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[kaczmar]

I'm interested in retro gaming on the PC with emulators but without using ROM's. What options do I have to use my original gaming media?

I'm interested in Sega consoles (Master System, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Saturn, and Dreamcast) and Nintendo consoles (NES, SNES, N64, GBA, GameCube, and Wii).

I know some of the media is proprietary so finding a DVD-ROM to read a disc might be tricky (but not impossible). What about a USB type adapter box that I can plug cartridges into and connect it to a gaming rig?

What are my present day options in 2019?

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

For cartridge games, your best, easiest all-in-one purchase would be something like a RetroFreak console which can rip games to local storage. Unplug local storage after ripping games and transfer to PC. Done.

Optical media is trickier. Either the disc works on a specific range of players + the right driver + the right ripper (if necessary), or it doesn't. Each disc-based system will have information on how to do this.

There are options of individual USB devices that let you plug a cart into your PC and rip from there, but these vary in price and reliability.