4 emulation myths you need to stop believing

Emulation has become more and more common in recent years, with dedicated handheld devices just for emulation, and the explosion of PC gaming handhelds. Emulation works great on Windows as well, and there are tons of retro consoles that you can get running on a variety of devices. But as emulation becomes more and more mainstream, some of the more common myths about it begin to spread again. Some of these are common assumptions, others are misinformation that a few gaming companies, Nintendo in particular, have actively spread to discourage people. If you are an emulation expert, these might feel obvious to you, but for someone just getting into emulation, these myths might be part of the limited knowledge they have.

4 It's not illegal to emulate

It's the ROMs that can get you in trouble

Perhaps the biggest one is that emulation is not illegal, so long as no copyrighted material is used. What that caveat means is that emulators can't use any of the copyrighted parts of the original console's operating system for the emulator. Most popular emulators have avoided using materials like that, so you don't have to worry about the recommended emulators breaking this rule. The issue most people run into is how they acquire ROMs to emulate. It is illegal to download ROMs that were ripped and uploaded by other people, but flashing your own ROMs is totally fine, so long as you are doing so from a copy you own. There are also instances of riding the line, like purchasing a gaming handheld loaded up with ROMs already on it. On paper, since you aren't downloading anything, you aren't breaking any rules, but these are new enough that what's acceptable could change.

3 It's not worse than the original hardware

Performance varies depending on a number of factors

Another misconception about emulators is that games perform worse compared to when they run on original hardware. This isn't true, at least not across the board, as many games can run better on emulation, sometimes benefiting from more powerful hardware. Naturally, there are always cases of games not running well on emulators, which can happen due to the way the game was built, or if it previously ran on a complicated system like the PlayStation 3, but it isn't the majority of them. You can also usually tinker with your emulator and BIOS to try and improve performance. Original hardware also has its own faults, such as aging technology not running as well as it did when it was brand new, or having to use converters to display it on modern TVs or monitors, which can also lessen the appeal of using original hardware.

2 It doesn't take money away from developers, usually

The vast majority of these games cannot be purchased from the original companies that made them

Emulation often gets lumped into piracy, which is often criticized for taking money away from the developers and publishers who made the games. That's not really the case with emulation, for the most part. That's largely because the most popular emulation is for retro consoles, offering a way to play games that often aren't available for purchase any longer, or only available in a remastered version on new consoles. For many of these games, particularly old Nintendo games, while there are some on Nintendo Switch Online, there are also a ton of games that just can't be bought directly from the companies. You could purchase a used copy of the game, but that money goes to the person you're buying the game from. And since many people are using their own copies to create the ROMs they are using, it's not even a missed sales opportunity.

1 It's not hard to set up emulation

Even if you aren't the most tech-savvy, there are many guides that are easy to follow.

It can also seem intimidating to set up emulators on your own personal setup, especially when you aren't familiar with terms like BIOS and ROMs, but it is actually fairly simple. Even better, there are tons of resources to help make it easier. RetroArch is an example of a frontend that helps you organize and manage emulators. Combine that with a detailed YouTube video or Reddit post explaining the easiest way to download and set everything up.

If you have more money than time, you can buy a handheld gaming device that comes with emulators already set up, like an Anbernic device. These devices on the low end can be as cheap as $50, but you can also go for a more powerful version that can run more emulators for anywhere between $100 to $300. These dedicated devices make it even more convenient, but setting up emulators on a PC, phone, or handheld PC like the Steam Deck is pretty simple.

The scariest thing about emulation is having too many games to play

Despite questions around legality and difficulty setting something up, emulators are easy, legal, and can significantly expand your gaming library. It can give you access to 100s of retro gaming titles that might not be available on modern platforms. It's much cheaper, and often much easier, to set up compared to tracking down the original hardware and games, offering a way to expand your gaming library.