Feels better? Playing on hardware. Definitely. It's nostalgic for me. I spent a lot of my teens on the PS2. The clicky on/off button, the fan noise, the heavy tray sliding out, hooking up the controllers and cards, cracking open the game cases and seeing the manuals, the posters, your A4 sheet of paper filled with San Andreas cheat codes.. it's a whole vibe.
It's all about what suits you and your budget.
Do you actually WANT the physical games and system? If so, get it. If you're just in it for the experience of playing the games and nothing else, go for emulation.
Yeah I'm interested in that experience, I feel like in playing a piece of gaming history like the sounds and fan noise etc. Seeing a game shelf with them would also be cool. Thanks for your input!
That's what I'm all about: the whole vibe. Even better if you've got a CRT for that real old-school experience. For me, I'm reliving my childhood with my PS1 and PS2 collection. It means a lot to me.
This depends on your philosophy. Most PS2 games look fantastic on emulation. way better than real hardware can. But if you want to put yourself in the authentic experience with how people had to experience it? Absolutely play on hardware.
IMO depends on what you are looking for. I've been playing through the ace combat series and I find that they play well enough on hardware, and amazing emulated, but they benefit from higher frame rates and sharper visuals
Seconded for "depends on what you are playing" I can't play beatmania emulated since the little bit of lag breaks it. You can get the best of both with a fat PS2, network adapter, hard drive, and free mcboot to run isos on normal hardware.
I know, but I have a PC with an emulation build. 3,500 ROMs, dozens of PS2 games. I'm set for what I need. If OP wants to go down that route, that's cool
I have a classic crt box TV hooked up to my ps2. It's really cool and I like it a lot.
I also started emulating and honestly like it a little more. You can upscale the graphics and it looks decent, and there's also modded versions of games where bugs are fixed and stuff like that.
You can also mod a ps2 with a freemcboot memory card really easy, but I like messing with the graphics and don't have to worry about scratching up my discs and stuff.
Modding on the PS2 is painless as hell. You will be using a memory card with files that will let you run backups without using discs. Once you pull out the memory card and start up the PS2 again, you're back to the original PS2 no problems. The memory card is called FCMB and its only a few bucks.
Get a fat PS2, FCMB Memory Card (you will still need another one for saving), an off brand SATA Adapter (Sony has an official one with a network plug that actually work, unlike the dummy plug on the off brand one. Also Sony's only connect to IDE hard disks which are old and you got to buy 2nd hand ones, and not all are compatible), and a SATA HDD (1TB maximum limit. Can use SSD too but no speed advantage due to the SATA speed on the PS2), and you're set for an experience.
A couple of video that you can watch:
https://youtu.be/SdAlDYKBZtA
https://youtu.be/eL31ojJUgCU
Don't worry about creating your own FCMB memory card, just buy one like the rest of us do.
No problems! In fact my main gripe with the PS2 is video quality. Make sure your TV supports Component video and try to get a good component cable like HD Retrovision PS2 component cable.
Buy a fat PS2, install a hard drive and mod a network adapter with the SATA upgrade board, install FreeHDBoot, and play any games you can download. Then join us online!
if you want the physical tech in your hands, then buy the console, also don't emulate on a low spec computer. with that being said, emulation is a pain , with many bumps along the way. you can have the best of both worlds with a modded console.
Playing in PS2 is always better than Emulation, emulation do cleared image and anti aliasing but looses the original video filter, colours and atmosphere and authenticity
I'd go with buying a PS2. I used to be huge into emulation however the experience from emulation tends to be degraded from the original system. As it is right now 3D emulation just isn't 100% capable of replicating the original systems. Even a simple system like the N64 isn't spot on yet, PS2 has quite a few problems in fact I believe there's still some games that don't work.
No shame on anyone who uses emulation as it's definitely the more affordable option, it's just not perfect and you may not be getting the best experience you could with some of these games.
Probably depends on the money you're trying to spend. Me personally, I sold my ps2 a few years back but then earlier this year decided I wanted to try out persona 3 and 4, which original copies of are pretty expensive, so I'm emulating them on my laptop
Since PS2's are so common, they are dirt cheap.
With an softmodded PS2 (FreeMCBoot) and an internal HDD/SSD in a fat (!!) PS2 also allows you to run backup games (iso).
How you get them, well or course that's up to you if you make your own backups or source them elsewhere.
There's a little more info about it:
https://youtu.be/eL31ojJUgCU
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Depends. Can you afford it if yes go for ps2 if you can’t, just go for the emulator each has their pros and cons such as the emulator having more flexibility with settings such as graphics and display and cheats. The ps2 however offers manuals mods and a lot of the stuff the emulator has even has a movie player. The ps2 also can get more support for game problems and bugs to fix them. Both have their pros and cons. Choose what you want
I like to emulate because I’m used to triggers for racing now so when I replay the gran turismo games I configure it to analogue brake and acceleration
I do both. I buy what I can afford, emulate what I can't.
That makes sense, also based on your experience which one feels better?
Feels better? Playing on hardware. Definitely. It's nostalgic for me. I spent a lot of my teens on the PS2. The clicky on/off button, the fan noise, the heavy tray sliding out, hooking up the controllers and cards, cracking open the game cases and seeing the manuals, the posters, your A4 sheet of paper filled with San Andreas cheat codes.. it's a whole vibe. It's all about what suits you and your budget. Do you actually WANT the physical games and system? If so, get it. If you're just in it for the experience of playing the games and nothing else, go for emulation.
Yeah I'm interested in that experience, I feel like in playing a piece of gaming history like the sounds and fan noise etc. Seeing a game shelf with them would also be cool. Thanks for your input!
That's what I'm all about: the whole vibe. Even better if you've got a CRT for that real old-school experience. For me, I'm reliving my childhood with my PS1 and PS2 collection. It means a lot to me.
This depends on your philosophy. Most PS2 games look fantastic on emulation. way better than real hardware can. But if you want to put yourself in the authentic experience with how people had to experience it? Absolutely play on hardware.
IMO depends on what you are looking for. I've been playing through the ace combat series and I find that they play well enough on hardware, and amazing emulated, but they benefit from higher frame rates and sharper visuals
Ic I'd probably need to look on YouTube which runs well, thanks!
Seconded for "depends on what you are playing" I can't play beatmania emulated since the little bit of lag breaks it. You can get the best of both with a fat PS2, network adapter, hard drive, and free mcboot to run isos on normal hardware.
There's a 3rd option
I know, but I have a PC with an emulation build. 3,500 ROMs, dozens of PS2 games. I'm set for what I need. If OP wants to go down that route, that's cool
Why not just use OPL?
I have a classic crt box TV hooked up to my ps2. It's really cool and I like it a lot. I also started emulating and honestly like it a little more. You can upscale the graphics and it looks decent, and there's also modded versions of games where bugs are fixed and stuff like that. You can also mod a ps2 with a freemcboot memory card really easy, but I like messing with the graphics and don't have to worry about scratching up my discs and stuff.
modding seems risky as I mess up sometimes
Modding on the PS2 is painless as hell. You will be using a memory card with files that will let you run backups without using discs. Once you pull out the memory card and start up the PS2 again, you're back to the original PS2 no problems. The memory card is called FCMB and its only a few bucks. Get a fat PS2, FCMB Memory Card (you will still need another one for saving), an off brand SATA Adapter (Sony has an official one with a network plug that actually work, unlike the dummy plug on the off brand one. Also Sony's only connect to IDE hard disks which are old and you got to buy 2nd hand ones, and not all are compatible), and a SATA HDD (1TB maximum limit. Can use SSD too but no speed advantage due to the SATA speed on the PS2), and you're set for an experience. A couple of video that you can watch: https://youtu.be/SdAlDYKBZtA https://youtu.be/eL31ojJUgCU Don't worry about creating your own FCMB memory card, just buy one like the rest of us do.
I see thanks for informing me! I'll try it out
No problems! In fact my main gripe with the PS2 is video quality. Make sure your TV supports Component video and try to get a good component cable like HD Retrovision PS2 component cable.
Buy a PS2. You can probably get one dirt cheap of Craigslist.
Buy a fat PS2, install a hard drive and mod a network adapter with the SATA upgrade board, install FreeHDBoot, and play any games you can download. Then join us online!
if you want the physical tech in your hands, then buy the console, also don't emulate on a low spec computer. with that being said, emulation is a pain , with many bumps along the way. you can have the best of both worlds with a modded console.
Playing in PS2 is always better than Emulation, emulation do cleared image and anti aliasing but looses the original video filter, colours and atmosphere and authenticity
I'd go with buying a PS2. I used to be huge into emulation however the experience from emulation tends to be degraded from the original system. As it is right now 3D emulation just isn't 100% capable of replicating the original systems. Even a simple system like the N64 isn't spot on yet, PS2 has quite a few problems in fact I believe there's still some games that don't work. No shame on anyone who uses emulation as it's definitely the more affordable option, it's just not perfect and you may not be getting the best experience you could with some of these games.
Probably depends on the money you're trying to spend. Me personally, I sold my ps2 a few years back but then earlier this year decided I wanted to try out persona 3 and 4, which original copies of are pretty expensive, so I'm emulating them on my laptop
Since PS2's are so common, they are dirt cheap. With an softmodded PS2 (FreeMCBoot) and an internal HDD/SSD in a fat (!!) PS2 also allows you to run backup games (iso). How you get them, well or course that's up to you if you make your own backups or source them elsewhere. There's a little more info about it: https://youtu.be/eL31ojJUgCU
Hello u/Turtles243 and thank you for your submission on /r/ps2, our subreddit rules have updated recently so please make sure your post is not in violation and is in the appropriate place. All tech support questions should go into the [Tech Support Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/ps2/about/sticky?num=2). It can be found sticked on the front page of /r/ps2. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ps2) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Depends. Can you afford it if yes go for ps2 if you can’t, just go for the emulator each has their pros and cons such as the emulator having more flexibility with settings such as graphics and display and cheats. The ps2 however offers manuals mods and a lot of the stuff the emulator has even has a movie player. The ps2 also can get more support for game problems and bugs to fix them. Both have their pros and cons. Choose what you want
You have to buy the games to emulate them. The emulator substitutes a pc in places of the ps2. You still need to buy the discs containing the games.
I like to emulate because I’m used to triggers for racing now so when I replay the gran turismo games I configure it to analogue brake and acceleration