Arcade games, in their time, were the entertainment center for youth between the years 1980 and 1990. Companies such as Nintendo, SEGA, SNK and Sony were commissioned to develop home arcade consoles to bring the fun of video games into the home.
Today, the market is thriving, with great exponents such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch. However, the audience does not forget the video games of yesteryear. For this reason, emulators have been developed, which are specialized software to use your computer as a retro console.
Through the emulator, you can relive those classic games that marked your childhood. They are easy to download and install programs, which makes them compatible with any computer. We show you the best Arcade console emulators for Mac!
What features must my computer have to run an arcade emulator?
The macOS computers They are very powerful, with a strong advantage over editing tools, video playback, among other functions. For this reason, the requirements to run an emulator are minimal for Apple computers. On the other hand, being old games, it is not necessary to have a significant graphic adjustment.
The main requirements to run emulators on MacOS computers, to run emulators like MAME or OpenEmu, are:
- Operating system MacOS 10.14 Mojave or higher.
- 64bit processor (x86-64)
- 2 GB of RAM memory or higher.
In the case of Windows, the requirements to run arcade emulators are:
- Operating system Windows XP or higher.
- Pentium 4 processor or higher. (Equivalent to 2800 MHz.)
- 2 GB of RAM memory or higher.
- Graphics card with DirectX installed.
List of Best Arcade Console Emulators to Play on MacOS
An emulator is a program that allows you to run arcade console games on your computer. Of course, there are different types of emulators, and even some specific for Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis or Dreamcast, Playstation, among others.
Here are the best console emulators for MacOS:
OpenEmu.org
It’s a very popular open source emulator among MacOS users. The program’s interface is intuitive, practical and simple. Its game catalog is one of the most impressive, as it can Run Atari, SEGA, NES, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, Neo, Geo titles, among many others. It is a free program and the most recommended for OS X and MacOS.
MAME
Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, or simply “MAME”, is an emulator that is responsible for running the arcade games of yesteryear on the computer. Its interface is a bit more complex, but its quality remains at the level of other emulators. Its catalog exceeds 4000 titles, making it one of the most complete emulators out there. Although it is available for MacOS (OS X), it can also be downloaded for Windows and Linux.
Download MAME Emulator for MacOS
Dolphin
Dolphin is an emulator that allows you to play Wii and GameCube video games on MacOS and OS X computers. Although its catalog is inferior, compared to other emulators, gives you access to two types of consoles which are not normally supported by a normal emulator.
Games must be uploaded in ISO format. Its main features include: The ability to save or resume games and synchronize a remote control. The best, is that it does not necessarily have to be a Wii remote. So it offers greater freedom when playing. It is also available on Windows.
Download Dolphin Emulator for MacOS
Kega Fusion
It is an emulator destined to execute the titles of the great majority of consoles belonging to the SEGA company. This includes: Genesis and Dreamcast. The program is characterized by its high level of graphic details, execution speed and optimization. Also, the application supports multiplayer games via Internet. The project stopped receiving updates in 2010However, its most recent version is still on the web.
Download Kega Fusion Emulator for MacOS
PCSX2
Last but not least is the PCSX2 emulator, a program to play the exclusive titles of PlayStation 1 and 2. The open source application is available for free for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. His compatibility level is high, so its functions rarely present problems. In addition, you can configure the screen resolution and textures to adapt the performance to the power of your computer. It is an excellent option to enjoy Sony games.
Download PCSX2 Emulator for MacOS
What characteristics should the best Arcade emulator for MacOS meet?
In Internet you can find many emulator options to play arcade in the computer. Nevertheless, What characterizes the best?.
Before downloading an emulator, you should take into account the following characteristics:
Ease of installation
Playing from a computer should not be complex. Most emulators only need to be downloaded. Typically, an installation is not necessary, although some do. When choosing the best emulator, make sure the process to make it work is not too complicated.
Wide variety of catalog
Emulators like OpenEmu Y MAME They have thousands of titles to play. While others like PCSX2 or Dolphin, they focus on specific consoles and therefore have catalogs with little variety. Choosing the best emulator for MacOS depends on what you want to play.
Functionality
When looking for an emulator, you want the game ran the same way it did on the consoles of yesteryear. Some emulators are optimized almost perfectly, and have few bugs or FPS drops. While others tend to stop frequently, which ruins the gaming experience.
Compatibility
The emulator options are many, so you have to choose the right version that works with Mac, Windows or Linux computer.