Ok so  have to amend this one.. slightly.

For Xmas I bought wife a dedicated android emulation console and a hand held thingie ( sort of like a PSP, but uses emulators for several game consoles )

Wed Dec 06 2023 20:09:50 EST from Nurb432

The last console i bought was a Jaguar. ( should not surprise anyone, being the Atari fan i am. even tho it wasn't a general purpose computer it was way ahead of things. )

I think i paid about 200, in early 1990 dollars. 

When you have a system that works, why change it?  Minimal story, maximum gameplay.

Sun Jan 07 2024 13:37:25 EST from IGnatius T Foobar

My kids are playing the latest Super Mario game. The same one they've been making over and over again for the last 40 years, just with new graphics and new features, but it's basically the same platform sidescroller, and it still manages to hold the attention of gamers for all these decades. Incredible.

To get everyone to upgrade... $$$$

Sun Jan 07 2024 17:22:52 EST from LadySerenaKitty

When you have a system that works, why change it?  Minimal story, maximum gameplay.

 

why not just buy her an actual PSP?

Because a PSP plays PSP games. This emulates 30+ machines. 

Sun Feb 11 2024 00:11:57 EST from nemo

why not just buy her an actual PSP?

Unless you are into 'faithful reproduction' not sure FPGA is worth the effort to be honest.  Emulation gives you the same 'end effect'. and lots more support, both hardware options and software. 

I almost went that route with the wife, but figured why bother with the extra overhead, and form factor ( the psp form factor, makes it easier to use too  just one box to deal with, and she can select the emulator in a pretty android menu.. )

Wed Feb 21 2024 00:59:38 EST from IGnatius T Foobar

Retro gaming is pretty cool. I don't have the time or patience to do the FPGA thing, but my kids (18 and 23) still love to play games that were written decades ago in emulation mode on the new consoles. Classic games one day, their modern counterparts the next day, they love them all.

Next time ParanoidDelusions comes around these parts he'll tell you that FPGA is the absolute best if you want the most faithful reproduction of the original experience.  And that makes sense if you think about it.  Even low end hardware is so much faster than the old stuff that we really can do perfect emulation, but you get huge pixels that are perfectly square.  The same could be said for sound; it's technically the correct sound but it's a little too good, kind of the same as when people deliberately put tubes in their amplifiers to warm up their digital sounds.

But it's work.  You can't just load it up and go.

There are some 'kits' to make it not hard to.

But i do tend to agree, unless you are a purist, emulation is fine, and easier.   And if you are REAL purist, even FPGA wont work as its not truly the same as true discrete logic and stuff....