Game Console Emulator - Wii vs Xbox?

[Kelemvor]

So I have an original Xbox that's modded and I have a Wii that's modded. I want to turn one of them into an Emulator machine to play stuff like NES, SNES, Mame, etc. I know both of these can do it and I'm just wondering which would be the better choice and why.

If you've done one or the other, which did you do and how do you like it?

Thanks,
Kel

 

[purbeast0]

i did xbox way back in the day and it was great. only downside is the controller blows.

 

[Kelemvor]

I guess my other option is to use laptop and stash it on a shelf by the TV. I can install those fine but don't know what sort of controller I can use with a laptop... I know Xbox 360 wired controllers are USB but I don't have one of those. Are those the best ones to use? And can I have multiple plugged in at once for 2 player games?

 

[tHa ShIzNiT]

I think either one will work relatively well. I have the modded original xbox with tons of emulated games on it, MAME, SNES, etc. and it works well. I can't speak to the Wii working well because I never had a need for it since I have the xbox. But the emulators on it all work real well and the controllers are setup correctly, etc.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Same, aside from the Xbox controller kinda sucking, it works great. Now that I think about it, my Wii is the only console I haven't modded, but I play Wii more on PC anyway.

 

[Lil Frier]

I loved the original Xbox controller. I was 11 and didn't think it was too large, people are just babies. Tiny-handed wimps.

 

[Sulaco]

I loved the original Xbox controller. I was 11 and didn't think it was too large, people are just babies. Tiny-handed wimps.

It's not the size, it's that for SNES and retro games, it's horrid.

Why? Because the D-Pad is awful. And that's how you have to play most old school games.

 

[dguy6789]

It's not the size, it's that for SNES and retro games, it's horrid.

Why? Because the D-Pad is awful. And that's how you have to play most old school games.

People keep repeating that "xbox dpad is awful" thing without even knowing why people say it. The dpad is awful for fighting games like Street Fighter. It is just as good as the Genesis and SNES controller for things like Sonic, Mario, and pretty much every single non fighting game on the systems.

 

[Lil Frier]

I agree, I don't see how it would be a major bother in games where fast-twitch movement (like in fighting games) aren't needed. In fact, I don't think that using the stick would be the worst time, either. Then again, I'm pretty apathetic towards a "perfect" input option to casually play a 30-year-old game.

 

[Sulaco]

People keep repeating that "xbox dpad is awful" thing without even knowing why people say it. The dpad is awful for fighting games like Street Fighter. It is just as good as the Genesis and SNES controller for things like Sonic, Mario, and pretty much every single non fighting game on the systems.

No. No it's not. It's not even close.

The D-pad on the Xbox and Xbox 360 controller has that very obvious plastic meshing or connection between the directions that makes articulating ANGLES (Down+right) (back and up) easier in modern games, another axis of control, but makes playing many classic games a chore, as accidentally gently tapping that axis, that corner, something that would be impossible to "accidentally" do on an SNES controller or a D-Pad without that mesh, wreak havoc on character direction or control.
And yes, it sucks for fighting games as well; another big part of the retro game experience.

I've played my share of ZSNES and SNES9x on my PC with my 360 controller. There's just no comparison playing a platformer like Super Mario World or Super Castlevania IV. You notice it immediately the first time your thumbs slides just a bit off the "right" direction and pushes "down and right" and suddenly Simon is crouching instead.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Xbox has an edge in the CPU (x86) and video output (capable of 720p/1080i over component, whereas the Wii is limited to 480p over component), whereas the Wii would have the edge in controller options, current support (might help make up for the XBox's x86 advantage), and ease of setup

although TBH I would much rather be playing XBox and Wii/GC games on the modded consoles than using them for emulators. But then there's the fact that the Wii/GC emulation on PC can be so amazing with Dolphin that I also prefer playing those games on PC, which could then just as easily handle all the other emulation and do it the best (especially if you use the actual console controllers via USB adapters)

 

[mmntech]

The Wii paired with the classic controller beats out the Xbox because of one simple thing: the d-pad. While I understand Nintendo still holds the patent on the classic "plus" shape, I think MS actually went out of their way to make theirs the worst possible. You don't get that level of fail by accident. It's like the renaissance painting that church lady tried to "restore". A work of art otherwise ruined be someone's complete ineptitude.

While I do love my 360 controller for 3D games, I usually either resort to the keyboard or PS4 controller for emulation. Though nothing beats the classic original, and Nintendo offers the closest experience to that.

 

[Sonikku]

I loved the original Xbox controller. I was 11 and didn't think it was too large, people are just babies. Tiny-handed wimps.

:'(

*clutches Model S*

 

[poofyhairguy]

I also prefer playing those games on PC, which could then just as easily handle all the other emulation and do it the best (especially if you use the actual console controllers via USB adapters)

THIS.

If I have to pick Wii or Xbox I pick Wii just for the Classic Mote.

 

[Kelemvor]

I have a co-worker who mentions playing Wii games on his PC with Dolphin and says they are amazing. Do all these emulators work great on a Core 2 Duo laptop? That's the only spare I have at the moment but I'm leaving towards just using that instead.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Dolphin requires some pretty hefty power to really make it worthwhile over playing on the Wii, I doubt the laptop would be something you'd want to mess with for that.

 

[Kelemvor]

Dolphin requires some pretty hefty power to really make it worthwhile over playing on the Wii, I doubt the laptop would be something you'd want to mess with for that.

No, I'd mainly just do it for NES, SNES, etc. Kids are the only ones who use the Wii and they're fine using the actual Wii. I can always load Dolphin on my main laptop if I want to try it out.

 

[clok1966]

I guess my other option is to use laptop and stash it on a shelf by the TV. I can install those fine but don't know what sort of controller I can use with a laptop... I know Xbox 360 wired controllers are USB but I don't have one of those. Are those the best ones to use? And can I have multiple plugged in at once for 2 player games?

Have built maybe 4-5 Bit@H boxes.. with micro ATX boards and g3258 CPUS so cheap (and will OC incredibly fast on stock fan mild volt upgrade) in a small case (be it amp like flat one or one of the BitFenix ones (these rock) a cheap SDD and a LARGE HD (4 gig), 2 360 controllers and a USB receiver. Some work to set up Hyperspin, but once you get a drive made, its AWESOME. pretty much every game ever.. keep in mind a few Mame games are slow even top of the line stuff, but 99% will work fine with this. Downside, this much stuff you tend to not appreciate games as much, to easy to just try another.

http://youtu.be/OAUcTq2TUUU

 

[Kelemvor]

My goal is to do this without having to buy much of anything at all. Already have a mod'd Xbox and a mod'd Wii. Also have a Core 2 Duo laptop that I don't use. (I'd have to buy a controller but that's OK). So just trying to figure out the best end result.

 

[clok1966]

yes, my way will cost maybe $2-300 depending. I still like the PC as 99% of all emu's are created for it first and ported to other systems. The xbox would be my second choice as you can put in a bigger HD. For all intents the old Xbox is about a 700 Mhz PC with a pretty ok Graphics ship for its day.. With the amount of modding it had (and if its all out there still, my guess is that it is) you can get some DVD's all set.. just load um and go. I had several way back. C-64, amiga, Atari-ST etc.. on one, and one with mame/snes/genesis on another. Controllers might be the most expensive, a 360 withe h PC dongle still seems to go for $45+

 

[poofyhairguy]

My goal is to do this without having to buy much of anything at all. Already have a mod'd Xbox and a mod'd Wii. Also have a Core 2 Duo laptop that I don't use. (I'd have to buy a controller but that's OK). So just trying to figure out the best end result.

A Core 2 Duo can emulate every console up to the PS2.

The trick is what GUI you use. I run everything through XBMC personally.

 

[Kelemvor]

A Core 2 Duo can emulate every console up to the PS2.

The trick is what GUI you use. I run everything through XBMC personally.

My plans is to use this machine as an XBMC machine as well so I have to figure out the best way to integrate the two. I know you can use Advance Launcher or the Rom Manager something plugin. Don't really know he differences though as I haven't gotten that far yet.

 

[poofyhairguy]

My plans is to use this machine as an XBMC machine as well so I have to figure out the best way to integrate the two. I know you can use Advance Launcher or the Rom Manager something plugin. Don't really know he differences though as I haven't gotten that far yet.

I recommend ROM Manager out of the two. It's what I use. Works awesome.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

yes, my way will cost maybe $2-300 depending. I still like the PC as 99% of all emu's are created for it first and ported to other systems. The xbox would be my second choice as you can put in a bigger HD. For all intents the old Xbox is about a 700 Mhz PC with a pretty ok Graphics ship for its day.. With the amount of modding it had (and if its all out there still, my guess is that it is) you can get some DVD's all set.. just load um and go. I had several way back. C-64, amiga, Atari-ST etc.. on one, and one with mame/snes/genesis on another. Controllers might be the most expensive, a 360 withe h PC dongle still seems to go for $45+

Swapping a new HDD into an XBox might be an arguably neater solution when its all said and done, but the Wii can work with USB hard drives to load ROMs so hard drive capacity is not really an advantage for the XBox unless you're dealing strictly with stock consoles (as the Wii is only 512MB flash vs. 8-10GB HDD on the XBox, although Wii can take SDHC cards up to 32GB for the easiest/cheapest capacity upgrade of them all, and way more than enough capacity for any emulators + ROMs the two systems can run at full speed). And when we consider the XBox uses IDE cables, you'd need an IDE/SATA adapter to mod in a new drive which can make things a little trickier than they already are, otherwise a used IDE drive is going leave you with limited capacity and reliability.

I'm a pretty big fan of the original XBox and particularly of how future proof it has been, but I think that USB2.0 and current support has given the Wii the edge, and that the XBox has been on its way out in terms of practicality. On the one hand its really cool that it can output HD resolutions whereas the Wii cannot, on the other hand neither system is really fast enough for putting out HD content anyway (other than upscaling truly retro emulators, which has pretty diminishing returns)

 

[iluvdeal]

I got back into my original xbox a few months ago and was shocked to see active development on it still going on. The Coinops and Visionary software I tried looked great, does Wii have a similar GUI to play its emulator games?