Latest news with #emulation
Android Authority
3 days ago
- Android Authority
I tried emulating PC games on a Pixel phone, and I have mixed thoughts
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority One of the more notable emulation stories in the last couple of years has been the rise of apps that let you play PC games on your Android phone or tablet. No, we aren't talking about streaming, either, but actually running these games via emulation/translation. Winlator and GameHub are the two leading apps in this regard. The latter recently received an update that improves performance on devices with Mali GPUs. This came about via a partnership with MediaTek, but developer GameSir told us that this should also benefit Google Pixel phones. So, with that in mind, I thought I'd try playing some PC games on my Pixel via GameHub. Getting started with GameHub Hadlee Simons / Android Authority GameHub itself can only be downloaded from GameSir's website, as it is not available on the Play Store. The company noted that the Mali GPU improvements were available with the latest download (version 4.1.3), but I was running version 4.1.4 at the time of writing. I opted to use my Pixel 7 Pro as it's the only Pixel phone I have on hand. However, this should be a good baseline for Pixel owners. If a game runs here, then you can expect better results on more recent Google phones. It's worth noting that my personal device only has 128GB of storage, which means I can't test games with huge file sizes. 128GB of base storage really isn't enough for an $800+ phone in 2025. Nevertheless, I opted to try a variety of lightweight and more demanding titles. GameHub has a pretty intuitive UI, but setting things up can still be a tedious experience. Installing games can be a long-winded affair, though. You need to install the game on your PC and copy those folders to your phone, or install the game via GameHub using your supplied setup files. So far, so good. However, the latter approach can be a bit of a pain, as you ideally need to install games to the D or E drive (which corresponds to your phone's accessible folders like Downloads) if you want to import that title into GameHub. Otherwise, you have to boot up the desktop environment each time you want to play that specific game. Once you've installed a game via the app, you can add the title to your library by browsing for its exe file. GameHub recently gained Steam integration, so you can apparently install titles from your Steam library. However, some people have expressed privacy and security concerns with logging in via Steam, although you can log in via Steam Guard if you don't want to use your username and password. Others have recommended creating a new Steam account for GameHub and linking your game library to it via Steam Families. It's also unclear whether this only applies to DRM-free games in your library. Otherwise, the app provides links to some demos such as Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2, and a few more games. Nevertheless, GameHub offers some handy improvements over rivals like the landmark Winlator app. These include a far more intuitive UI, robust controller support, and the ability to automatically download required components for individual games. Which PC games can I play on my Pixel? Hadlee Simons / Android Authority The first few PC games I installed on my Pixel 7 Pro were lightweight titles, starting with Spelunky. The original freeware version of Spelunky should be a breeze, as the system requirements mean it can effectively run on a potato. The good news is that the app actually starts up, and you can play the game. However, it looks like the frame rate constantly runs in the high teens here. That could be playable for some people, but this is a no-go for my modest handset. I also briefly tried tweaking a few settings, like the translation speed, as well as switching between Proton and Wine versions, but to no avail. That's not a great start. Booting up Xbox 360-era classic Castle Crashers simply took me back to the GameHub screen after a few seconds. However, a quick online search revealed that I should try disabling the DXVK renderer instead of VK3D. The good news is that the game then booted up. Performance is slow, though, as the title runs at around 15 to 25 frames per second most of the time. This is playable if you grew up playing PC games at near-slideshow levels of performance, but it's not good for the vast majority of people. Undertale also failed to enter gameplay at first, but I eventually got it running after the same aforementioned tweak (disabling the DXVK renderer). The game runs a little slowly at just under 30 frames per second. This is manageable for dialog sequences, but you do notice the judder when walking around, and you'll notice it during combat. I wouldn't call this a playable experience, but you might find this bearable. I'm a little disappointed that even 2D titles weren't entirely smooth. However, the GameHub team sent us a table of some titles worth testing and the expected frame rates (seen below). I subsequently tested Tomb Raider 2013 and Grand Theft Auto IV. Supplied by GameSir I was pleasantly surprised to see Tomb Raider running at a playable pace with the out-of-the-box settings. The frame rate is certainly variable at roughly 30-50 fps, but it was still good enough for my liking. If you don't have a PC or console, it'll get the job done fine. I've definitely seen worse official ports being released. Fun fact: Tomb Raider 2013 was actually released on the Shield TV Android box. I then tried Grand Theft Auto IV. It installed fine, but got stuck on a 'Basic Components Downloading' screen. I've seen a Reddit thread that suggests briefly changing your phone language to Chinese to fix this issue. But this annoying step didn't actually get the game to boot up, as I just got a black screen. Can the Pixel 7 Pro run Crysis? I had to find out. This 2007 first-person shooter was considered the benchmark for PC titles for years following its release. It's since been ported to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Switch, and more consoles. Unfortunately, Crysis didn't even start on my phone, as it briefly launches before returning to GameHub. I also tried tweaking a few settings, albeit without success. Maybe that's a good thing, because I'm not sure my Pixel would survive running it. The last game I tried was Hades. This title received an iOS port, but didn't get an Android release. It's the same story as some other games I tried, though, as this 2D hack-and-slash title refused to boot up even after making tweaks. Are you out of luck? Not necessarily I must note that I haven't extensively tweaked each game I tried running. I have tweaked things like the translation layers, DXVK/VK3D versions, and Box versions, but that's generally it. That means some games I've tried might be playable with more extensive tinkering. I also have to stress that I only tested a tiny number of titles, so other games might run smoothly. In other words, it's still worth trying the app on your Pixel if you really want to play a specific PC game. Do you emulate games on your Google Pixel phone? 0 votes Yes, I do NaN % No, I don't NaN % Nevertheless, I don't think every mobile gamer should try running GameHub on their Pixel phone right now. It's a pretty time-consuming and occasionally frustrating experience that requires some patience. It's not at all like running a Nintendo 64 or PS2 emulator on your phone. Despite these criticisms, the app is continuously receiving updates, so things should improve in the future. It's also hard to complain about these things when it's a free app! Plus, these are indeed PC games running on your phone. It's a minor miracle that some games run at all. In any event, the rival Winlator app is also worth trying on your Pixel. Some games that don't run in GameHub might run fine here, and vice-versa. Newer versions of Winlator also support the new Vortek driver, which targets Mali GPUs. However, this app doesn't quite have the same intuitive UI as GameHub, so that's something to keep in mind. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice. Follow
Android Authority
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Android Authority
This 4:3 device made me rethink what I actually want from a gaming handheld
ANBERNIC RG 477M The RG 477M has the perfect screen with the enough power to take any retro game to the next level. It's pricey, but it's worth it to make classic games really shine. When I first got into modern emulation handhelds, I always went for horizontal models with a widescreen aspect ratio. Maybe it was just what I came to expect after being conditioned by the PSP and Nintendo Switch, but the squat screens found on most ANBERNIC devices just didn't appeal to me. That was, until I reviewed the ANBERNIC RG Slide. That little 4:3 120hz display absolutely blew me away, and although ultimately I was slightly disappointed by the weaker chipset, I knew it was only a matter of time until the company paired it with a little more power. Fast forward to last week, when I finally got to test the RG 477M. This little metal handheld has exactly what it takes not just to play my favorite retro games, but to make them look better than ever. Premium materials, retro priorities Before I get to any of that, I have to talk about the device itself. The M at the end of the name means that it has a metal chassis, in this case an aluminum alloy, which gives it a premium feel. The edges are also nice and rounded, although there is a slight lip where the front and back meet the sides. The RG 477M has a symmetrical stick layout, which is ideal for the D-pad centric retro games work best on this device. The sticks themselves are a little low on the frame but still feel great, with a wide range of motion. They're also Hall effect so stick drift should never be an issue. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority The D-pad is the real star here, and it's a joy to use. It feels soft but responsive, and I didn't experience any false diagonals in testing. ANBERNIC has made dozens of handhelds over the years, and at this point it really knows how to make a D-pad. The buttons are soft and very quiet, and again they're great to use. The in-line shoulder buttons are another matter. They use the loudest microswitches I've ever tested in a handheld, and I wish they were just slightly longer. My fingers naturally rest on the R2 and L2 buttons, so I had to adjust my grip to reach the R1 and L1 buttons that are more commonly used in retro games. Apart from that, the bottom-firing stereo speakers are fine, and there's a headphone jack next to the charging port and microSD card slot on the bottom. There are also two rubber strips on the back for a little extra grip, although they're located a little too close to the sides to do much. Again, my fingers rested just a little bit too far in, and I don't have particularly large hands. I should also note that there's a full silicone case included in the box, but I didn't end up using it much. I always use cases on my phones, but never on my handhelds. The low danger of drops just isn't worth the tradeoff, since you lose that premium metal feeling of the naked device. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority I will also say that the colors are not great. My favorite color is brown (I know), but the Chocolate Bronze colorway I tested just didn't do it for me. It looks better than the silver model based on pictures I've seen, but neither is particularly attractive. I hope ANBERNIC puts out a plastic version with a few more color options (and a lower price) in the future. Still, that metal build gives it a nice heft. It weights in at 355g, which isn't overly heavy but it's certainly more than similarly sized handhelds. I never felt tired after long gaming sessions, which I can't say about larger handhelds, even if they only weigh a little bit more. Old games, new tricks Nick Fernandez / Android Authority But it isn't the physical design of the RG 477M that makes it so great for retro games. It's the 4.7-inch 120Hz screen. I'm now a firm believer that 4:3 is the ideal aspect ratio for retro gaming handhelds, and the resolution of this screen is perfect. It allows for pixel-perfect 4x upscaling for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 with no black bars. Older NES and Genesis games are also pixel-perfect at 4x, although there are small black bars. The 4:3 120Hz screen is the RG 477M's secret sauce. In fact, every retro home console looks incredible on this screen. It's not as ideal for handheld systems like the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, or PSP, but it's still more than servicable. PSP is the only console I wouldn't play on this because of the large black bars, but there are plenty of 16:9 handhelds to choose from if that's what you're after. And most of them are cheaper than the RG 477M. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority Then there's the fact that it's 120Hz. At first it might seem like this is useless for retro games, since none of them ran above 30 or 60 fps back in the day. However, it enables a unique feature called black frame insertion. This adds a black frame between rendered frames, which helps smooth out animations on modern displays. It takes a few tweaks in settings (check out the excellent video from Retro Game Corps for more detail), but it looks spectacular. You'll need to crank up screen brightness once you turn it on, but the RG 477M's panel is plenty bright to compensate. If you're not someone who likes tweaking settings, the good news is that the RG 477M comes mostly pre-configured right out of the box. Emulators for a wide variety of systems were installed and configured, and the RG Launcher is surprisingly solid. I wouldn't trade it for my favorite, ES DE, but it did make it so that all I needed to do was load up my ROMs and press play. The RG 477M comes mostly pre-configured, but it still needed some tweaking. Well, sort of. Many of the pre-installed emulators were out of date or just worse than alternatives. For example, it has AetherSX2 instead of NetherSX2. The pre-configured version of RetroArch was also in Chinese, which was a bit of a hassle to swap back. I suspect this was because it was a review unit, so hopefully retail units don't have the same issue. In the end, I reinstalled RetroArch entirely, throwing out each core's pre-configured settings with the bath water. I won't go too deep into it here, but ANBERNIC has pre-loaded its unique AI software, which can provide on-screen translations or help solve puzzles at the push of a button. I'm still testing this feature since it's capable of so many different things, but honestly you can pretend it doesn't exist and you won't be missing out on much when it comes to retro games. Retro power ups Nick Fernandez / Android Authority Of course, a 120Hz screen is only useful if the device is powerful enough to push all those frames, which was an issue with the RG Slide. The MediaTek Dimensity 8300 found in the RG 477M is a completely different story. This is the second time that ANBERNIC has used this chipset, with the first being the larger RG 577, and it seems to be a great fit. We ran the RG 477M through our standard suite of benchmarks, and I've included the results below. I've compared them to devices around the same price range, including the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 (Snapdragon 865) and ANBERNIC's own RG Slide (Unisoc T820). Unsurprisingly, the newer SoC in the RG 477M blew the rest out of the water. It's still no where near as powerful as more expensive handhelds like the AYANEO Pocket ACE or the AYN Odin 2 lineup, but the extra power really helps when emulating anything up to and including PS2 and GameCube. On the GPU side, results were significantly better overall, but with a major asterisk. The stress tests we use essentially average the results of 20 loops run back to back, which more or less simulates a long gaming session. However, it also measures the difference between the highest and lowest scores, which it calls stability. And the stability score here was terrible. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority Stability scores for the three stress different tests I ran averaged around 50-60%. Compared to the 90-99% I've seen on literally every other handheld I've tested, including ANBERNIC devices like the RG Slide, this is slightly concerning. I'm not sure whether to chalk it up to drivers or pre-release software, but the good news is that even the lowest scores are well above similarly-priced handhelds. The other good news here is thermal performance. Temperatures never went above 36 degrees Celcius, and the metal body never felt hot to the touch. Warm, sure, but never hot. My only complaint is that the fan can get pretty loud under stress, and it has a fairly annoying high-pitched sound. Headphones solved this problem in a jiffy. In any case, the crazy loud shoulder buttons already disqualify this for playing in bed next to your spouse. The Dimensity 8300 chipset is powerful, but somewhat unstable. In terms of emulation performance, everything I tested was excellent. It was able to upscale everything up to and including PS2 games without breaking a sweat. I wouldn't recommend this handheld for anything above that, especially Nintendo Switch emulation. The chipset might be powerful enough, but the drivers just aren't there. PC emulation is a similar story, although there may be light on the horizon. The team behind GameHub is working on improving drivers for Mali GPUs, although it's still too early to see significant results. Hopefully in the next few months MediaTek and even Tensor SoCs see significantly better driver support, but it's worth keeping an eye on. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority As for Android games, the RG 477M ran everything I tested with ease. There are a few games that didn't run, but only because the chipset wasn't supported. One of those games was Balatro, which would have been glorious on this device. The RG 477M has a 5,300mAh battery, which isn't huge but gets the job done. Setting the screen to the maximum 120Hz refresh rate does drain it faster, but I still got a good seven to ten hours of game time in retro games. PS2 games averaged three to four hours. That's not going to win any awards, but it's still solid for a device this size. Thankfully, it also tops off fairly quickly when it runs out of juice. It has a maximum charge speed of 27W, and in my testing it charged from 20% to 100% in about 90 minutes. Typically I only charge these handhelds to 90%, but in this case I forgot. Hopefully my battery forgives me. ANBERNIC RG 477M review: Should you buy it? Nick Fernandez / Android Authority So far this console feels like a slam dunk for ANBERNIC, but I still haven't mentioned the biggest drawback, and that's the price. Before shipping, the RG 477M starts at $239.99 for the 8+128GB version, jumping up to $289.99 for the 12+256GB version that I tested. The latter is the same price as the base model of the AYN Odin 2 ($299 at Manufacturer site), which has a far more powerful (and compatible) Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. It's also more expensive than the Retroid Flip 2 ($229 at Manufacturer site) I compared it to earlier, although there it's easier to see the added value. It won't work as well for frontier emulation like Nintendo Switch or PS3 due to drivers, but for the retro games this thing handles best, the aspect ratio and refresh rate do make a difference, even if it isn't OLED. The other alternatives to the RG 477M mostly come from ANBERNIC itself. The RG Slide ($189.99 at Manufacturer site) is one, and although it doesn't have enough power to truly take advantage of this screen, it does have a cool sliding mechanism that feels incredible to use. Retro games just feel cozier with this screen and my favorite CRT filters. ANBERNIC has plenty of other 4:3 consoles, like the RG 406H. That one doesn't have the power or the refresh rate of the RG 477M, but it's much cheaper. It also drops the metal build for a plastic one. Personally, I hope ANBERNIC releases a plastic version of the RG 477M later this year at a slightly lower price. The metal build is the only thing I would be willing to give up in order to hit a lower pricepoint. But the truth is that the RG 477M is currently in a class of its own. After just one week, I find myself turning to this device to emulate retro home consoles rather than much more expensive (and more powerful) widescreen devices. Flipping on my favorite CRT shaders and playing without black bars makes it feel extremely cozy, like I'm playing on the original hardware. If that's what you're after, it's worth the premium. There is a bit of good news if you act quick. The RG 477M just went on sale today, and for the first 72 hours both models are discounted by $20. The cheaper model's 8GB of RAM is more than enough for what I used this for, and at $219.99, it's a much easier sell. ANBERNIC handhelds typically get steep discounts later in their lifecycles, but I doubt you'll be able to beat that price for another six months or more. ANBERNIC RG 477M ANBERNIC RG 477M Great performance • Incredible screen • Premium metal build MSRP: $239.99 A powerful handheld with a retro aspect ratio The RG 477M is a powerful handheld with a premium metal build and the perfect retro screen. See price at Manufacturer site Follow
Android Authority
30-07-2025
- Android Authority
The most powerful gaming handheld chipset will soon ship in this 'budget' handheld
AYANEO TL;DR AYANEO has revealed specs for the first device from its new sub-brand, the KONKR Pocket FIT. It packs with the most modern and powerful chipset for handhelds and a 8,000mAh battery. Pricing and launch dates have not been revealed, but it might be the best intro to high-performance emulation on the market. AYANEO made waves in the retro gaming handheld community when it announced a cheaper sub-brand called KONKR earlier this week, but it wasn't immediately clear what pricing segment it would target. The parent company is still firmly in the ultra-premium category, but would the new KONKR Pocket Fit target the upper mid-range Retroid Flip 2 and ANBERNIC RG 577 or the more premium AYN Odin 2 lineup? In today's livestream, the company finally revealed full specs, and it seems to be the latter. The Pocket FIT will ship with the latest and most powerful chipset for gaming handhelds, the Snapdragon G3 Gen 3. This chipset has really impressed us in our testing of the Pocket S2 (review pending), and it's the polar opposite of what anyone would consider a 'budget' chipset. The G3 Gen 3 readily outperforms the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Odin 2 Portal, and AYANEO's partnership with Qualcomm to develop drivers for the new chips has clearly paid off. In fact, AYANEO even sent sample units to the team behind the Nintendo Switch emulator Eden, enhancing third-party driver support even further. If AYANEO can price this right, it will be the best entryway to high-performance emulation on the market. That chipset is actually more powerful than the company's new flagship handheld, the Pocket DS. With two screens and a lot of software issues to iron out before launch, AYANEO claims the Pocket DS has been in development for over a year, which explains the older chipset. Still, it's odd that the company didn't opt for a cheaper alternative, like the Snapdragon G2 Gen 2, which is expected to power the Retroid Pocket 6. Apart from that, it sports a 6-inch 144hz LCD panel, with mid-sized Hall effect sticks and all the premium trappings you'd expect from an AYANEO device. There are also front-facing stereo speakers and a headphone jack, as well as a sizeable 8,000mAh battery and fast charging. It comes in Phantom Black, Snow White, and Dragon Yellow. AYANEO did not reveal how much the KONKR Pocket FIT would cost during this livestream, but with these specs it's hard to imagine a pricepoint lower than $300. AYANEO's first device with this chipset, the Pocket S2, starts at $499 retail, or $439 during the crowdfunding campaign. The Pocket ACE, which had the previous generation G3 Gen 2 chipset, started at $459 retail, or $339 during the crowdfunding campaign. That said, if the Pocket FIT does manage to launch for less than $300, even if it's just the earlybird discount, it would be the best entryway into high-performance emulation on the market. For reference, the Odin 2 Portal starts at $329 before shipping. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks, or sign up for updates on the Indiegogo page to receive a notification when it finally launches. Follow
GSM Arena
29-07-2025
- GSM Arena
Dimensity chips are now better at emulating PC games on Android
One of the things that makes Android so popular is its PC-like versatility. One such example is emulating software designed for different architectures, such as playing a Windows PC game on your smartphone. One of the most popular emulators for this is GameHub, by GameSir, a company known for its game controllers. GameHub (and similar service Winlator) is best optimized for Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped Android devices, but it's now gotten much better for MediaTek users. GameSir has announced through GameHub that it's bringing better support for MediaTek SoCs using Mali GPUs. Specifically, Dimensity 9000 to 9400 chipsets should now support DirectX9 to DirectX11 PC games "with performance comparable to Qualcomm Adreno, and even surpassing it in some scenarios." Some of the work involved improving Mali GPUs' Vulkan implementation, missing drivers, and unstable shader compilers. The GameHub team has created a "code conversion mechanism" to convert DirectX instructions for Mali GPUs. Runtime optimizations were needed in cases where drivers didn't work. The team at GameHub has reached out to MediaTek to create Mali-specific drivers for PC game emulation. MediaTek's Dimensity SoCs are very popular, but they're not the only ones using Mali GPUs - Google's in-house developer Tensor chips also use Mali graphics. They may also receive better emulation support as a result of GameHub's collaboration with MediaTek. Source
Gizmodo
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
How to Play Your Retro Games as Authentically as Possible
It's more than mere nostalgia. Old games still look better on older screens. As much as you may love playing that past favorite from your childhood, the games you're emulating on your LCD or OLED displays don't look anything like they did back in the day. No, it's not that your high-contrast HDR display is somehow not good enough for 16-bit pixel art; it's down to a combination of screen technology, system emulation, and the forward march of display resolution sizes. There are a few expensive ways to bring back the old-school feel, but fear not. There are more than a few affordable solutions to relive your games the way they were meant to be experienced. Before we get started, let's take a moment to mention the collection of modern systems that do a great job of making your games feel true to the original, but on modern systems. There's a growing number of emulation devices that can play older cartridges without any need for conversion cables. Ignoring the fact that handhelds are much easier to get into than the bigger consoles, there are numerous Game Boy-like devices that cost less than $100. We've enjoyed models like the TrimUI Brick and Anbernic RG34XXSP, but despite their pedigree, the most fine-tuned Game Boy Color recreation is currently the ModRetro Chromatic with its pixel-perfect screen. However, if you don't want to deal with ModRetro lead Palmer Luckey's other job as an arms dealer, you could check out the Analogue Pocket. Beyond handhelds, there are many controller options that recreate the feel of older systems, from Nintendo's own GameCube controller exclusive to Switch 2, to Gulikit's Sega Genesis-like Elves 2 Pro device, to 8BitDo's mod kits for the Nintendo 64 controller that lets you play them on modern systems. You don't have to look too hard to find something that emulates the feel of retro content. Strange as it sounds, acquiring the gaming hardware and software is the easy part. The true test of your retro chops is how far you'd go for a quality screen. The olden days of gaming were built for big, boxy cathode-ray tube televisions. These screens sat in front of an array of vacuum tubes capable of shooting electrons to display images on a phosphorescent screen. Those color images you see on your childhood TV were created by controlling three separate beams representing the three primary colors: red, green, and blue. Recreating that effect on a flatscreen isn't easy, even with official console remakes. The Atari 7800+ lets you play both Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 cartridges from any TV, though it won't offer picture-perfect visuals. There are future systems like the upcoming Analogue 3D that can play your N64 cartridges on a 4K display with 'CRT reference quality' even on a flatscreen. Unfortunately the system was delayed until next month, with the console maker citing tariffs for its ongoing shipping issues. Soon we'll even have a Commodore 64 emulation machine, but the problem will continue to be sourcing a screen that will display these games accurately to how they appeared at the time. When you get up close and personal to a CRT TV, you'll start to see a collection of phosphor dots generating each of the colors you see on the screen. Game developers of the time understood this technology and built their games around it. Pixel art of today looks blocky—and while that has its own charm—a game present on a CRT TV with scanlines muddled these individual pixels together, akin to how an oil painter blends colors on a canvas. It created an image that would look like actual art, rather than a blocky approximation of an image. Today's larger screens with higher resolutions only exacerbate the problem. The old 8-bit titles of the NES days ran on screens showing 256 x 240 pixels. A 4K panel displays images at 3,840 x 2,160. The picture has to upscale by 15 times to display fully on a modern television, and that will simply look piss-poor compared to what you're used to. Some systems produce better visuals for old-school games. The NES Classic emulated some of Nintendo's most-touted games with better fidelity than most third-party emulators. However, the reason games looked the way they did is not only a result of the limitations of the consoles themselves but also of the screens. For a full explanation, check out this video from YouTuber Displaced Gamers, which breaks down how CRT standards—all those that remained unchanged for decades—helped inform how game developers created games with and for CRT televisions. Which brings us to the problem with emulating games today. LCD technology does not present scanlines natively, which means every time you play Street Fighter II on today's flat panels, it will look blocky and unappealing. Not only that, but games were built with the squared, 4:3 screens of yesteryear. That matters for more than just resolution. Super Mario Bros. was a platformer innovator because it kept the screen moving in line with Mario from screen to screen, though it also allowed players to traipse backwards up to the screen edge. Few games up through the GameCube and PlayStation 2 era accounted for widescreens. Out of all the retro games Nintendo has made for Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers, only Super Mario Strikers supports the 16:9 aspect ratio natively. You can simply buy a CRT TV or monitor secondhand, hook up a retro console to its old ports, and play away. But those of us who aren't collectors or don't have the space for even more screens have to be far more choosy. As far as old monitors go, you won't have much difficulty finding a CRT device on eBay or through other resellers. As retro gaming has become more popular, prices on older tech have gotten untenable. If you're shopping around, you also should get to know the terminology. You'll see some old CRT monitors claim they are 'NTSC'. That acornym denoted the U.S. standard for analog TVs throughout the 20th century before the popularization of digital displays. You should look for one of these TVs if you're trying to accurately depict the scanlines of games from your childhood. Meanwhile, PVM TVs were professional-grade monitors that could produce clearer images though they won't be as accurate as what the average 1980s console owner would expect. If you don't plan on transforming your basement into a recreation of your gaming den, you're better off with a monitor. For example, the Commodore 1702 color video CRT monitor from 1984 is compact enough to fit on most desks, plus they fit the time period. They also go for well over $200 on eBay, not accounting for delivery. Sony Trinitron monitors and TVs from back in the day could easily cost than $300. If you can't find one cheap online, you're better off searching your local thrift stores for a piece of TV history rather than paying exorbitant prices to ship your heavy TV across the country. In today's retro-fueled environment, it is easier to connect an old console to a modern TV. Upscaling devices like the RetroTINK-5X Pro can take old-school consoles and their limited resolution up to 1080p. With a few extra HDMI converstion cables, you would be good to go. The big problem is your games won't look accurate on a modern TV. If you want to see the old-school pixel art in its prime, modern conversions are on the wrong tack. What if you don't have an old-school console but happen to have an ancient CRT TV lying around? With enough time, patience, and money, you could potentially hook up a modern system to a CRT TV. At the very least, you'll need an HDMI-to-AV adapter, but it's often more complicated. Depending on the system you're emulating, you may need to convert an image to a lower resolution, in which case you'll need a separate transcoder or downscaler. Most people are better off finding modern ways to recreate the look of retro titles using software. What if you can't acquire a CRT TV and you instead want to play official retro recreations or use definitely not-official emulators? Nintendo's own gallery of retro titles includes the option for a scanline filter applied over the game image. However, this is more of an aesthetic choice than anything. The scanlines effectively break up an image so you're not seeing every individual pixel, but they're not introducing the blur needed to fully merge pixels into a more seamless image. The best virtual recreation you can achieve is through third-party emulators and shaders. These are a separate instance of visuals on top of whatever game your system is rendering. With some visual trickery, modders have managed to craft visuals so close to CRT, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless you looked at each frame pixel by pixel. First, let's briefly discuss what emulation is. Essentially, independent creators recreate the hardware of a console, whether it's a Commodore 64 or a Nintendo Wii U, as software. The more powerful the system, the more complicated and demanding the emulation. This means you can play any number of homebrewed games built for these systems, but most players use them to play games ripped from their cartridges or discs, collectively known as ROMs. The emulators are, for the most part, legal to download, but ROMs exist in a much more tenuous state. We can't tell you how or where to get ROMs, and if you emulate ROMs you should know the legalities of it in your region (typically boiling down to only playing ROMs for which you own a legal copy of). Gizmodo doesn't condone piracy. But you can feel safe dealing with the emulators or the front-ends to emulators, namely Retroarch. Thankfully, the active scene of retro emulation offers us great options for emulating games and old-school visuals alike. Emulation platform RetroArch is open to a host of shaders that can offer an image as close to CRT as possible. Of course, you'll still lack those wavy lines and the static-fueled glow that was emblematic of old-school play. There are a legion of independent developers creating CRT shaders, all of which have different flavors that try to maximize the accuracy of the on-screen image. Shader packs like Mega Bezel go as far as to include options that simulate the curvature of non-flat CRT TVs. Others may add a green filter or a 'VHS effect' to introduce more visual distortion to an image. For the sake of actually playing your games, simpler is better. The issue with this is, depending on your shaders, you could introduce stuttering or frame rate dips, depending on how capable your system is. Shaders are very CPU dependent, and if you device isn't up to the task you may need to hold off on some more intensive shaders in favor of others. RetroArch's shader library is extensive, and anybody starting out will likely be confused out of their gourd. To enable a shader in RetroArch, you need to be in a game then access the 'Quick Menu' (by default F1 on keyboard) then go to 'Shaders' and turn them on. From there, you'll see a laundry list of shader presets to enable, and it's not easy to find you're looking for. Mega Bezel, for instance, is found under 'shaders_slang, bezel, Mega_Bezel.' Even then, you'll find so many to choose from, and you can even create your own preset. CyberLab on Libretro forums created some of my favorite preset shader settings, though you need to install them into the correct folder yourself. You don't necessarily want to use the same shader for every game, either. A Game Boy look won't be anywhere near the same as what you should see on CRT. RetroArch is compatible with most systems you can think of, including hacked consoles. The issue is, by itself, it can be a complicated piece of software to use, especially on PC. YouTuber Russ Crandall on his channel Retro Game Corps has a great starter guide for the software. Simplicity is paramount, which is why my personal favorite emulation device is the Steam Deck, and it's what I recommend to most people who want to play games up through the PSP and still use some intense shaders. For ease, I prefer EmuDeck, which is a larger collection of emulators that install all in one batch, making it easy to plug in your various ROMs without much fuss. It also installs RetroArch, which makes things easy. Installing new shaders you find online can be complicated, since the Steam Deck hides some folders in desktop mode, but YouTube channel Retro Crisis has some videos to help you navigate the file path. The next thing you need to think about is the size of your native display compared to the game you're playing. If the emulated content was made for a screen at 240p or even 480p, then you may not get the correct look if you let it upscale naturally. For games that used to run on handhelds like the Game Boy, it's better to adjust for integer scaling. This ensures the game upscales by a whole number rather than any decimals. Now, when you're playing your game, you won't have a blown-up ultra-wide image that matches the device's native widescreen. If you're more focused on console emulation, then different shaders may require you to input different settings into RetroArch. For instance, Mega Bezel asks users to disable integer scaling and allow for its custom TV framing. There are so many dials you can turn to achieve some extra fidelity with your retro games, no matter the size and resolution of your screen. As hard as you work to fine-tune each shader, emulation and shaders will never offer anything as evocative as a static-filled CRT screen. But we can get close, and for the sake of playing some great games with modern amendities, close is more than good enough.
