Kids are less likely to play with their toys if they have too many choices, the amount of choices gets so overwhelming that they eventually revert to wanting to watch TV or less engaging activities. We now rotate out my daughter’s toys. I use this approach to playing games. Each year, outside of modern games, I pick one retro console to play every couple months and play through a few games. I actually unhook my other consoles. Then I will switch it out for another one. By the end of the year, I’ve completed more games than I would have if I had left everything hooked up and had immediate access.
Yea, that's what I try to do too. Just play ONE GAME till it's done, or I'm done with it. Then go find another one. Cuz with the switch, those dang sales...I have a HUGE BACKLOG.
You are 1000% right! I have a two year old and learned the same thing. We limit our daughter to 4-6 toys and then every month or two swap them out. We put the toys she doesn’t play with in the closet and put other toys out. Rinse and repeat. I had a colleague who did this 30 years ago and I remembered it. I also have a restriction on TV time. No more than 1 hour a day and more liberal on the weekends. Absolutely NO access to iPhones or iPads. I’m very cautious about screen-time.
We had to limit our kids to three toy types each, as a way to limit both the physical and mental clutter. The playroom has much more space to play in, it’s easy enough now to maintain as they can quickly put stuff away, and they enjoy their activities for an hour or so at a stretch - rather than five minutes and off to the next.
I'm a huge fan of OG consoles with Everdrives. The key to me is to curate the list of games to ones I played as a kid and others I know I want to play. If I have everything in there, it just clogs it up.
Yep, this is the move. I have separate folders, one like you mentioned, and one with the rest. Best way to do it, and I've completed more games this way by default.
The thing I hate about being on Plus Premium, is that it never feels like I can just play what I want when I want. It always feels like a race against time when the next batch of games set to leave is announced. It's annoying.
Same here. I have a 6tb external drive almost completely full of PS4 games and a 2tb m.2 internal drive that is full in My PS5. I never play any of those games. They were so expensive and are all amazing games but I just can't bring myself to play them.
After several years of gaming, I gradually found that sweet spot between both worlds of emulation and physical. Although I play more physical games that I enjoy and have great replay value. Emulation allows me to discover and experience those games before I acquire them physically.
I think the same effect can be had when you have alot of physical games too. I got so many I have to wonder about what to play. I just think you have to beat what you play or only play a select set of games to completion before starting another one.
I try to never dump a giant library on my rom carts. It makes it too difficult to choose what to play. I have the library on my pc and can just drag and drop if I truly want to switch it up. I prefer having like 10 games tops on the cart at a time. The only 2 places I have a giant library stored locally are my Wii U and Xbox 360 because those stores went down and I wanted my digital library all downloaded offline so I wouldn’t lose access to them
The truth of this situation is that when you buy a physical game, you are more likely to play it. You already made a decision to purchase it, and most people feel some pull to justify the purchase, making play more likely. However, once a collection hits a certain size, a similar situation to doom scrolling becomes just as likely. The solution varies by person. For some, that means culling and curating physical collections. For others, emulating or everdrives require an arbitrary ruleset, be it a schedule, random selection, or another gameplan that narrows selection like playing a certain series. A curated collection is what feels best to me personally, although sometimes I still just stare at shelves. When I was a kid and only had a few games, I played each game to death. Now, I tend to make sure to really play new purchases and give an effort to finish them as long as I'm having fun. I also try to be honest with myself and play what I'm in the mood to play, even if that means playing Hollow Knight shortly after I just beat Hollow Knight. Also, as to how many games I've beaten on Switch Online apps, probably around 30. Funny thing is, I already own physical copies of most and was either away from home or just didn't feel like going downstairs.
It's the opposite for me, honestly. I have a bunch of physical games, but I don't play them much because they're for the switch which is cumbersome to carry around. I've actually played and finished more games on my Rp4 because it's a lot more portable. A simple favorites list and a rule not to play more than one type of genre at a time ensures that I don't just doom scroll.
I kinda disagree. I’ve bought plenty of games and sometimes never even opened them. You can get stuck “not choosing” a game no matter how you play. Whether it’s old school or on a PC, you can get paralyzed.
I know what I have to do, I just haven't done it yet. Dedicate one day for each console. Monday only play NES, Tuesday only play SNES, Wednesday only play N64... etc. Come up with a list of the games you want to play on each system and just play that game until you beat it and then move onto the next game on the list. It sounds simple but saying it and doing it are two different things.
I did something similar to you, except not quite so intense. I was setting aside Mondays to be "retro day." On that day, I would play only any older, retro game that I'd been meaning to finish. My current "retro day" game is Viewtiful Joe. I can't believe I've still never beaten it.
Doom Scrolling is exasperated by having only a brief amount of time to play. Most adults experience that there is more choices (thanks to more disposable income) and less time (due to more responsibilities) when it comes to enjoying our entertainment. If you only have an hour to spare do you really want to start that 60+ hour RPG? Will you spend half your time downloading updates and the other half watching opening cutscenes? The paralysis comes from not wanting to waste that precious time while you end up frittering it away anyway. Got to love adulting.
this is actually why i like retroachievements. i don't have to pay for it and it keeps me engaged in the same game for a while thus getting my well spent time into the game
I had the equivalent of doom scrolling with the first iteration of my physical collection, when I was just buying every game in sight. It was so overwhelming just staring at a literal wall of games. I ended up selling that collection off and kept my favorites, and bought everdrives. What I discovered about everdrives is that it’s a great was to try games on original hardware before you buy, especially when it comes to games above the $100 territory. I now only buy physical copies of games that I truly enjoy, and find that I’m much happier with my collection. Like you guys, I do enjoy the everdrives and disk drive emulators for bringing a console over to a friends house. But nothing beats firing up the actual game the way we did as kids and hearing that “ka-Ching” sound when you turn on the Trinitron. Great video dudes!
As a longtime gamer, sentimental game collector as well as a game reviewer, I have a huge digital collection and growing physical collection of games I love across Xbox and PlayStation platforms. In recent years I have gotten serious about getting through the majority of them, not to mention make actual content out of the experience as the two of you have. Problem is, I'm getting older and I don't have the seemingly limitless energy I once had. And more importantly, I am realizing that I probably don't have the time left it would take to accomplish it. Gaming takes on a whole new meaning when you come to grips with the reality that you don't have all the time in the world to play ALL THE GAMES. I still love gaming and I don't plan to quit, but there is a lot of existential dread and anxiety that gamers like me have to overcome the "choice paralysis" that you are talking about.
Even with physical games, there's some choice paralysis. As my collection grew, I'd just be staring at my shelves like "Nah...not that". I started to take out games and put them in front of the other games, so i only really focus on those to beat. With Steam and EmuStation I made a custom list of 4-5 games called "GO HERE FIRST" so that once I beat one of those games, I can rotate it out for something else and not scroll through roms watching gameplay videos for fun. on that note too, blitzing through those emulation games with savestates, rewind and all that jazz kinda ruins a lot of the experience. You can blitz through a NES game in like 40 minutes with savestates, but you dont get that same sense of accomplishment from beating Castlevania without states.
We live in the age of opposites. Stores used to be full of games and our homes had few. Now the stores are empty and our homes are full. We used to have so much free time and so few games. Now we have thousands of games and no free time.
Good topic, men. I had a 20" Zenith in the early 90s that looked amazing through RF... still chasing that look and feel. I do love the CRTs I still have. I only feel really good about a game that has an ending when I finish it and that is less often every year. I am closing in on cutting everything off like it was when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. No internet, no TH-cam, and no streaming for a year. I have so many physical systems and games still to play from Atari 2600 to PS5, but I am always browsing the sales for something new on Steam, GOG, Switch, PS5, etc. I am constantly thinking TH-cam has more to offer and if I search more/longer I'll find better content... TH-cam does not work that way, it gets worse! I have lost focus in the last 20 years. I fondly remember actually enjoying being bored when I was a kid. Time to turn back the clock.
My 13 year old son and I play our games on original hardware. We just beat the first streets of rage on genesis last night. Next up, dinosaurs for hire! ITS ON!
Rom hacks keep the NES alive if you still have one. "Mario Adventure 3" is the newest game. You also have "Rugrats" which is a brand new game but you have to pay for that one. It plays like Mario 2. Pick up and throw.
This can be said about a physical collection as well. When I had my larger one, I kept just struggling to pick a game from my backlog. After I sold a lot of my collection and only had a few more options, I was able to finally pick a game instead of jumping through them,
I feel the choice paralysis. I set up Dolphin and RPCS3, and I haven’t beat a single game on them. Meanwhile I have beaten all 24 of my physical wii games, 7 GameCube games, and 3 PS3 games. Love my modded 3DS and PS Vita but I don’t really play anything I don’t have the cartridge for. The odd thing out has surprisingly been the switch apps you brought up. I think I beat Oracle of Seasons, Zelda 2, Super Ghouls N’Ghosts, Zelda 1, Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, and now I am currently playing Earthbound. I don’t have any of them physically (yet), and played them all for the first time on the switch. The choice paralysis can still kick in but for some reason I was able to get more attached and stick with certain games on the switch over pc emulators. Feels very illogical, but it just happened for me I guess 😂.
If using an Everdrive, one thing that helps me is to use the recently played menu or just press Start at boot up to jump back into the most recently played game. This keeps you away from the menus of endless choice. For consoles with an ODE, you could load a single ISO to an SD card to stay focused. On a soft modded Xbox, the disc drive still works and can launch games.
100% agree with this, my thing is horror and collecting blu rays, i have zero streaming apps, i want physical media, it is the only way i watch movies, i dont want to scroll and scroll getting lost in a shuffle of nothing and just ending up watching something i will turn off half way thru cuz i know i can scroll on to the next one. Not my way of watching movies
For me personally doom scrolling has been an issue for BOTH emulation devices AND my physical collection. Someone else in the comments already mentioned it but once a library or collection hits a certain size doom scrolling becomes pretty much inevitable. It's all about how you deal with it and cut it down to a minimum. For me personally, I just pick a game I'm in the mood for or a game that I've yet to play or beat and I stick with it. As long as I'm having enough fun of course. I also tend to have 2 or 3 games that I'm alternating between. So for example; 1 modern game, an 8 or 16 bit retro game, and a sports game. Might seem like a weird formula but it works for me. As for how many retro games I've beaten on emulation devices? Too many to count. Despite having a physical collection I tend to play SNES, NES and Sega Genesis on the mini consoles. I have the entire libraries on there and I just find them more convenient. Don't have have to dig out the physical cartridges and put more wear and tear on them. Save states. The controllers are the exact replicas of the originals so the "feel" and ergonomics remain exactly the same. Anything pre 5th gen I usually emulate. But 5th, 6th and even 7th gen I play on original hardware.
I realized a year ago that I was no longer interested in retro gaming. The truth is I'm a casual online multiplayer gamer. PS5 and Switch. I game between 8-12 hours a week.
As someone who recently started collecting retro games as an adult again recently I can relate to everything about what you guys are saying. Though you seem to have so many games back there on that wall that it might start to feel like an Everdrive menu if it doesn't already lol.
Too many physical games can be just as overwhelming as a list of roms... Personally i use retropie loaded with just 5 or 6 roms, and it works well, i play the games with no scrolling..
This is something I am working on as of recently; I’ve gotten into Emulation and my Backlog was multiplied by a hundred. What I am doing is cataloging every game and going about it in the following manner: 1. Chose whatever game that is a quick play in any day and just give it a quick session. 2. Chose a long game that you know you want to try, or even if you have beaten it before, and try to not play more than one or two hours on it. 3. Any games in between that require less than 20 hour to beat, give it half an hour. 4. Most important: you can abandon games. It’s ok. You can circle back to them if you want. 5. And finally: play for fun, not to complete. Make up a list of the desired order to play them, or chose at random.
This is something that I am working on as of recently; I’ve gotten into Emulation and my Backlog was multiplied by a hundred. What I am doing is cataloging every game and going about it in the following manner: 1. Chose whatever game that is a quick play in any day and just give it a quick session. 2. Chose a long game that you know you want to try, or even if you have beaten it before, and try to not play more than one or two hours on it. 3. Any games in between that require less than 20 hour to beat, give it half an hour. 4. Most important: you can abandon games. It’s ok. You can circle back to them if you want. 5. And finally: play for fun, not to complete. Don’t pressure yourself. Make up a list of the desired order to play them, or chose at random. I am currently playing Wind Waker and Sonic Jam, after beating RE2 on Gamecube and Call of Duty Frontlines. I abandoned Skies of Arcadia, but will go back to it another time. I am enjoying this process.
I agree with the idea of having too many options but you can train yourself. If I pick out a game on an everdrive I have to give it x amount of time before changing. Having 1000’s of physical games is the same concept imo. I game more in the winter time because my job is seasonal, but game about the same amount since I sold most physical. As long as I’m playing on og hardware with the proper controller I’m good.
Couldn't agree more. I used to be such an ADHD tinkerer with all my converters and adapters and shit that might've cost me a couple PS2 grails at this point. And I've probably spend 50+ hours flipping through the Switch Online catalogues and I've only beaten one game through it. You guys got me back on the original hardware kick since I started watching and I've been beating and enjoying my collection so much more. Cheers guys 🍻
OMG!! This has been a huge topic for me for a long time. Even when I still had my huge physical collection. While (technically hardware emulation) i exclusively use a MiSTer or Analog Pocket, I have also been playing a curated list of games. It started when I first used flash carts. Making top 150 lists. After doing this, I immediately found I spent less time doom scrolling and more time playing. Today I have 500 game list on the MiSTer. I still have access to complete 1G1R libraries just in case I want to play some random game. I rarely stray from it. The input delay (more accurately display lag) with emulation makes it unplayable for me. For the reasons as stated in your video. For me, it destroys the nostalgia of it. Having said all of that, if it brings more people into the hobby or more importantly, it brings them joy, then, for them, they are doing something right and no one should take that away from them.
Thing is we LOVE to do those things. It brings excitement even more waiting for a game to arrive. And hunting Who knows WHAT out there. It's ALL apart of the physical gaming fun bra
Choice PARALYSIS is a real problem with emulation that I ran into. With me I don’t have a full rom set but just have small number of games that will actually play.
When I had a c-64 and we all traded hacked games I had hundreds on disk. It was exactly like this I played a ton of games but only 10-15 minutes each to see what they were like and never got back to 99% of them. ONLY the ones I bought did I play and beat. You’re spot on with emulation.
I will never sell my collection off, but I am using a Retron5, Analogue Duo and a Retron 77. I have all the OG consoles. It is just way too much of a hassle in my place to use them.
I don’t have any problem picking a game and beating it through emulation. I try not to waste what little time I have. If I want to play a particular game I just play it whether through emulation or not. I have an everdrive for my n64 and the full library on it. I don’t have any issues picking a game there either. But I know most people deal with choice paralysis
You guys hit the nail on the head however One of the good things about emulation is it's cheaper, isn't it? Having said that, I love finding PS3 games on the cheap and I'm in PS3 heaven right now
This is one of the many phenomena that has manifested as an unforeseen side effect of society jumping headfirst into technology we weren't totally ready for yet. Choice paralysis can happen with physical media too but is enormously exacerbated by digitized media. There is also such a thing as too much convenience in life, meaningful friction and a degree of effort/inconvenience restores a sense of purpose and fulfillment to a hobby and entertainment.
Backloggery allows you to mark games as high or low priority, plus it has a great feature where it will randomly select 1 (or a few games) for you. Nice ways to help avoid paralysis.
A few ways to help you stick with games through emulation is create a retroachievements login and start having a blast earning tons of challenging achievements. Another is have a buddy play the same game as you so you can talk about it. Having a conversation about a level or boss you're stuck on. A difficult achievement you earned, etc. The too many choices is why steam users have so many games in their back catalog. They buy so many games at once super cheap and never play them. If you spend a decent amount for a game you're typically gonna play it.
I initially bought my WII for modding purposes to get all the games but honestly I’m buying my collection physically. Even though I use an adapter to play on my modern tv I’m still having a really fun time playing all these games I never played.
As someone who emulates primarily on PC (not on official apps like NSO), I have beaten more retro games on my PC than I have on original hardware from when I was young. I enjoy them a lot. The choice paralysis is there to some degree but it usually doesn't take me long to find a game to sink a day or two into. The tinkering... I've done plenty of that, adjusting the fine details of a CRT filter, finding ways to reduce input lag (Had a lot of good luck with that. My monitor has g-sync so that's been wonderful for input lag and games that run at strange refresh rates), managing or even creating boxarts, creating control schemes to make the games nicer for modern controllers (LOOKING AT YOU, N64!), etc. It's all very involved and time-consuming. I've learned to enjoy some of the tinkering aspects. But most importantly I haven't forgotten how to enjoy the games and get lost in them for hours. You know what helps with choice paralysis? Removal of the games that you don't think you're gonna get around to playing in the nearish future. Reduce the choices. With unofficial emulation, you have more control. It's really up to you on how to go about this emulation stuff. Don't just accept what Nintendo and Sony give you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go replay Sparkster (SNES) without any frame drops.
I own an original Toaster Nes that I gave to my son a few years back. We do have some original carts, but he mainly plays through multicarts purchased off of AliExpress. I have an Original Wii thats modded and I do just dabble, but I don't play it very often. My son has beaten a few Gamecube games using this same modded Wii. He enjoys using the OG Gamecube controllers. I do have an extensive PS4 and PS5 disc collection that includes many OG games. I have a PS4 Pro hooked up in the basement to a 60" Plasma and HD CRT. My PS5 is hooked up to a 50" Plasma next to me in the Garage where I work. I play 90 percent of all my PS5 games physically. Great Video!! I decided to come back and add that I used to own a Switch with all of the Online controllers, including the Genesis one, and I never played anything but NES games on the service. I never beat a game using the service, but I did play 20-30 hours worth of Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros 2. It was mainly the rewind feature. I sold all my Switch stuff to get into the PS5, and I couldnt be happier. I do have Yuzu on my PC with the full Online service stuff and me and a Bro did beat Super Mario Bros 3 that way recently. Its strange but I prefer using that service through Yuzu, its emulation through emulation. I honestly only emulate maybe 10 hours a month at most, and I have 2.5TB full of emulators and roms. I really could care less about emulation at this point for the most part, except for preservation of the Retro stuff. Strangely though if all the roms and emulators ceased to be tomorrow, I wouldn't feel that sad about it.
I totally agree with you guys. It’s hard for me to be motivated to play games in emulation. Just too many options and it gets almost frustrating looking through everything.
Dude! Yes! This is such a real thing! I've done this twice already, I modded my PS1 classic and Wii with all of the retro games I could have ever wanted..... I NEVER play them! I'm playing physical games instead. I'm watching blu rays a lot more as well!
The problem is you don't need every single game out there. You have to just purchase games that you will play and not just to complete them. You play them for what they are so when you finish them you play another but you can still go back to the game. Truth is we all get bored if a game eventually but the secret lies in quality over quantity. You need around 20 to 50 quality arcade games that you simply cycle through over time and go back to them. For me its classics like time crisis, lethal enforcers, point blank, crypt killer, nba jam te etc. I just enjoy the feeling of playing these titles over and over again and when i get a bit bored of one i change to another only to return to it when i feel the urge. Its a great way to retro game. Has to be physical games though, the artwork the discs etc it all adds to the feeling.
Dude. Grab a game and beat it. Just like when you were a kid. For me, that's nostalgia. It doesn't matter how I play it. I shut out the world and focus on this little task. It keeps me sane.
Yup, Had PS Plus and Nintendo Expansion Pak. Dabbled with a few games but never completed any to my knowledge. On the other hand my modded consoles been putting in work. Last month I started working my way though Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS1 X-Station and Bully on PS2.
Been playing Sega Genesis Classics on Switch. Completed PS3, PS4, and now doing PS2. I like it cause I play when I'm laying down before going to sleep, and can speed up game to help with grinding. Non RPG games on there I play on orginal hardware.
Also, I think another topic you guys should address is how easy it is to look up walkthroughs on YT rather than just figuring out how to beat certain levels through trial and error like back in the day. I even find myself doing that a lot honestly, with the lack of time.
The mini consoles go back in the box. The everdrives just sit around. I think there is just a difference with how people want to play or how they care to play. Sometimes a game just doesn't click at the time so you jump to another game. It's a lot easier with emulation but I still do it on occasion with physical games. Analysis paryalasis is real.
Once upon a time I ran into this issue. Shows, games, even with meal prep sometimes. My solution is just to put everything I have in an organized list. My library of games for example, added ups comes to about 546. Everyday for a year, I roll the dice twice with a generator and whatever I land on, I commit to no matter what for that day. If I just so happen to be busy that day or not in the mood, I still make the selection just to omit it from list going forward. Not saying this works but it’s done wonders for me. P.s Today my picks were Shining Force CD and Forza Horizon 4. Cheers.
I've been emulating and building my collection of games (roms) for over 20 years and choice paralysis is real. You have to have the willpower to stick to a few games and finish them before doom scrolling for something better. I make custom folders so I don't see hundreds of choices on the front end. Great video guys!
Seems ironic talking about Doom scrolling sitting in front of all those games on the shelves behind you. I think anyone that collects ends up in the same place, ie too many games to choose from whether physical or digital or even ROMs.
Fair point! For me though, I feel like once the game is in the console I stick to it as opposed to being able to scroll. I have a large movie collection as well but am better off picking a movie and sticking it out.
Step 1: play it physical. Step 2: I don’t have a copy, play it on a loader/flash cart. Step 3: Do I wanna drop cheddar? Is this game stupid expensive? Step 4: Emulate to try it out
I feel this way with my backlog on ps plus premium from ps1-5 games I'd love to find the time for. For homebrews and fan translations emulation is pretty awesome if you're an adult with enough time on your hands:3
This is why my physical collection stays in boxes. But when I want to play something, I emulate it. Put the milage on emulator machine rather than old hardware that breaks down easier.
It’s overwhelming how many options there are today. Now with emulation, I only add games to my emulator that I’ll play and it makes it easier to pick something. For my physical copies of older systems, I curated them to narrow down to games I actually wanna play as well.
With any collection it helps to organize so it's not just a big mess. Getting an entire set of roms and then looking through the list for a game to play is not a great strategy for most people. You're probably better off looking around for some lists like "Best NES games" or making your own short list of games you remember and putting them into a folder to play when you have game time. If you have 20 or less options of games to play like a lot of us did when we were kids it's going to be much easier to find something to play as that is how we used to do it. It doesn't mean you can't have the entire set of games somewhere. You just have to have a strategy that works for you to deal with it. But it's still down to you. You could have a box of 10 NES cartridges and still have the same problems you describe in the video. You might keep switching between games after getting bored or stuck.
Excellent point. I always talk about emulation. But you are 100%right. The emulator just becomes a giant list. And when I pull a game off the shelf. I commit to it.
While this has been an issues for me for over a decade now. Now, while my physical and digital collection continues to grow, I find myself starting to have the same issues there as well. I say this to say that while this is more commonly an emulation issue, it can definitely happen with physicals, too. It all stems from having too many choices available.
My strategy for dealing with choice paralysis on these streaming services is to build a watch list and then restrict myself to just the titles on that, usually in order.
You are completely correct on the points you made throughout the video. I think the same way about it. Even if it's not emulation, but Everdrives does the same thing. You have lots of choices on them aswell, and then you are less likely to play those games fully through. With physical games you will more often play them fully through. Because it also took more effort to get those games and there is often a story behind them. You appreciate them more.
I think i can totally relate to everything said in the video! Its almost impossible to pick a movie, or youtube video, or even a song if im using an online service or multicart etc. I even agree with using RF for some consoles. I have a Hitachi TV from 1985 that I got from my Elementary school when they were tossing it sometime in the 00s. it only has an RF connection but it has a great picture and a strong picture tube since schools rarely use TVs. I find i have the most fun just choosing a console and using one the 10-15 carts I have for it and just sticking with it for a while. after a while I can finally relax and make progress on a game and feel good about it! I used to use emulators and rely more on save states but Ive learned that the practice of replaying levels really sharpens my skills and makes it easier to get farther into a game.
I prefer to play on og consoles. The principal reason I got into game collecting and gaming as a whole, is the software and not really the hardware. I am not really tech savvy so I just prefer to use the simplest ways to play games. Plus, since my passion for retrogaming isn’t driven by any nostalgia (gen Z), it is for maximum authenticity so I can better recreate the original setting the game would have been experienced. It requires lots of discipline to play a game because the abundance of choice can stop you for experiencing thoroughly any piece of media. Furthermore, I agree, there is a massive difference between just trying a game and playing/completing/100% it. I would consider that the ladder has experienced the game. Though I disagree on having to beat a game to consider I have played it, I always go to the furthest in the game and change game when I consider I have experienced and don’t want to play anymore. But that is just me, I am more interested in game design and ideas than the conclusion of a story. But you do get better discussions comparing someone that definitely experienced it and someone that just tried a ROM on an emulator (or equivalent) for like 5-10 minutes and that’s it.
Having physical games, in a rather unique way, motivates me to play more games. As for choice paralysis, it's real even with Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, two services I like, but I honestly play more physically.
Doomscrolling and showing what looks like the nintendo switch online retro game cataloge for the thumbnail fits so well. I'll hop on NES online and never want to pick anything but I pull out my actual nes and have way more fun because I only have 5 games
As a dude with maybe 500 games on Steam, digital doom scrolling is real. That being said a lot of them I only added because they were free, but still, doom scrolling.
I've been emulating for 26 years, while also owning real hardware and games. Choice paralysis hasn't been an issue for me. I tend to get in moods and pick a game and stick with it. I've always preferred playing on real hardware but I also like having options. If there's a power outage I can still play my retro games on my MacBook or iPhone.
I’ll be honest I never grew up with the retro Nintendo consoles and handhelds so when they get added to switch online I look up all their best games and I’ve beaten most of them some of them I almost beat like golden sun but got stuck towards the end but yes I am the outlier who is young and loved retro games due to switch online I’ve beaten so many classics that way I’d love to have a retro collection someday as well so I don’t believe either method is better or worse personally just as long as you enjoy the games
Emulating since Nesticle in the late 90's. I've managed to avoid all the pitfalls you guys speak on. I beat my games, and don't have to tinker with CRT's, a dozen consoles, 40 year old controllers, retrotinks and RF connections and all the rest. I have an old computer running retrobat. The kids and I play all the time. EDIT: I have a CRT, NES/SNES/GEN and a hundred carts, but we almost never play that way. I basically leave it set up for Duck Hunt. 🙂
Just let people play how they want. You do you. You're not better or right just because you prefer playing original hardware and that thing you're talking about could definitely happen when you look behind you with all the games to choose, emulation is awesome and I say far superior to physical media.
Another thing that has to be pointed out is that emulation is not 100% accurate and this can be a pain to deal with especially when your playing games like Punch-Out. I've downloaded a bunch of Roms and it still doesn't compare to the real thing. Which can also make people think that a game is harder than what it actually is.
100% Apparently there are ways to fix that issue but I've never felt an emulated version of Punch Out that feels right. Still waiting for someone to show me.
@@GamingOffTheGrid Their might be, but as you guys said in the video. You'll be stuck tinkering more with settings and programs than actually playing the game. Been there done that and it's not fun, at least for me.
I developed a solution for this, all my everdrives have a folder named FAVORITES, where i put only 10 to 15 games and I always go to that folder first, but I keep the fulll romsets in there too, just in another separate folder
I have never emulated before in my life playing games. Most expensive games are not even that good as "TH-camrs" say they are. I don't let fomo get to me. If there is a game I cannot afford, it is my loss or I'll save up money if I really want to play it. I am a physical original collector. I hate people who emulate games. . .
I don’t understand what the point of this video was, to bash people that emulate and assume that the majority of people think like you do? I think yall are projecting your own personal issues and creating scenarios for you to be mad about. You say you don’t like gatekeeping but that’s literally what you’re attempting to do. 🤷🏽♂️
I experience the same overwhelming choice paralysis when emulating. Also, there can be a huge difference between gaming on original hardware with original games versus emulating. I’ve had night and day experiences with the same exact game.
Choice paralysis is a thing. Back when I was growing up I only had my N64 and I would only buy a game when finished with the last. No choice needed as I only had one choice - play the new game or an old game. These days, I buy games all the time on sale and I never get around to playing them or I start for an hour or two and put it down to play another game. Need to be more disciplined…!
It is worse with emulation but it happens with physical/Steam/etc too. I believe everyone should have the rule of only buying a game if you're going to play it, and only being allowed to buy a new game after you beat the previous one
This makes it hard, because I emulate games that I’ve heard about and made me wish that I owned those original retro games. But it’s hard to find them in stores for good prices. I remembered when I only had like 10-15 Wii or ds games and I’ve been playing them a lot of times during my childhood. And to answer your question about NSO games, I’ve finished 4 nes games, 1 snes games , 1 n64 games, 2 game boy games and 1 game boy advance games, just not the entire thing because I’m not interested in most of them and some of them I would love to play, it’s just not convenient for me which is why I’m mainly focusing on games I bought.
I buy retro games, Sega ones specifically. At one point I bought an Everdrive for the Genesis which had the full Master System and Genesis roms preloaded onto it. I thought it would be cool to try games I did not have, but I ended up not using it much. I would scroll and not get invested in anything. I kept going back to using physical copies of retro games I had bought. It didn't take me too long to realize how I felt about the sit. I kept going back to the physical, because I had an investment of money and time, etc with with them. The story of getting each game, the money spent on it, the people I was spending time with then if they were then when I bought the games, etc. I had none of that with a list of ROMs pre-loaded onto a 3rd party cart. I gave the Everdrive away to a friend for free, zero regrets. Really, all I got out of an Everdrive positivity wise was playing a fan translation ROM of a Japanese Mega Drive game that I own physically, that I wanted to better understand and finally see the ending of.
Guys, you nailed it again, and I totally get it. I feel the same way, and I'm happily satisfied about it. On a different subject, I always enjoy your tournament episodes. What would you think about doing a tournament video of best NES soundtracks?
As a newer parent, I’ve done a little research on this kind of thing. Kids are less likely to play with their toys if they have too many choices, the amount of choices gets so overwhelming that they eventually revert to wanting to watch TV or less engaging activities. We now rotate out my daughter’s toys. I use this approach to playing games. Each year, outside of modern games, I pick one retro console to play every couple months and play through a few games. I actually unhook my other consoles. Then I will switch it out for another one. By the end of the year, I’ve completed more games than I would have if I had left everything hooked up and had immediate access.
Yea, that's what I try to do too. Just play ONE GAME till it's done, or I'm done with it. Then go find another one. Cuz with the switch, those dang sales...I have a HUGE BACKLOG.
You are 1000% right! I have a two year old and learned the same thing. We limit our daughter to 4-6 toys and then every month or two swap them out. We put the toys she doesn’t play with in the closet and put other toys out. Rinse and repeat. I had a colleague who did this 30 years ago and I remembered it. I also have a restriction on TV time. No more than 1 hour a day and more liberal on the weekends. Absolutely NO access to iPhones or iPads. I’m very cautious about screen-time.
We had to limit our kids to three toy types each, as a way to limit both the physical and mental clutter. The playroom has much more space to play in, it’s easy enough now to maintain as they can quickly put stuff away, and they enjoy their activities for an hour or so at a stretch - rather than five minutes and off to the next.
Smartttt. Prob with my snes and FXPAK pro on my CRT TV Sony Trinitron is I have the entire SNES library and can never decide on what to play 😂
Oh my god, I do this and i always wondered why I am such a lazy pos...but this makes sense. Choice paralysis is so real, my brain is blown
I'm a huge fan of OG consoles with Everdrives. The key to me is to curate the list of games to ones I played as a kid and others I know I want to play. If I have everything in there, it just clogs it up.
Yep, this is the move. I have separate folders, one like you mentioned, and one with the rest. Best way to do it, and I've completed more games this way by default.
Choice Paralysis is definitely a real thing. I have PS Plus Premium and I have so many games to choose from but I never end up playing 75% of them.
The thing I hate about being on Plus Premium, is that it never feels like I can just play what I want when I want. It always feels like a race against time when the next batch of games set to leave is announced. It's annoying.
Same here. I have a 6tb external drive almost completely full of PS4 games and a 2tb m.2 internal drive that is full in My PS5. I never play any of those games. They were so expensive and are all amazing games but I just can't bring myself to play them.
After several years of gaming, I gradually found that sweet spot between both worlds of emulation and physical. Although I play more physical games that I enjoy and have great replay value. Emulation allows me to discover and experience those games before I acquire them physically.
That's the way.
I think the same effect can be had when you have alot of physical games too. I got so many I have to wonder about what to play. I just think you have to beat what you play or only play a select set of games to completion before starting another one.
I try to never dump a giant library on my rom carts. It makes it too difficult to choose what to play. I have the library on my pc and can just drag and drop if I truly want to switch it up. I prefer having like 10 games tops on the cart at a time.
The only 2 places I have a giant library stored locally are my Wii U and Xbox 360 because those stores went down and I wanted my digital library all downloaded offline so I wouldn’t lose access to them
The truth of this situation is that when you buy a physical game, you are more likely to play it. You already made a decision to purchase it, and most people feel some pull to justify the purchase, making play more likely. However, once a collection hits a certain size, a similar situation to doom scrolling becomes just as likely.
The solution varies by person. For some, that means culling and curating physical collections. For others, emulating or everdrives require an arbitrary ruleset, be it a schedule, random selection, or another gameplan that narrows selection like playing a certain series.
A curated collection is what feels best to me personally, although sometimes I still just stare at shelves. When I was a kid and only had a few games, I played each game to death. Now, I tend to make sure to really play new purchases and give an effort to finish them as long as I'm having fun. I also try to be honest with myself and play what I'm in the mood to play, even if that means playing Hollow Knight shortly after I just beat Hollow Knight.
Also, as to how many games I've beaten on Switch Online apps, probably around 30. Funny thing is, I already own physical copies of most and was either away from home or just didn't feel like going downstairs.
It's the opposite for me, honestly. I have a bunch of physical games, but I don't play them much because they're for the switch which is cumbersome to carry around. I've actually played and finished more games on my Rp4 because it's a lot more portable. A simple favorites list and a rule not to play more than one type of genre at a time ensures that I don't just doom scroll.
Tell that to my backlog of hundreds of purchased Steam, Xbox, PS4, and PS5 games. Crazy deals convince me to purchase games I may never play.
This
I kinda disagree. I’ve bought plenty of games and sometimes never even opened them. You can get stuck “not choosing” a game no matter how you play. Whether it’s old school or on a PC, you can get paralyzed.
I know what I have to do, I just haven't done it yet. Dedicate one day for each console. Monday only play NES, Tuesday only play SNES, Wednesday only play N64... etc. Come up with a list of the games you want to play on each system and just play that game until you beat it and then move onto the next game on the list. It sounds simple but saying it and doing it are two different things.
This sounds like a great idea.
Thats too much work to just have fun dude are you serious?
I have a friend who is very structured. He plays each console (he has only 4). One month each for an entire month.
@@krazykuz13cmc Perhaps he doesn't see it as work.
I did something similar to you, except not quite so intense. I was setting aside Mondays to be "retro day." On that day, I would play only any older, retro game that I'd been meaning to finish. My current "retro day" game is Viewtiful Joe. I can't believe I've still never beaten it.
Doom Scrolling is exasperated by having only a brief amount of time to play. Most adults experience that there is more choices (thanks to more disposable income) and less time (due to more responsibilities) when it comes to enjoying our entertainment. If you only have an hour to spare do you really want to start that 60+ hour RPG? Will you spend half your time downloading updates and the other half watching opening cutscenes? The paralysis comes from not wanting to waste that precious time while you end up frittering it away anyway. Got to love adulting.
this is actually why i like retroachievements. i don't have to pay for it and it keeps me engaged in the same game for a while thus getting my well spent time into the game
In terms of tinkering around I think the best motto to live by is the Simpsons quote “Just play the damn game”😂
I had the equivalent of doom scrolling with the first iteration of my physical collection, when I was just buying every game in sight. It was so overwhelming just staring at a literal wall of games. I ended up selling that collection off and kept my favorites, and bought everdrives.
What I discovered about everdrives is that it’s a great was to try games on original hardware before you buy, especially when it comes to games above the $100 territory. I now only buy physical copies of games that I truly enjoy, and find that I’m much happier with my collection. Like you guys, I do enjoy the everdrives and disk drive emulators for bringing a console over to a friends house. But nothing beats firing up the actual game the way we did as kids and hearing that “ka-Ching” sound when you turn on the Trinitron. Great video dudes!
I love that plunk sound of turning on my Trinitron!
As a longtime gamer, sentimental game collector as well as a game reviewer, I have a huge digital collection and growing physical collection of games I love across Xbox and PlayStation platforms. In recent years I have gotten serious about getting through the majority of them, not to mention make actual content out of the experience as the two of you have. Problem is, I'm getting older and I don't have the seemingly limitless energy I once had. And more importantly, I am realizing that I probably don't have the time left it would take to accomplish it. Gaming takes on a whole new meaning when you come to grips with the reality that you don't have all the time in the world to play ALL THE GAMES. I still love gaming and I don't plan to quit, but there is a lot of existential dread and anxiety that gamers like me have to overcome the "choice paralysis" that you are talking about.
Even with physical games, there's some choice paralysis. As my collection grew, I'd just be staring at my shelves like "Nah...not that". I started to take out games and put them in front of the other games, so i only really focus on those to beat. With Steam and EmuStation I made a custom list of 4-5 games called "GO HERE FIRST" so that once I beat one of those games, I can rotate it out for something else and not scroll through roms watching gameplay videos for fun.
on that note too, blitzing through those emulation games with savestates, rewind and all that jazz kinda ruins a lot of the experience. You can blitz through a NES game in like 40 minutes with savestates, but you dont get that same sense of accomplishment from beating Castlevania without states.
We live in the age of opposites. Stores used to be full of games and our homes had few. Now the stores are empty and our homes are full. We used to have so much free time and so few games. Now we have thousands of games and no free time.
the loss of time is sadly mandatory for the employed
Good topic, men. I had a 20" Zenith in the early 90s that looked amazing through RF... still chasing that look and feel. I do love the CRTs I still have. I only feel really good about a game that has an ending when I finish it and that is less often every year. I am closing in on cutting everything off like it was when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. No internet, no TH-cam, and no streaming for a year. I have so many physical systems and games still to play from Atari 2600 to PS5, but I am always browsing the sales for something new on Steam, GOG, Switch, PS5, etc. I am constantly thinking TH-cam has more to offer and if I search more/longer I'll find better content... TH-cam does not work that way, it gets worse! I have lost focus in the last 20 years. I fondly remember actually enjoying being bored when I was a kid. Time to turn back the clock.
Completely agree! I'm selling off all my emulation handhelds. Just keeping one, because the same thing applies.
My 13 year old son and I play our games on original hardware. We just beat the first streets of rage on genesis last night. Next up, dinosaurs for hire! ITS ON!
Hell ya!!! Dino's for Hire is great co-op fun for sure!
The best thing about emulation is the romhacks. The wrestling modhacks are getting pretty amazing and feel like lost games I missed out on.
I 100% agree with this! Love that aspect of it. Bless the folks that are doing that work
Rom hacks keep the NES alive if you still have one. "Mario Adventure 3" is the newest game. You also have "Rugrats" which is a brand new game but you have to pay for that one. It plays like Mario 2. Pick up and throw.
This can be said about a physical collection as well. When I had my larger one, I kept just struggling to pick a game from my backlog. After I sold a lot of my collection and only had a few more options, I was able to finally pick a game instead of jumping through them,
I feel the choice paralysis. I set up Dolphin and RPCS3, and I haven’t beat a single game on them. Meanwhile I have beaten all 24 of my physical wii games, 7 GameCube games, and 3 PS3 games. Love my modded 3DS and PS Vita but I don’t really play anything I don’t have the cartridge for.
The odd thing out has surprisingly been the switch apps you brought up. I think I beat Oracle of Seasons, Zelda 2, Super Ghouls N’Ghosts, Zelda 1, Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, and now I am currently playing Earthbound. I don’t have any of them physically (yet), and played them all for the first time on the switch. The choice paralysis can still kick in but for some reason I was able to get more attached and stick with certain games on the switch over pc emulators. Feels very illogical, but it just happened for me I guess 😂.
If using an Everdrive, one thing that helps me is to use the recently played menu or just press Start at boot up to jump back into the most recently played game. This keeps you away from the menus of endless choice. For consoles with an ODE, you could load a single ISO to an SD card to stay focused. On a soft modded Xbox, the disc drive still works and can launch games.
100% agree with this, my thing is horror and collecting blu rays, i have zero streaming apps, i want physical media, it is the only way i watch movies, i dont want to scroll and scroll getting lost in a shuffle of nothing and just ending up watching something i will turn off half way thru cuz i know i can scroll on to the next one. Not my way of watching movies
For me personally doom scrolling has been an issue for BOTH emulation devices AND my physical collection. Someone else in the comments already mentioned it but once a library or collection hits a certain size doom scrolling becomes pretty much inevitable. It's all about how you deal with it and cut it down to a minimum. For me personally, I just pick a game I'm in the mood for or a game that I've yet to play or beat and I stick with it. As long as I'm having enough fun of course. I also tend to have 2 or 3 games that I'm alternating between. So for example; 1 modern game, an 8 or 16 bit retro game, and a sports game. Might seem like a weird formula but it works for me.
As for how many retro games I've beaten on emulation devices? Too many to count. Despite having a physical collection I tend to play SNES, NES and Sega Genesis on the mini consoles. I have the entire libraries on there and I just find them more convenient. Don't have have to dig out the physical cartridges and put more wear and tear on them. Save states. The controllers are the exact replicas of the originals so the "feel" and ergonomics remain exactly the same. Anything pre 5th gen I usually emulate. But 5th, 6th and even 7th gen I play on original hardware.
I realized a year ago that I was no longer interested in retro gaming. The truth is I'm a casual online multiplayer gamer. PS5 and Switch. I game between 8-12 hours a week.
As someone who recently started collecting retro games as an adult again recently I can relate to everything about what you guys are saying. Though you seem to have so many games back there on that wall that it might start to feel like an Everdrive menu if it doesn't already lol.
You're the only one apart from myself who has mentioned the wall of games behind them
Too many physical games can be just as overwhelming as a list of roms...
Personally i use retropie loaded with just 5 or 6 roms, and it works well, i play the games with no scrolling..
This is something I am working on as of recently; I’ve gotten into Emulation and my Backlog was multiplied by a hundred. What I am doing is cataloging every game and going about it in the following manner:
1. Chose whatever game that is a quick play in any day and just give it a quick session.
2. Chose a long game that you know you want to try, or even if you have beaten it before, and try to not play more than one or two hours on it.
3. Any games in between that require less than 20 hour to beat, give it half an hour.
4. Most important: you can abandon games. It’s ok. You can circle back to them if you want.
5. And finally: play for fun, not to complete. Make up a list of the desired order to play them, or chose at random.
This is something that I am working on as of recently; I’ve gotten into Emulation and my Backlog was multiplied by a hundred. What I am doing is cataloging every game and going about it in the following manner:
1. Chose whatever game that is a quick play in any day and just give it a quick session.
2. Chose a long game that you know you want to try, or even if you have beaten it before, and try to not play more than one or two hours on it.
3. Any games in between that require less than 20 hour to beat, give it half an hour.
4. Most important: you can abandon games. It’s ok. You can circle back to them if you want.
5. And finally: play for fun, not to complete. Don’t pressure yourself. Make up a list of the desired order to play them, or chose at random.
I am currently playing Wind Waker and Sonic Jam, after beating RE2 on Gamecube and Call of Duty Frontlines. I abandoned Skies of Arcadia, but will go back to it another time. I am enjoying this process.
I agree with the idea of having too many options but you can train yourself. If I pick out a game on an everdrive I have to give it x amount of time before changing. Having 1000’s of physical games is the same concept imo. I game more in the winter time because my job is seasonal, but game about the same amount since I sold most physical. As long as I’m playing on og hardware with the proper controller I’m good.
Couldn't agree more. I used to be such an ADHD tinkerer with all my converters and adapters and shit that might've cost me a couple PS2 grails at this point. And I've probably spend 50+ hours flipping through the Switch Online catalogues and I've only beaten one game through it. You guys got me back on the original hardware kick since I started watching and I've been beating and enjoying my collection so much more. Cheers guys 🍻
OMG!! This has been a huge topic for me for a long time. Even when I still had my huge physical collection. While (technically hardware emulation) i exclusively use a MiSTer or Analog Pocket, I have also been playing a curated list of games. It started when I first used flash carts. Making top 150 lists. After doing this, I immediately found I spent less time doom scrolling and more time playing. Today I have 500 game list on the MiSTer. I still have access to complete 1G1R libraries just in case I want to play some random game. I rarely stray from it. The input delay (more accurately display lag) with emulation makes it unplayable for me. For the reasons as stated in your video. For me, it destroys the nostalgia of it. Having said all of that, if it brings more people into the hobby or more importantly, it brings them joy, then, for them, they are doing something right and no one should take that away from them.
Also when emulating you dont need to waste time to doom scrolling ebay and yard sales and you have more time for actual playing
Unless you enjoy the hunt…… then it’s not a waste of time.
@detroitvick23 true
Thing is we LOVE to do those things. It brings excitement even more waiting for a game to arrive. And hunting Who knows WHAT out there. It's ALL apart of the physical gaming fun bra
Choice PARALYSIS is a real problem with emulation that I ran into. With me I don’t have a full rom set but just have small number of games that will actually play.
When I had a c-64 and we all traded hacked games I had hundreds on disk. It was exactly like this I played a ton of games but only 10-15 minutes each to see what they were like and never got back to 99% of them. ONLY the ones I bought did I play and beat. You’re spot on with emulation.
I have multiple folders on my ever drives and a Folder called 'games I should try' which are interesting games I may have missed.
I will never sell my collection off, but I am using a Retron5, Analogue Duo and a Retron 77. I have all the OG consoles. It is just way too much of a hassle in my place to use them.
I don’t have any problem picking a game and beating it through emulation. I try not to waste what little time I have. If I want to play a particular game I just play it whether through emulation or not. I have an everdrive for my n64 and the full library on it. I don’t have any issues picking a game there either. But I know most people deal with choice paralysis
Some people also get so caught up in collecting, sorting, upgrading and indexing physical games they don't play them.
I finally finished def jam ffny this year!
And before that, the last game i
beat was RED FACTION A YEAR AFTER RELEASE DATE😌
This vid was dead on fellas!,
I'm going through that right now!😮😢😅
You guys hit the nail on the head however One of the good things about emulation is it's cheaper, isn't it? Having said that, I love finding PS3 games on the cheap and I'm in PS3 heaven right now
This is one of the many phenomena that has manifested as an unforeseen side effect of society jumping headfirst into technology we weren't totally ready for yet. Choice paralysis can happen with physical media too but is enormously exacerbated by digitized media. There is also such a thing as too much convenience in life, meaningful friction and a degree of effort/inconvenience restores a sense of purpose and fulfillment to a hobby and entertainment.
Backloggery allows you to mark games as high or low priority, plus it has a great feature where it will randomly select 1 (or a few games) for you. Nice ways to help avoid paralysis.
A few ways to help you stick with games through emulation is create a retroachievements login and start having a blast earning tons of challenging achievements. Another is have a buddy play the same game as you so you can talk about it. Having a conversation about a level or boss you're stuck on. A difficult achievement you earned, etc. The too many choices is why steam users have so many games in their back catalog. They buy so many games at once super cheap and never play them. If you spend a decent amount for a game you're typically gonna play it.
Another thing in the topic: I prefer to play my dvds and blue-rays rather than searching for any app. Endless scrolling is a bleeping nightmare.
As someone who’s fully kitted out their childhood 3DS, Wii and Wii U with the USA library I can confirm I don’t touch those consoles NEARLY as often
I initially bought my WII for modding purposes to get all the games but honestly I’m buying my collection physically. Even though I use an adapter to play on my modern tv I’m still having a really fun time playing all these games I never played.
As someone who emulates primarily on PC (not on official apps like NSO), I have beaten more retro games on my PC than I have on original hardware from when I was young. I enjoy them a lot. The choice paralysis is there to some degree but it usually doesn't take me long to find a game to sink a day or two into. The tinkering... I've done plenty of that, adjusting the fine details of a CRT filter, finding ways to reduce input lag (Had a lot of good luck with that. My monitor has g-sync so that's been wonderful for input lag and games that run at strange refresh rates), managing or even creating boxarts, creating control schemes to make the games nicer for modern controllers (LOOKING AT YOU, N64!), etc. It's all very involved and time-consuming. I've learned to enjoy some of the tinkering aspects. But most importantly I haven't forgotten how to enjoy the games and get lost in them for hours. You know what helps with choice paralysis? Removal of the games that you don't think you're gonna get around to playing in the nearish future. Reduce the choices. With unofficial emulation, you have more control. It's really up to you on how to go about this emulation stuff. Don't just accept what Nintendo and Sony give you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go replay Sparkster (SNES) without any frame drops.
I own an original Toaster Nes that I gave to my son a few years back. We do have some original carts, but he mainly plays through multicarts purchased off of AliExpress. I have an Original Wii thats modded and I do just dabble, but I don't play it very often. My son has beaten a few Gamecube games using this same modded Wii. He enjoys using the OG Gamecube controllers. I do have an extensive PS4 and PS5 disc collection that includes many OG games. I have a PS4 Pro hooked up in the basement to a 60" Plasma and HD CRT. My PS5 is hooked up to a 50" Plasma next to me in the Garage where I work. I play 90 percent of all my PS5 games physically. Great Video!!
I decided to come back and add that I used to own a Switch with all of the Online controllers, including the Genesis one, and I never played anything but NES games on the service. I never beat a game using the service, but I did play 20-30 hours worth of Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros 2. It was mainly the rewind feature. I sold all my Switch stuff to get into the PS5, and I couldnt be happier. I do have Yuzu on my PC with the full Online service stuff and me and a Bro did beat Super Mario Bros 3 that way recently. Its strange but I prefer using that service through Yuzu, its emulation through emulation. I honestly only emulate maybe 10 hours a month at most, and I have 2.5TB full of emulators and roms.
I really could care less about emulation at this point for the most part, except for preservation of the Retro stuff. Strangely though if all the roms and emulators ceased to be tomorrow, I wouldn't feel that sad about it.
I totally agree with you guys. It’s hard for me to be motivated to play games in emulation. Just too many options and it gets almost frustrating looking through everything.
Dude! Yes! This is such a real thing! I've done this twice already, I modded my PS1 classic and Wii with all of the retro games I could have ever wanted..... I NEVER play them! I'm playing physical games instead. I'm watching blu rays a lot more as well!
The problem is you don't need every single game out there. You have to just purchase games that you will play and not just to complete them. You play them for what they are so when you finish them you play another but you can still go back to the game. Truth is we all get bored if a game eventually but the secret lies in quality over quantity. You need around 20 to 50 quality arcade games that you simply cycle through over time and go back to them. For me its classics like time crisis, lethal enforcers, point blank, crypt killer, nba jam te etc. I just enjoy the feeling of playing these titles over and over again and when i get a bit bored of one i change to another only to return to it when i feel the urge. Its a great way to retro game. Has to be physical games though, the artwork the discs etc it all adds to the feeling.
Dude. Grab a game and beat it. Just like when you were a kid. For me, that's nostalgia. It doesn't matter how I play it. I shut out the world and focus on this little task. It keeps me sane.
Having different systems in different rooms is just somehow better than having absolutely everything in one spot.
Yup, Had PS Plus and Nintendo Expansion Pak. Dabbled with a few games but never completed any to my knowledge. On the other hand my modded consoles been putting in work. Last month I started working my way though Final Fantasy Tactics on the PS1 X-Station and Bully on PS2.
I love it when you guys ruffle feathers...
Been playing Sega Genesis Classics on Switch. Completed PS3, PS4, and now doing PS2. I like it cause I play when I'm laying down before going to sleep, and can speed up game to help with grinding. Non RPG games on there I play on orginal hardware.
Also, I think another topic you guys should address is how easy it is to look up walkthroughs on YT rather than just figuring out how to beat certain levels through trial and error like back in the day. I even find myself doing that a lot honestly, with the lack of time.
The mini consoles go back in the box. The everdrives just sit around.
I think there is just a difference with how people want to play or how they care to play.
Sometimes a game just doesn't click at the time so you jump to another game. It's a lot easier with emulation but I still do it on occasion with physical games.
Analysis paryalasis is real.
Once upon a time I ran into this issue. Shows, games, even with meal prep sometimes. My solution is just to put everything I have in an organized list. My library of games for example, added ups comes to about 546. Everyday for a year, I roll the dice twice with a generator and whatever I land on, I commit to no matter what for that day. If I just so happen to be busy that day or not in the mood, I still make the selection just to omit it from list going forward. Not saying this works but it’s done wonders for me.
P.s Today my picks were Shining Force CD and Forza Horizon 4. Cheers.
I've been emulating and building my collection of games (roms) for over 20 years and choice paralysis is real. You have to have the willpower to stick to a few games and finish them before doom scrolling for something better. I make custom folders so I don't see hundreds of choices on the front end. Great video guys!
This is very true. As an adult where I can really buy a game I find my self “doom scrolling” all the time. And I own majority physical
Seems ironic talking about Doom scrolling sitting in front of all those games on the shelves behind you. I think anyone that collects ends up in the same place, ie too many games to choose from whether physical or digital or even ROMs.
Fair point! For me though, I feel like once the game is in the console I stick to it as opposed to being able to scroll. I have a large movie collection as well but am better off picking a movie and sticking it out.
Step 1: play it physical. Step 2: I don’t have a copy, play it on a loader/flash cart. Step 3: Do I wanna drop cheddar? Is this game stupid expensive? Step 4: Emulate to try it out
I feel this way with my backlog on ps plus premium from ps1-5 games I'd love to find the time for. For homebrews and fan translations emulation is pretty awesome if you're an adult with enough time on your hands:3
This is why my physical collection stays in boxes. But when I want to play something, I emulate it. Put the milage on emulator machine rather than old hardware that breaks down easier.
It’s overwhelming how many options there are today. Now with emulation, I only add games to my emulator that I’ll play and it makes it easier to pick something. For my physical copies of older systems, I curated them to narrow down to games I actually wanna play as well.
With any collection it helps to organize so it's not just a big mess. Getting an entire set of roms and then looking through the list for a game to play is not a great strategy for most people. You're probably better off looking around for some lists like "Best NES games" or making your own short list of games you remember and putting them into a folder to play when you have game time. If you have 20 or less options of games to play like a lot of us did when we were kids it's going to be much easier to find something to play as that is how we used to do it.
It doesn't mean you can't have the entire set of games somewhere. You just have to have a strategy that works for you to deal with it. But it's still down to you. You could have a box of 10 NES cartridges and still have the same problems you describe in the video. You might keep switching between games after getting bored or stuck.
Excellent point. I always talk about emulation. But you are 100%right. The emulator just becomes a giant list. And when I pull a game off the shelf. I commit to it.
While this has been an issues for me for over a decade now. Now, while my physical and digital collection continues to grow, I find myself starting to have the same issues there as well. I say this to say that while this is more commonly an emulation issue, it can definitely happen with physicals, too. It all stems from having too many choices available.
My strategy for dealing with choice paralysis on these streaming services is to build a watch list and then restrict myself to just the titles on that, usually in order.
You are completely correct on the points you made throughout the video. I think the same way about it.
Even if it's not emulation, but Everdrives does the same thing. You have lots of choices on them aswell, and then you are less likely to play those games fully through. With physical games you will more often play them fully through. Because it also took more effort to get those games and there is often a story behind them. You appreciate them more.
I think i can totally relate to everything said in the video! Its almost impossible to pick a movie, or youtube video, or even a song if im using an online service or multicart etc. I even agree with using RF for some consoles. I have a Hitachi TV from 1985 that I got from my Elementary school when they were tossing it sometime in the 00s. it only has an RF connection but it has a great picture and a strong picture tube since schools rarely use TVs. I find i have the most fun just choosing a console and using one the 10-15 carts I have for it and just sticking with it for a while. after a while I can finally relax and make progress on a game and feel good about it! I used to use emulators and rely more on save states but Ive learned that the practice of replaying levels really sharpens my skills and makes it easier to get farther into a game.
I prefer to play on og consoles.
The principal reason I got into game collecting and gaming as a whole, is the software and not really the hardware.
I am not really tech savvy so I just prefer to use the simplest ways to play games.
Plus, since my passion for retrogaming isn’t driven by any nostalgia (gen Z), it is for maximum authenticity so I can better recreate the original setting the game would have been experienced.
It requires lots of discipline to play a game because the abundance of choice can stop you for experiencing thoroughly any piece of media.
Furthermore,
I agree, there is a massive difference between just trying a game and playing/completing/100% it. I would consider that the ladder has experienced the game.
Though I disagree on having to beat a game to consider I have played it, I always go to the furthest in the game and change game when I consider I have experienced and don’t want to play anymore.
But that is just me, I am more interested in game design and ideas than the conclusion of a story.
But you do get better discussions comparing someone that definitely experienced it and someone that just tried a ROM on an emulator (or equivalent) for like 5-10 minutes and that’s it.
We grew up with demo discs, trying before buying the full game. Now we have the full games and we treat them like demo discs.
Input lag is my #1 reason I don’t emulate much. Try playing a shmup with input lag, terrible experience.
Having physical games, in a rather unique way, motivates me to play more games. As for choice paralysis, it's real even with Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, two services I like, but I honestly play more physically.
Doomscrolling and showing what looks like the nintendo switch online retro game cataloge for the thumbnail fits so well. I'll hop on NES online and never want to pick anything but I pull out my actual nes and have way more fun because I only have 5 games
Extreme G Racing 3 baby!
Guys please do a live stream of XG3
My top 10 game
As a dude with maybe 500 games on Steam, digital doom scrolling is real. That being said a lot of them I only added because they were free, but still, doom scrolling.
I've been emulating for 26 years, while also owning real hardware and games. Choice paralysis hasn't been an issue for me. I tend to get in moods and pick a game and stick with it. I've always preferred playing on real hardware but I also like having options. If there's a power outage I can still play my retro games on my MacBook or iPhone.
I’ll be honest I never grew up with the retro Nintendo consoles and handhelds so when they get added to switch online I look up all their best games and I’ve beaten most of them some of them I almost beat like golden sun but got stuck towards the end but yes I am the outlier who is young and loved retro games due to switch online I’ve beaten so many classics that way I’d love to have a retro collection someday as well so I don’t believe either method is better or worse personally just as long as you enjoy the games
Emulating since Nesticle in the late 90's. I've managed to avoid all the pitfalls you guys speak on. I beat my games, and don't have to tinker with CRT's, a dozen consoles, 40 year old controllers, retrotinks and RF connections and all the rest. I have an old computer running retrobat. The kids and I play all the time.
EDIT: I have a CRT, NES/SNES/GEN and a hundred carts, but we almost never play that way. I basically leave it set up for Duck Hunt. 🙂
Just let people play how they want. You do you. You're not better or right just because you prefer playing original hardware and that thing you're talking about could definitely happen when you look behind you with all the games to choose, emulation is awesome and I say far superior to physical media.
some emulators are better than others
Another thing that has to be pointed out is that emulation is not 100% accurate and this can be a pain to deal with especially when your playing games like Punch-Out. I've downloaded a bunch of Roms and it still doesn't compare to the real thing. Which can also make people think that a game is harder than what it actually is.
100% Apparently there are ways to fix that issue but I've never felt an emulated version of Punch Out that feels right. Still waiting for someone to show me.
@@GamingOffTheGrid Their might be, but as you guys said in the video. You'll be stuck tinkering more with settings and programs than actually playing the game. Been there done that and it's not fun, at least for me.
If the price was not so out of control I would do all physical, but there’s no way I’m paying $1000 for one game
I’ll never be convinced in 2024 that RF is good
Have you tried it on a 13 inch CRT?
I developed a solution for this, all my everdrives have a folder named FAVORITES, where i put only 10 to 15 games and I always go to that folder first, but I keep the fulll romsets in there too, just in another separate folder
I have never emulated before in my life playing games. Most expensive games are not even that good as "TH-camrs" say they are. I don't let fomo get to me. If there is a game I cannot afford, it is my loss or I'll save up money if I really want to play it. I am a physical original collector. I hate people who emulate games. . .
I don’t understand what the point of this video was, to bash people that emulate and assume that the majority of people think like you do? I think yall are projecting your own personal issues and creating scenarios for you to be mad about. You say you don’t like gatekeeping but that’s literally what you’re attempting to do. 🤷🏽♂️
Great topic. Great discussion. Subbed and liked.
I experience the same overwhelming choice paralysis when emulating. Also, there can be a huge difference between gaming on original hardware with original games versus emulating. I’ve had night and day experiences with the same exact game.
Emulation and honestly just digital games can create this problem. I am guilty of not giving games a chance.
Choice paralysis is a thing. Back when I was growing up I only had my N64 and I would only buy a game when finished with the last. No choice needed as I only had one choice - play the new game or an old game.
These days, I buy games all the time on sale and I never get around to playing them or I start for an hour or two and put it down to play another game. Need to be more disciplined…!
It is worse with emulation but it happens with physical/Steam/etc too.
I believe everyone should have the rule of only buying a game if you're going to play it, and only being allowed to buy a new game after you beat the previous one
Possible Cure: make your own NES mini, Classics hits, Capcom Compilation folder for the everdrive carts; not ALL of them.
This makes it hard, because I emulate games that I’ve heard about and made me wish that I owned those original retro games. But it’s hard to find them in stores for good prices. I remembered when I only had like 10-15 Wii or ds games and I’ve been playing them a lot of times during my childhood. And to answer your question about NSO games, I’ve finished 4 nes games, 1 snes games , 1 n64 games, 2 game boy games and 1 game boy advance games, just not the entire thing because I’m not interested in most of them and some of them I would love to play, it’s just not convenient for me which is why I’m mainly focusing on games I bought.
I buy retro games, Sega ones specifically. At one point I bought an Everdrive for the Genesis which had the full Master System and Genesis roms preloaded onto it. I thought it would be cool to try games I did not have, but I ended up not using it much. I would scroll and not get invested in anything. I kept going back to using physical copies of retro games I had bought.
It didn't take me too long to realize how I felt about the sit. I kept going back to the physical, because I had an investment of money and time, etc with with them. The story of getting each game, the money spent on it, the people I was spending time with then if they were then when I bought the games, etc. I had none of that with a list of ROMs pre-loaded onto a 3rd party cart.
I gave the Everdrive away to a friend for free, zero regrets. Really, all I got out of an Everdrive positivity wise was playing a fan translation ROM of a Japanese Mega Drive game that I own physically, that I wanted to better understand and finally see the ending of.
Guys, you nailed it again, and I totally get it. I feel the same way, and I'm happily satisfied about it.
On a different subject, I always enjoy your tournament episodes. What would you think about doing a tournament video of best NES soundtracks?