Need a little help deciding where to take my gaming...

NebulaNebula
in Gamer's Gauntlet
hello everyone,

I'm not much of a collector/hobbyist etc.  I buy what I enjoy...and I play what I buy.  But I was hoping to get some input/advice/suggestions from you guys on which direction to take my gaming. 

I have a modest amount of NES games(32 to be exact) and exactly 11 SNES games.  Just the old familiar classics we've all played and enjoyed many times.  However, I know there are many more titles in the NES and SNES libraries that would be awesome to play.  And that's where my dilemma comes in.

By far, and without a doubt....the one and only place I feel comfortable playing is laying on my stomach on my bed.  Furthermore, I also really enjoy having the game right there in front of me and in my hands.  So I did a little bit of research, and to my surprise, I found that there are NES and SNES portables.  I thought....this is perfect! Problem solved! But then I started to do some math....and here are my options as I see them:

Option 1: 40$(FC Mobile 2 for NES) + $80 SNES Supaboy(to be released soon) + $90 SNES Everdrive = $210.

Option 2: $130 PSP 3000(hacked to play NES/SNES/GBA/N64/PSX) = $130

From a financial point of view....it seems like the PSP would be the way to go.  I could play not only every NES and SNES title....but also Genesis and N64 which I've always wanted to play.  And it's a top notch Sony product with excellent performance.  

BUT, even though I'm not a PURIST....a part of me feels like I would be abandoning my old cartridges in favor of emulation....which is not a problem since I just want to play....but then my old SNES and NES systems and games would just accumulate dust.  I also bought Little Samson about 1 month ago....and so if I go with the PSP, I'd feel like I didn't really play that game....and in a way....I'm losing on my investment(Little Samson cost me over $100).

So you see my dilemma.  I know nothing beats playing the actual carts even if it's on a retro portable like the FC Mobile 2(it's the same cart we grew up with and played as kids), and I agree with this.  But in the long run, isn't the PSP maybe the way to go? It's by far the cheapest option...and I'd have access to other systems like the Genesis and N64....and that would be awesome....but then again....I would see my SNES and NES systems right below my t.v. everyday reminding me of the good old times and the fact that I abandoned them.

*Sigh* I just don't know what to do.  I'm really tempted by the PSP, but nothing is certain.
Sorry for the long winded story.  I'm the type of person that likes to weigh things carefully before making a move....so I'd like some advice on which direction you guys would head in if you were in my situation.

thanks in advance.

Comments

  • technicalfoultechnicalfoul
    Go with the PSP. You get a whole console for way less, plus emulations of everything else. You're already using after market hardware so you can't be that picky about being pure. I would suggest the original hardware for everything but since you can only play games a certain way, I'd suggest the PSP. You would have less to carry around on trips and stuff too!
  • RedivivusRedivivus
    Who has experience with the FC mobile? I want to put my carts to use. How does it compare to the first version? I dont want to bother with my psp.

  • zigzagzarfzigzagzarf
    im honestly giving thought to modding a few handheld portables cuz all the current portables have compatibility issues.....so modding might give you a new collection hobby to explore



    as far as the psp i heard if you do a system update which mass games make you do it undoes the mod.....still might be nice cuz really are you ever going to get complete sets for all those systems?
  • Mr.NintendoMr.Nintendo
    direction ? the only direction i can help you with on your collection is directions to my house, or buy CIB ,
  • gutsman004gutsman004
    Or you could buy this....



    http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/retro-gaming/e5ef/
  • removed04092017removed04092017
    Originally posted by: gutsman004

    Or you could buy this....



    http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/retro-gaming/e5ef/


    You'd might as well use a laptop or a phone or something.
  • gutsman004gutsman004
    Originally posted by: 3GenGames

    Originally posted by: gutsman004

    Or you could buy this....



    http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/retro-gaming/e5ef/


    You'd might as well use a laptop or a phone or something.

    Eh,just throwing out suggestions. If it were me,I'd just increase my nes and snes library by buying the carts here and on ebay based on the recommendations of NAers...but it's not.

  • TanookiTanooki
    Those GPX devices are superior to the homebrew crap the PSP is saddled to, and not all the hack around semi weird menu stupidity to get stuff going too. Personally I'd go with a portable NES and SNES but the problem there is, just like emulators they're not 100% either so whatever way you went it wouldn't be right. The PSP would be emulated, and you'd be using a more consumer friendly modeled device vs that FC mobile cheap chinese shit, though the GPX is quite good to use for such things. It's really tough, but if you're going to feel bad about wasting cash on Samson I'd go the cart route to make your investment worth it because you game (like I do) and not just collect to have otherwise you wouldn't even be asking that question. Get whatever item you can that runs the most stuff the best using real carts.
  • del01del01
    I had a similar dilemma last year. I decided to go with the powerpaks and have never regretted it. I like the fact that your still playing on original hardware and portability isn't something I need. I don't think I would be satisfied with playing on a small screen all the time. Since your not collecting for collecting sake I'd say sell your Little Sampson and put the money into an nes powerpak.



    http://www.retrousb.com/index.php?cPath=24&osCsid=341cab818f9437c9e2b980ba8614493c
  • MogMog
    FC mobile 2 is a piece of SHIT. I got one in a lot from ebay once, and I almost threw it away. I sold it to someone here for $10 shipped and I made sure they knew it was a piece of crap before I sent it.



    PowerPaks on a real NES is the best way to go. If you want it to be portable, the PSP is a nice option for NES emulator.
  • buttheadrulesagainbuttheadrulesagain
    The PSP is a nice emulation system with good buttons and D-Pad (the original PSP has a horrible D-Pad, don't get it even for cheap). It's not perfect though, you have to take this in mind:



    - N64 is not really playable. It's more a proof of concept than a working emulator for gamers.



    - I don't know if this problem is only with 3000 models, or maybe I was trying an outdated version of the emu, but there are many incompatible ROMS with NesterJ (popular games work for the most part). I loaded all the ROMS that work in my Powerpak to my PSP, and a lot of them didn't run. There are a couple more emulators, but I think NesterJ is the best for the PSP, so you should research about this.


    - SNES emulation works better on models 2000, the ones that can be hacked via Pandora battery, and have 5.00 M33 system. Unhackable 2000s and 3000s work well, but the emulator is a bit more unstable, and you can't put it in sleep mode (the last time I saw).
    Every ROM I tried worked, but I didn't try them all.

    - For NEOGEO, you have to use "good" ROMS only (gotta check them with some program, repair them, etc). I never had many of these roms, so I don't know how's compatibility, but the ROMS that ran (King of Fighters 2002; AOF 1,2,3; Bust A Move), ran great.


    -CPS1 and 2, same story as with Neo Geo.


    - Genesis, Atari, etc. run great, but I don't know how's compatibility. They ran whatever I threw to them.


    - MAME isn't good at all, good luck running Pac Man.



    I'd say PSP emulation of older consoles is a great extra to have (Get a 5.00 M33 2000 if possible), but if you're gonna buy a portable exclusively for old games, you should get something like a GPX2, a Dingoo (which I hear feels a bit more cheap, but gets the job done -NES, CPS1 and 2, NeoGeo, SNES, and the likes- and is very portable), or if you have dough, get an Open Pandora: http://www.open-pandora.org/index.php    You can play Quake 3 on this baby, and battery lasts 10 hrs. It promises good emulation from N64 and everything before it. Maybe Dreamcast they say.

    Epilogue: I don't want to make the PSP sound horrible for emulation. It runs great for most things, but it isn't perfect.
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