Emulation boxes: Difference between revisions
Removed several inaccuracties - the SNES classic isn't "cartridge-based". Telling people they should use "your computer" is an absurd statement that ignores other emulation devices, some of which emulate better than the PC (eg. Genesis plus for Wii). |
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An '''emulation box''' is an unofficial term for a device built with the specific purpose of running emulators. | An '''emulation box''' is an unofficial term for a device built with the specific purpose of running emulators. They generally consist of overpriced and locked-down ARM microcomputers and some are more so just "collector's items". They should be avoided as your computer will generally provide better performance overall. | ||
===First-party boxes=== | ===First-party boxes=== | ||
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* Capcom Home Arcade: Capcom has licensed (with compensation) FinalBurnAlpha from the project's maintainer, however this has lead to some [https://www.google.com/search?q=capcom+home+arcade+illegal&oq=capcom+home+arcade+illegal controversy] and outrage by fellow FBA developers (who didn't agree with this move, and eventually made their own fork) and MAME developers (where some of FBA's code comes from), as FB Alpha's license isn't cleared to allow for commercial use and many of those developers think the FBA's license is an ugly mess of contradicting licenses that should not exist. | * Capcom Home Arcade: Capcom has licensed (with compensation) FinalBurnAlpha from the project's maintainer, however this has lead to some [https://www.google.com/search?q=capcom+home+arcade+illegal&oq=capcom+home+arcade+illegal controversy] and outrage by fellow FBA developers (who didn't agree with this move, and eventually made their own fork) and MAME developers (where some of FBA's code comes from), as FB Alpha's license isn't cleared to allow for commercial use and many of those developers think the FBA's license is an ugly mess of contradicting licenses that should not exist. | ||
* Retron5 (Hyperkin): Is using RetroArch, Snes9x, Nestopia, VBA-M and Genesis Plus GX. While they did release their source code, the latter four have a non-commercial license. Retroarch's source code used was partial, and had DRM going against GPLv3 obligations. | * Retron5 (Hyperkin): Is using RetroArch, Snes9x, Nestopia, VBA-M and Genesis Plus GX. While they did release their source code, the latter four have a non-commercial license. Retroarch's source code used was partial, and had DRM going against GPLv3 obligations. | ||
Outside of the emulation community, people have complained that some of these products are lacking or disappointing. This is mainly due to the selection of games determined to be "worthy" of being preloaded to the system. The issue of not having certain games have caused many to [[Modding Consoles/Flashcarts#NES.2FSNES.2FPSX_Classic| modify]] their systems just to be able to play the games they want. | Outside of the emulation community, people have complained that some of these products are lacking or disappointing. This is mainly due to the selection of games determined to be "worthy" of being preloaded to the system. The issue of not having certain games have caused many to [[Modding Consoles/Flashcarts#NES.2FSNES.2FPSX_Classic| modify]] their systems just to be able to play the games they want. | ||
==DIY Solutions== | ==DIY Solutions== | ||
If you still want some kind of "emulation box", but don't want to be limited by any consumer product, you can make one yourself! These other SoCs are relatively cheaper and | If you still want some kind of "emulation box", but don't want to be limited by any consumer product, you can make one yourself! These other SoCs are relatively cheaper and offer more than first-party boxes: | ||
*Nvidia Shield TV (Android TV box fast enough for 2D & 3D emulation of many consoles) | *Nvidia Shield TV (Android TV box fast enough for 2D & 3D emulation of many consoles) | ||
*LattaPanda (Windows 10 computer with integrated Arduino. Fast enough for Saturn emulation.) | *LattaPanda (Windows 10 computer with integrated Arduino. Fast enough for Saturn emulation.) | ||