
BEST MAME EMULATOR FULL
Don't expect the most recent games (like Sega Naomi ones) to run at full speed, MAME is very resource intensive. List of arcade games that DON'T work Last updated February 2014.You can see the upcoming version's changelog here. It is highly recommended to instead check the home page on this wiki for any listed computer, console or other gaming device that may have emulation in MAME. Although, it focuses on arcade machines, and popular computer & console platforms, it is worth updating. We have an outdated compatibility list here. Those who still wish to use the libretro core should ensure they are using a recent core instead of one based on a very old version (MAME 2003 etc.), unless older versions are necessary for performance reasons.

The MAME developers do not recommend using MAME through libretro/RetroArch unless it is the only option (such as on Android), as it is an unofficial port with poor UI integration and additional bugs compared to mainline MAME. It also has helpful tips to try to get better performance from some systems.
BEST MAME EMULATOR SOFTWARE
Read this official FAQ page for the reasons on why it is so hard to run many emulated systems usably on an user's computer or device that supports MAME, its derivatives and/or cores inside frontends or certain kinds of software (eg. The native interface will tell you about the emulation status of the chosen driver, and what components are considered lacking. For some systems, the developers may not have everything implemented. The project and its team focuses on accuracy (preferably cycle-accuracy) and preservation, which often puts usability at a much lower priority for end users, so don't expect support for more recent boards like Atomiswave. MAME is the prime example of a jack of all trades it can technically emulate consoles like the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, but for those consoles you're better off going with our recommended emulators as they may be more performant or more compatible than MAME's own drivers. Git artifacts: CI-Windows CI-Linux CI-Macos

MAME also had a policy against emulating gambling machines, but that decision has since been reversed and the project that aimed to get them working, AGEMAME, has also been merged. Over time, MAME has incorporated similar projects out of a necessity to keep development active and prevent duplication of work (as some arcade machines often shared hardware with consoles to ease development of games) the first project to be merged was MESS at the end of May 2015 starting with version 0.162 and it functioned almost exactly like MAME but for home consoles and other esoteric devices that never got emulated elsewhere.

Much like the name says, MAME was supposed to be for arcade machines like Pac-Man back when it was released in 1997. In the event you don't like MAME's own interface, there are many alternative frontends available.

MAME is incredibly large, supporting thousands of machines and ROM sets, though what is supported is not what's playable your mileage may vary. The philosophy behind the project is to focus on recreating the workings of various machines through emulation, with the software's ability to actually play console games being described as "a nice side effect". MAME (originally an acronym for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a multi-platform, open-source, multi-system emulator written in C++.
