Playing consoles outside ?

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Herschie
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Playing consoles outside ?

Postby Herschie » July 23rd, 2018, 7:44 am

Anyone ever done this? We just had some work done on our patio, and I sure would love to take a TV and PS4 out there and play a game of The Show. It'd be as if I were actually taking Joe Maddon's place in the Cubs dugout (Or a actually, the late Don Zimmer's, since I tend to use the 1989 rosters).

My only concern is if it would damage the console? Obviously I know better than to do this in any sort of precipitation, but would I be risking anything on a nice day? It wasn't raining today, but I was concerned about the 95% humidity.

Anyone ever try this?

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scotland
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby scotland » July 23rd, 2018, 10:55 am

There are party companies that come and set up an inflatable outdoor screen to have an outdoor video game party. I've seen a bar that uses a projector to show Pac Man on the wall of a nearby building.

I wonder about dissipating the heat. A console blows out heat pretty hot though, hotter than even a hot summer day. I might keep the console out of the sun, and not boxed in so it has some airflow.

Speaking of the sun, seeing the video of the video game in the sun is going to be an issue if you use a projector. Outdoor tvs look pretty expensive when I looked at a list.

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pacman000
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby pacman000 » July 23rd, 2018, 1:10 pm

At work we have PCs in an UN-airconditioned garage/shop, so the heat shouldn't kill the console instantly.

You might consider playing at night, if you want to project the game on a wall.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 23rd, 2018, 5:06 pm

My friends and I will sometimes camp out on the back porch after work. I have a small, old CRT we can carry out and set up some chairs. We usually play Turbografx, NES, Atari 2600 or 5200. Galaga 90 (T16) and Realsports Baseball (Atari 5200) are two favorites. It's more fun to kick back with a beer when you're outdoors.

Voor
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby Voor » July 23rd, 2018, 6:17 pm

I imagine those older consoles would tolerate the elements better than a new gen console.

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Rev
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby Rev » July 23rd, 2018, 7:34 pm

I had a friend who forced me to play video games outside with him because I wasn't allowed inside his house when we had first became friends (in middle school). He was a bit weird but ah well, we had fun regardless.His consoles worked fine (Genesis and Dreamcast) but I imagine newer consoles may not fair as well, especially from 360 era and on due to many being prone to overheating.

For what it's worth, he never took care of his consoles and all his systems were always breaking. I think that has more to do with him and not playing outdoors though.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 23rd, 2018, 8:02 pm

I don't think I'd ever take a disc-based console outside because they are just too fragile. But cartridge-based systems from back in the day can handle it.

Herschie
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Re: Playing consoles outside ?

Postby Herschie » July 28th, 2018, 1:30 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:I don't think I'd ever take a disc-based console outside because they are just too fragile. But cartridge-based systems from back in the day can handle it.


That's what I was afraid of, but yesterday I got the remote play for the PS4 working on my laptop. It was a pleasant afternoon, so I played a day game of MLB: The Show. Then at night it felt like October, and so I played a night playoff game, which was fun. It actually felt like I was in the Cubs dugout and I began to feel the anxiety as I was down 6-2 in the 7th, and the disappointment as I lost 8-6.

The input lag wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I just had to adjust the fastball sliders so that I had longer to react. I even pulled a fastball out onto Sheffield Avenue with Dwight Smith, so obviously I can still get around. Still, the lag is there and it's noticeable, so what am I going to do?


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