I also replaced the core Intel PC in my Mame cabinet with a MiSTer.
The first time my wife played Ms. Pac Man on it, she asked, "What did you do? It really feels like the real game, now."
I didn't tell her I'd swapped it out before she played. I wanted to see her reaction. The MiSTer beat an i5 for feeling accurate to a casual, non-technical player. She scored higher, she enjoyed the game more. With Mame emulation on a PC, she lost interest because the game didn't feel like she remembered it. Now she suggests turning the machine on when we have parties.
I am one of these "arcade enthusiasts" who owns a MiSTer. I love to tell the anecdote of having a bunch of friends visiting - we were drinking and playing SNES games on my RetroPi. On Super Mario World, level 8, there was a level that was giving my two friends in their 30s who grew up on NES a lot of trouble. They couldn't get past it, and they were saying things like, "I guess I'm getting old. I could smoke this level when I was a kid." These guys are just casual, non-technical guys. Not a part of the "retro-community" or involved with emulation or FPGA.
I took them into my office, fired up the MiSTer - and they both passed the level immediately - and both commented, "I thought that other thing was super accurate - but now that I'm on THIS thing, I can tell the difference. This actually feels like the real thing."
By the way, it is worth noting, I pulled the Intel core PC out of my MAME arcade cabinet and released it with a MiSTer. Fewer games that way - but my wife, who is non-technical - the first time she played Ms. Pac Man, said, "This is totally different than it used to be. It feels like the real thing now!"
Casual players do notice the difference.
So, I disagree that casual players won't notice the difference between emulation on their PC and FPGA. They just won't realize that they're noticing the difference. But their experience won't be what they remember.
This is why people buy the SoC emulator classic systems, use them for a week, then throw them in a drawer and forget about them until they donate them to a thrift store. They play, at first it is all nostalgia, and then they go, "It just isn't the same."
It isn't just the same.
With a MiSTer... with FPGA... it is just the same.
You don't have to believe me. I don't care if you think I'm just some "60FPS purist". But this is the truth about FPGA. It is accurate, and accuracy DOES make the nostalgia better.
Comments 2
Re: Hardware Review: MiSTer FPGA - A Tantalising Glimpse Into The Future Of Retro Gaming
I also replaced the core Intel PC in my Mame cabinet with a MiSTer.
The first time my wife played Ms. Pac Man on it, she asked, "What did you do? It really feels like the real game, now."
I didn't tell her I'd swapped it out before she played. I wanted to see her reaction. The MiSTer beat an i5 for feeling accurate to a casual, non-technical player. She scored higher, she enjoyed the game more. With Mame emulation on a PC, she lost interest because the game didn't feel like she remembered it. Now she suggests turning the machine on when we have parties.
Re: Hardware Review: MiSTer FPGA - A Tantalising Glimpse Into The Future Of Retro Gaming
I am one of these "arcade enthusiasts" who owns a MiSTer. I love to tell the anecdote of having a bunch of friends visiting - we were drinking and playing SNES games on my RetroPi. On Super Mario World, level 8, there was a level that was giving my two friends in their 30s who grew up on NES a lot of trouble. They couldn't get past it, and they were saying things like, "I guess I'm getting old. I could smoke this level when I was a kid." These guys are just casual, non-technical guys. Not a part of the "retro-community" or involved with emulation or FPGA.
I took them into my office, fired up the MiSTer - and they both passed the level immediately - and both commented, "I thought that other thing was super accurate - but now that I'm on THIS thing, I can tell the difference. This actually feels like the real thing."
By the way, it is worth noting, I pulled the Intel core PC out of my MAME arcade cabinet and released it with a MiSTer. Fewer games that way - but my wife, who is non-technical - the first time she played Ms. Pac Man, said, "This is totally different than it used to be. It feels like the real thing now!"
Casual players do notice the difference.
So, I disagree that casual players won't notice the difference between emulation on their PC and FPGA. They just won't realize that they're noticing the difference. But their experience won't be what they remember.
This is why people buy the SoC emulator classic systems, use them for a week, then throw them in a drawer and forget about them until they donate them to a thrift store. They play, at first it is all nostalgia, and then they go, "It just isn't the same."
It isn't just the same.
With a MiSTer... with FPGA... it is just the same.
You don't have to believe me. I don't care if you think I'm just some "60FPS purist". But this is the truth about FPGA. It is accurate, and accuracy DOES make the nostalgia better.