I'm thinking of getting back into gaming.

Takumaji

Master Enabler
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Hey Gamefan, we've been there before, eh. :)

The initial cost of either a reasonable MISTer setup or original hardware + SD/ODE will be quite considerable which also depends on the monitors or TVs you are going to play the games on.

MISTer outputs HDMI as a standard so you can connect it to a current TV straight away. Original consoles usually have RF, Composite or RGB output so you would need an upscaler like OSSC or Retrotink to get a decent picture. Of course you could also go the oldschool route and get yourself a CRT TV for the old machines. However, you might have to mod some of them to improve the video quality which would add to the overall cost.

There are SD carts (Everdrive) for cart-based systems and ODEs (optical disc emulators) for disc-based consoles like PSX or DC, both let you use ROMs/ISOs to play on the real machine. Everdrives are easy to use, just put some ROMs on the SD card that comes with it, put it in and you're set while ODEs need a bit more effort to get it to work. Some of them completely replace the old optical disc drive of a console, others are an add-on that still lets you use original media on the system. This may be something to consider if you still have some original games which you want to use on the real hardware.

There still is good old emulation, tho - all you need to get access to tens of thousands of games is a moderately fast computer, a few emulators, ROMs and maybe a USB pad or stick. Emus like MAME have come along way and even if there are some games that still aren't 100% emulated, the vast majority of them run flawlessly. It's by far the cheapest way to play older games, including those on disc-based systems like PSX or DC.
 

kernow

The Goob Hunter
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A mister is wayy cheaper than a bunch of old modded retro shit with a tiny sample of games tbh
 

Takumaji

Master Enabler
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A mister is wayy cheaper than a bunch of old modded retro shit with a tiny sample of games tbh
I have difficulties finding a shop atm, there are some over here as well but they're all out of stock of those Terasic mainboards. Any tips?
 

madmanjock

Bare AES Handler
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Yagamikun, I am looking at mainly getting into Japanese
To be more concise, I am looking to play games for the following systems:

Super Famicom
Saturn
Dreamcast
PlayStation
PlayStion 2

I might look at others later.

A nice hacked early phat PS3 gets you all the PS1/PS2 libraries over hdmi.
 

Hattori Hanzo

AEShole
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I have difficulties finding a shop atm, there are some over here as well but they're all out of stock of those Terasic mainboards. Any tips?
Directly @Terassic is probably the best option at the moment:

Bought mine here, recommended but it's been a while:

Others:



Aliexpress also lists them but I won't recommend spending almost the same money in China without support if something happens.
 

herb

Vice's Love Slave
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Man up and purchase the real sh8t.You'll appreciate it more and you can always get your money back or more out of it if you decide to sell it off.
Think of it as an investment you can have fun with and then cash out when you decide to bail.
BB
Yea listen to guy who can't tolerate MSG about manliness lol
 

Neo Alec

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
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So many Mister replies. Here's the answer about real hardware:

For 16-bit systems there are everdrives, and for 32-bit you can load games from ODE's (though I've managed to get by with real games and the occasional CDR). You have to research the best ODE for each, and wait for them to be available or pay marked up prices on ebay.
 

Hattori Hanzo

AEShole
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I also prefer original hardware on a CRT. Would still recommend the MiSTer as an all in one solution in 2023 especially when you already play on a flatscreen.
ODEs, flashcarts & the MiSTer are the best things that happened in our pretty gay hobby recently. The MiSTer is awesome due to its open source aspect with constant updates from the community. Bought mine when the Neo Geo core was released and now you can play PSX on it.
 
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kernow

The Goob Hunter
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So many Mister replies. Here's the answer about real hardware:

For 16-bit systems there are everdrives, and for 32-bit you can load games from ODE's (though I've managed to get by with real games and the occasional CDR). You have to research the best ODE for each, and wait for them to be available or pay marked up prices on ebay.
That's because it's the cheapest and best option
 

Dr Shroom

made it in japan
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Just emulate, get a Pi or some shit. You guys are massively retarded for spending several hundred bucks just to play something you played thirty years ago.
 

NexusX

Astra Superstar
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Jul 16, 2017
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665
Like most people have already said here. Your best route is FPGA or emulation route. Find the games that you actually want to play and sit back and enjoy them without caring what you're playing them on.
 

kernow

The Goob Hunter
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Like most people have already said here. Your best route is FPGA or emulation route. Find the games that you actually want to play and sit back and enjoy them without caring what you're playing them on.
I find usually it's not about the games at all tbh, more the nostalgia of playing the old machine. If it's not about the games then yeah why bother owning, modding old hardware? Pointless
 
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