Analogue, a company that specializes in producing high-end analog hardware, has pushed a latest firmware update for their “Analogue 3DS (Emulator 3DS/Emulator 3DS)” device. One of the features of this update is to allow the device to instantly display the cover and color of the cassette on the screen when reading the cassette. However, this so-called “feature” has triggered quite interesting discussions among the player community.
This feature has good intentions, but its actual effect makes many people feel uncertain.
According to the update description and actual demonstration, this function will instantly display the original cover pattern of the cassette on the output screen of the device during the cassette reading process. The official statement is that this can help players quickly identify the current cartridge, but the problem is that this extra layer of “cassette pattern overlay” presentation method on the screen makes many users feel that it is too visually cluttered.
Why does a “display cassette cover” function cause controversy?
This starts with the core positioning of the company Analogue. Analogue’s products have always been known for faithfully restoring the original hardware experience, and their analog equipment is considered to be a product that “makes veteran players feel like they are completely back in time.” When the official began to add this “screen overlay” visual effect, some players believed that this destroyed the purity of the “original experience”.
Where is the boundary between “functional” and “pure”?
For deep analog players, the value of the device lies in its ability to perfectly reproduce every detail of the original hardware. When this principle was broken by the “visual effects” function, the opinions of the two groups of players began to collide: one side believed that this was an innovation with a Taiwanese flavor, while the other side believed that this was the wrong direction that destroyed the purity of the retro.