Kane99

Emulators themselves are totally legal, it's the downloading of ROMs that are iffy. You can legally copy a ROM of a game you own for your own private use, but when you upload the ROM to a site, that's piracy and illegal. Same would be to download ROMs from sites that have them available for download, which is illegal. That's why I tell people if they go that route, it's at their own risk.

Not necessarily. If they can offer the same games as other platforms, but at a cheaper price, they have a chance. But it has hurt them a lot for closing their first party studio down. What could help them, is getting studios to produce games that work great on the platform. I say let them go at it, make games and see what comes of it. Maybe Google can find new studios to invest in doing it this way.

Who here is going to get the New Pokemon Snap when it releases in April? I am not a big fan of Pokemon by any means, but I did play the original Pokemon Snap and actually remember having fun with it. Not sure I'll be picking this one up, but for those Pokemon fans out there, this is for you. Check the trailer out below if you missed it. Is this game a day one buy for you?

Well that's a change of pace for Amazon. Didn't they recently close a studio or something? Maybe I'm thinking of another company. Anyway, Amazon's new CEO, Andy Jassy said they plan to continue with their attempt to produce video games, as they feel they can make it happen if they just hang in there. I don't know if Amazon will succeed in the gaming market, but I'm interested to see if they prove me wrong. You can read about this here - The Verge

I had no idea that Apex Legends also got the mobile treatment like Fortnite and PubG got. How is it compared to the console version? Does it play as well? Better? or maybe as good? I doubt it plays as good, but I could be wrong. Is it worth checking out at this point? I feel like Apex Legends has kind of died out as it is, and I can't imagine the mobile version would be any better.

Oooh, I want one! 😄 These bad boys were first created in 2012, to help with playing Guild Wars 2. I never played it, but I imagine it's got a lot going on? The original prototype was a wood model, that had buttons. It actually looks fancy. The final design, posted above the wood one, has 26 programmable keys, 5-way directional switch and an analog stick. You can also have profiles on this bad boy. Has anyone here used a device like this? I wouldn't mind picking one up myself. You can learn more about this device here - PC Gamer

So Ichi Io is a site that has a lot of free games, but some paid for games. It's to my knowledge, mostly indie/small time games. I played a horror game on there a while back, but can't locate it on there anymore. They have games for Windows, Linux, Mobile, and even Mac. Has anyone here downloaded/purchased any games from here? If so, do you guys have any suggestions for hidden gems on there? I'm tempted to download some of these games and maybe stream them soon. Would be fun I think! 🙂

For me, it was probably gaming in the late 90s. That's when I started to take gaming really seriously. I had my NES and Genesis in the 90s, but once I got my hand on the PS1, is when I started to game a lot more. I think the 90s overall had the best time in gaming. But the PS2/Xbox era is also up there. I would say NES, but I started playing it later in its life cycle. But I still have fond memories there too. But I'd include it all in the 90s for me.

Right now they're banking on 3rd party support to help them recover. They're trying to get more people to make games for their platform, but that's easier said than done. It would be nice if more studios ported their games over, but also priced them a bit more fairly. I don't want to pay full price for a 2-3 year old games. Once they start to figure pricing, they have a chance. But even so, internet providers need to get better before it is fully supported. Because I don't think we're full on ready for game streaming anyway.

It depends on the game. Some games I will never go back to, even though I played them for hours on end. Probably won't go back to GTA III anytime soon, as I think I went through the game 3 times already. Though, I haven't played it in maybe 10-15 years. I was thinking about playing GTA IV again, as I haven't played the story since 2010 probably. I wonder what it'll be like going back to the online mode.

I'd welcome that. I think it'd be funny to see cheaters pitted against each other. What would be even better, is if these cheaters didn't know they were caught, and all the cheaters were invited to take part thinking they were chosen because of skill or some reason. And then when someone wins, they will be announced "The Biggest Cheater" or something. And then it's revealed that everyone in the event were reported as cheaters. Also they don't win any money or anything, but get a gift card to the game shops they're now going to be banned from using. 😄

That's the risk you take if you decide to download anything from the web. I won't say where, but back in the day you could download ROMs all over the web. Most of the time you'd get the actual game as it was on the cart. But sometimes you'll find the occasional hack, mod, etc. Usually they are titled as such, but sometimes are not. But the majority of the time, it's the game unchanged. As for the secret in Link to the past, that will be in there too, unless it's changed/modded by the person who posted it. But usually it's the full game. Here's the thing I like about emulators though, they play the game exactly as if you were playing it on the console it originated on, and sometimes, even better with tweeks. May not be your thing, but it's an option. I still get that nostalgia hit when I play a retro game on an emulator. For example, I see no difference playing SMB3 on an emulator than I do on an NES. All the hidden areas work like they normally would, it feels exactly the same in every single way. And it pops on a HD screen. Back then we had CRT TVs, and yeah, retro games look awesome on them, but seeing how the game looks in all its intended glory, is quite nice too. And emulators also have options to add screen effects to make it look like you're gaming on a CRT TV. As for how they port games over, they have devices that can copy the ROM of a cart over to a PC. The ROM is usually just one file, or two maybe, I forget. But when you play a ROM in an emulator, it loads the game up as if it is playing on that console it originated on. As for emulators themselves, at least ones for retro games/consoles, there's not much to them. You can download an NES emulator, get your ROM and then load it in the emulator and that's it. You may have to mess with your controller settings in the emulator depending on what controller you have, but other than that, it's a pretty straightforward and simple process. You can even buy USB NES controllers.

I imagine there are a decent amount of esports teams and leagues out there. What would you say is the top one currently? I am curious if there are leagues in each state. Would be cool to see if there is connections of leagues all over the world. That'd be exciting I think. Is there a site with a list of all of the leagues and teams?

What are some consoles that had hidden things you could do? I know some consoles had expansion slots, or other slots on the bottom or side of the console. I always wondered what the NES's bottom door was for. I imagine you could install something there at some point. But what are some hidden things consoles can do? Maybe there's a secret menu you can get to, a connection like I mentioned above that takes a certain cart or adapter. I know the Sega Saturn for example had an expansion slot, but I never knew what it was for. I know there is a slot on the bottom of the N64, that could connect to a 64DD device, to I think add extra ram or something, or maybe a CD drive. I forget. Anyway, it never came to the states, but it was in Japan I believe. Actually, wasn't it for online support?

Quantic Dream is known for games like Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Detroit Become Human, and a few other games. The majority of their games are story driven games where you respond certain ways, do quick time events and so on. I only played Indigo Prophecy, and it reminded me of simon says, you followed prompts and that's what it felt like at times. The game shined when investigating crimes and getting away from the police. I saw gameplay for the rest of Quantic Dreams games through lets plays. With that being said, do you think that Quantic Dream could do different types of games? Maybe action games, or an open world RPG, anything? Don't get me wrong, if it works, why change the mold? But still, I think this studio could do something new and fresh. Mix in your best mechanics and add more action into it, and I think you would have something that's better. At least imo. What do you guys think?

So, it's been announced that EA Sports are bringing back College Football. This time not titled NCAA, just simply College Football. I hear there is also 100 teams on the game. That may sound like a lot, but there's a lot more college teams out there. As well, I heard elsewhere that the players in game will not be actual college players, as I guess there's a law in regards to college players receiving money, so I think they can't use them in their game, idk. As well, I think players complained in the past for not being paid when they're in the game. So that is probably another reason. Anyway, if it's made by the Madden crew, this game is going to tank just like Madden 21 did.

I don't see that happening either. And as sad as it is to say, I think that's the way it's going to be. Unless Rockstar gets ballsy and does a twist to the formula. Maybe you have to play as a good person to get out alive, but they have to kill to do it. Or something like that. Even that though, I don't think it'd be accepted.

Probably the Xbox One, as I got it 2 years after release in 2015. It was the first console I purchased myself. The other consoles I got, were from my parents.

I like anything that doesn't require a ton of planning. I get stressed out when there's a lot of rules and steps to follow. So anything that's easy to follow is what I tend to gravitate towards.

I jumped into some Cyberpunk 2077 and have The Medium installed and ready to play, but I haven't touched it yet. Looking to try it soon though. 🙂

I haven't purchased a new game in years. I got some games from friends so I wouldn't count those. I don't even buy most games priced at $60 these days. It has to be a really good game for me to shell out that amount. As well, I have stuff like Gamepass and I never feel like I need to even buy games anymore. And if I really want to buy a game, I often wait for a sale, or buy it used.

What games would you guys like to see ported to mobile? Maybe some classic PS3/Xbox 360 games, or even games on last gen consoles? We already got the likes of GTA San Andreas, GTA III, and I think Vice City as well? I forget. Anyway, I'd love to see GTA IV on mobile, maybe even all the saint's row games. Even Half Life 2 would be dope on a smart phone. What do you guys think though?

Well more bad news, but if you were hoping to get an Xbox Series X anytime soon, you may not be able to until June. The reason why? A GPU shortage. It seems as if that's the issue for everyone currently, even on PlayStations side, and many pc manufacturers. I guess this past year and this year, there's been a lot of pc item shortages. So it could be even longer for all we know. 😞 You can read more about this news here - The Verge

Not great news for Google, but it's not all bad news just yet. They're stopping the production of their own games, and are now focussed on getting third party games instead. Which is what I think their service should be about anyway. Do you think this will result in Stadia ending? You can read more about this news here - Engadget Moderator Edit: Merging @Kane99's into this one as @Withywarlock's topic was posted first. Please try to check if a topic already has a thread before posting a new one.

Someone by the name of ZHC custom painted a 10 foot tall PS5 that is worth around $70,000. On top of that, it's functional. It looks like he even made a functional controller. Read about this story here - PlayStationing Check the video here