ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The aging tech in retro consoles is getting harder and harder to repair and replace.
- Fixing these devices can be expensive and time consuming, even for dedicated hobbyists.
- Luckily, virtual consoles and emulators make retro titles (even rare ones) accessible.
I recently bought an old Sega Genesis from GameStop without any obvious damage, thinking I could do a few repairs, fire it up, and jump into the original Sonic. I gave it a once-over with some electronics cleaner spray and re-soldered the circuit board in case I ran into issues later on. Boy-howdy did I.
Also: We lab-tested Samsung and Alienware’s high-end 5K monitors – the cheaper one won
Converting an analog video signal to digital was a big enough pain back in the early 2000s when I was flipping retro consoles on the side for cash, but now it’s even harder. It used to be easy to find an RF-to-HDMI conversion box between your console and HDTV, but now they’re so hard to find because the technology it works with is obsolete.
The Genesis I bought from GameStop didn’t have any obvious damage, but I cleaned its internals with isopropyl alcohol and re-soldered all of the connections on the circuit board to eliminate the possibility of bad electrical connections. I couldn’t get a video or audio signal from the console. Instead, I was met with a loud buzzing and some garbled text.
After a month of troubleshooting and $300 down the drain, I concluded that the CPU had gone bad, and there wasn’t much more I could do.
How to play retro games on modern hardware
1. Nintendo Switch Online
Whether you have an original Switch or you’ve picked up the new Switch 2 console, you can access an extensive and ever-growing library of classic Nintendo and Sega titles with a Nintendo Switch Online account. The basic membership is $19.99 per year and gives you access to the NES, SNES, and GameBoy virtual console libraries along with exclusive member discounts on digital games and Switch accessories.
If you want full access to every virtual console, you’ll have to spring for the Expansion Pack membership, which costs $49.99 per year. This unlocks the Nintendo 64, GameBoy Advance, and Sega Genesis virtual consoles for the original Switch as well as the new GameCube library that is exclusive to Switch 2.
Nintendo/ZDNET
New games are added several times throughout the year, giving you a reason to keep checking back in case your childhood favorite is available again. And if your family has multiple Switch consoles, you can sign up for a family account that can be shared with up to 8 accounts. The base Family Plan starts at $34.99 per year, and if you want the Expansion Pack, you’ll pay $79.99 per year.
2. PlayStation Plus Premium
It took a long time for me to warm up to the idea of subscribing to any version of PlayStation Plus, but once I finally bit the bullet and signed up, I don’t know why I waited so long. Even though I own the entire lineup of PlayStation consoles, hauling them all out to play a game is a hassle and a half. But with the PS Plus Premium tier, you can stream cloud versions of classic PS1/2/3 games as well as the Ubisoft+ Classics catalog.
It’s not as comprehensive as Nintendo’s own virtual console libraries, but there are still dozens of popular titles you can pick up and play when you have a little free time on the weekends. The PS Plus Premium tier costs $159.99 per year, and includes other exclusive perks like Sony movie credits, members-only discounts, and trials of upcoming releases.
3. Emulation will always be a thing
Emulation is a huge legal grey area, as intellectual property laws haven’t yet figured out how to handle retro game titles that may be stuck in licensing limbo from acquisitions and liquidations. But sites like MyAbandonware.com operate within the existing rules for other media like movies, music, and books to help preserve and share games that would otherwise have become lost to time.
These kinds of sites may also provide additional support for retro games like fan translations and localization, bug fixes, and even full graphics overhauls to help you get each ROM file running smoothly on modern hardware.
Also: I just built my first game in Twine – no code or AI required
There are dozens of different emulators to choose from for almost every gaming platform imaginable, but my favorites are Gens 2.14 for Sega Genesis titles and PCSX2 for PS2 games. Setting up Gens 2.14 is fairly straightforward: just download the .zip files and extract the contents to a directory folder. Adding ROMs is just as easy, though I recommend keeping them in a separate folder from your emulator’s readme and .exe files to keep things organized.
The PCSX2 does require more technical know-how, since you have to dump the BIOS files from an actual PlayStation 2 console in order to play ROM files. You can do this by formatting a USB drive to FAT32, loading it with a BIOS dumping utility like biosdrain, and plugging it into your console. It’s a pain, but it gives you a better legal shield for emulating PS2 games, letting you make the argument that you’re only making a digital backup of legally purchased hardware and software for your own personal use.
