First let me just say that this blog is not about how emulators will destroy the video game corporation by blah blah blah. I don't mean the issue is insignificant since it's clearly the main issue when it comes to emulators but this is not about that so don't be so offended that I haven't dedicated a blog too it.

I want to address an issue that has been niggling at the back of my mind for a long time regarding emulators. Many of you like me have probably played downloaded or even uploaded emulators or ROMs. They're mostly great right? Allowing you to play almost every game made , allowing you to explore exceptional titles all for the price of your labor. You know? A few clicks here and there.

Recently I have been using Snes9x a version of a SNES emulator which allowed me to play SNES titles. But before this I was highly against doing this so , many of my friends used to play them and I always use to bad mouth the use of them. But alas I gave into the temptation ( Hypocritical bitch , I know) and Since my SNES was locked away in the dark basement somewhere with missing wires and a button less joy pad (SFII anger) it was an obvious choice for me, to revisit my memories of my early childhood and to try pin down the root of my love affair with video games.

Then it all started my love for ROMs, I started to download games that I had long to played, wanted to buy in the future or games that I had played in the past. I had a great time playing so many video games available to me, being able to download them for free and not having to waste a penny. But then it hit me, I didn’t seem to appreciate even one of these games after the initial wow factor or the sense of nostalgia had faded. Every time I would get a game over in something like Castlevania I would just turn it off and move on another game without even giving it a second thought. I played Battletoads for a few seconds it didn’t keep my interest and straight into the recycle bin. Every game I would play would give me a minor thrill and I was done with it not appreciating its brilliance and rejecting it even for smaller problems that I would usually ignore

The only time I opted to play game properly was for the sense of satisfaction of being able to say I had completed the game but even the difficulty of these games would cause me to not bother. I even abused the system saving the game every few seconds so if I had failed avoid an obstacle or enemy I would just replay, that single moment until I had succeeded and totally had ignored the basic gameplay mechanics. I even speeded up battles in Chrono trigger! All because these options were available to me and the publishers hadn’t taken money from me , so why did I have to play it properly?

What cause me to write this article is that when I had got Super Mario Bros 3 for the virtual console I seemed to play it for hours an enjoyed myself immensely but only a few days before after one or two deaths on an emulator of SMB3 and BOOM it was destroyed into a million pieces of virtual trash. Only owning on the Wii since it was a gift. A very much appreciated gift

My problem was the sense that I could play any video game with ease and that I didn't have to deal with something that bugged me or my behaviour was due to the fact I didn't have spend any money and therefore didn't appreciate it. What do you think about it? Do you share my opinion? Or have you never faced this before? Give your views in the comment section and share your different experiences.

Of course controls also suck but I do have a dual arcade stick so not much of a problem there for me.

A few weeks after writing this article I brought a SNES and a Dreamcast and most of the emulators that I had ignored , now own a special place in my heart on their respective consoles.