Retro games are a lot cheaper than modern games
My $150 copy of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, My $1000 .Hack set, my $300 Xenosaga set, and my $130 copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day, beg to differ.
Retro games are a lot more accessible
Oh god, no. Playing retro games on original hardware, much less streaming it, is becoming increasingly difficult. As controllers wear out, lasers in optical drives die, and the TVs that play said games lose their lustre, retro gaming is actually less accessible than modern gaming. Devices like the RetroTink 5X are constantly sold out, because they offer the best compatibility with modern TVs for a wide variety of inputs. That's partially why remasters get so much attention nowadays. It's easier to take the source code, recompile it for a new console, and give people the retro experience on a modern system.
Retro Gaming is expensive and unforgiving, but it is also incredibly satisfying. They don't make games like they used to, and it shows! This is precisely why I don't hate on people who emulate, especially when some games and/or consoles are so prohibitively expensive or even non-functioning due to a myriad of issues. Preserving games is an important thing, and we need more game companies jumping on board with sharing their works with future generations.
I was thinking that mostly due to advances in emulation and the cheaper hardware that's available today. (Clones, handhelds, etc.)
Of course original hardware and especially disc based systems are getting harder to find. And most of the older consoles you can find will have something damaged. Usually due simply to the age of the hardware, other times due to being neglected for so long.
Don't get me started on recording/streaming and display on original hardware. It has gotten better in recent years with some cheaper, more accessible scalers and capture cards. But it's still a pain in the butt to manage consoles that all run on different resolutions and use different outputs.
N64 for life bro