Today, I’m wrestling with the question that’s on everyone’s mind… if software emulators are so good and inexpensive, then why are there people spending the money on FPGA-based devices like the Analogue Pocket and the MiSTer? But in order to understand this, we need to go a bit deep.
So, in this video, I’m going to take you through the basics of how old game consoles work, and I’m going to discuss how both software emulators and FPGAs go about recreating that experience on different devices. And along the way, I’ll touch on various nuances of both approaches, and perhaps surprise you with a couple of things you may not have known about emulation. This video is a bit more technical than my usual content, but I think you’ll find the explanations and diagrams quite accessible.

🔗 Links Referenced in this Video:
- Super Mario Bros ROM Disassembly: https://6502disassembly.com/nes-smb/SuperMarioBros.html
- Interactive DMG CPU Explorer: http://iceboy.a-singer.de/dmg_cpu_b_map
- Ars Technica Article on Emulator Accuracy: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/08/accuracy-takes-power-one-mans-3ghz-quest-to-build-a-perfect-snes-emulator
- Higan high accuracy software emulator: https://github.com/higan-emu/higan
- RetroArch: https://www.retroarch.com
- Mesen Software Emulator: https://github.com/SourMesen/Mesen2
- Anbernic Handheld Devices: https://anbernic.com
- Retroid Pocket: https://www.goretroid.com
- Miyoo Mini Plus: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1101949807
- VIC-II Kawari: http://accentual.com/vicii-kawari

🔗 Further Study on How the NES and GameBoy Work:
- NESDev Wiki: https://www.nesdev.org/wiki/Nesdev_Wiki - the definitive source of NES technical information.
- GameBoy PanDocs: http://bgb.bircd.org/pandocs.htm - a great source of technical information on the GameBoy.
- GameBoy Schematics: https://gbdev.gg8.se/wiki/articles/DMG_Schematics
- The GameBoy CPU Manual: https://realboyemulator.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/gbcpuman.pdf
- Architecture of Consoles: https://www.copetti.org/writings/consoles - a great series of articles that explores the architecture of various game consoles

🔗 Further Study on How Software Emulators Work:
- A Journey into GameBoy Emulation - https://robertovaccari.com/blog/2020_09_26_gameboy/
- Emulating the GameBoy CPU on .NET - https://ax-h.com/software/development/emulation/2017/12/03/emulating-the-gameboy-cpu-on-dot-net.html
- A 6-part series on creating a GameBoy emulator - https://raphaelstaebler.medium.com/building-a-gameboy-from-scratch-part-1-51d05496783e

🔗 Further Study on How FPGAs Work:
- Cyclone V Device Handbook - https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/docs/programmable/683375/current/logic-array-blocks-and-adaptive-logic-24877.html
- Series of Verilog Tutorials - https://www.chipverify.com/tutorials/verilog
- EEVBlog FPGA Introduction Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUsHwi4M4xE