There's nothing sketchier in the emulation world than bridging that gap between 'I've downloaded my emulator' and 'let's play some games.' It's a mire of intellectual property law, copyright, and chasing down broken links on some of the most malware-looking websites you'll ever visit. With the right app, and access to the right ROMs, you can play anything from a blocky Atari 2600 (or VCS to you cool kids) game to relatively modern Wii titles. While emulation got started on the PC, like pretty much all software these days, emulators have migrated to smartphones - and done so in spades. By faithfully emulating the behavior of all the components that built up those gaming machines - everything from the CPU, to audio and video chips, to all input/output circuitry - and pairing that with a copy of the game software (most often referred to as the 'ROM') you can relive these classic titles without needing any of the original equipment. But if you've got even a moderately powerful smartphone, and are willing to invest a little time, there's a whole world of classic gaming waiting to be tapped into (on the cheap, no less) through the power of emulation.įor the better part of the past 35 years now, gamers have been using some clever software to reproduce the functionality of older consoles on newer hardware.

Between all the headaches you'd face trying to get your hands on a PS5, or afford a 3080 for your new PC rig without taking out a second mortgage, it's enough to make you want to give up on the whole mess. Right now, it's not an easy time to be a gamer looking to play the latest and greatest titles.

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