Emulators have become popular as they help users of a single PC run multiple OS instances on their hardware without the stress of loading the OS initially.
These emulators allow us to load apps belonging to other platforms on our PC and use them for the main time.
The Mac is now very popular, but since it runs on the Mac OS, many people would love to try apps belonging to Android, Windows, and even PlayStation on their beloved computer without tampering with the OS and files.
Here is where emulators come into play. Designed, developed, and updated continuously to provide the best experience, here are the best free gaming console emulators for Mac.
1. Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac
This emulator is made by Microsoft for the Mac OS to give Mac users a taste of what it feels like to run the Windows OS.
With this emulator, you can run Windows apps and games on your Mac efficiently, taking away worries that you may have encountered.
The emulator gives you Windows 7 experience, which is quite outdated when compared to Windows 10 but still loads almost every Windows app or game out there. Download
2. XBOX 360 Emulator For Mac
The XBOX 360 XeMu360 emulator is based on the popular XBOX, and it is made for Mac. This emulator allows users to enjoy hundreds of XBOX games on their personal computers. It is so sleek it emulates the XBOX flawlessly.
3. NINTENDO 64 Emulator for Mac
When it comes to Nintendo 64 emulators, there is one emulator that standout, the Mupen64e, which is very stable and compatible with all types of Mac OS. The emulator, however, requires you to install GTK+ for it to work well.
The N64 emulator requires a fair amount of graphical power to work well, and the GTK+ graphical toolkit will handle that on the Mac. It runs in the background and is silent when the N64 ROMS are not in use.
Another emulator capable of playing almost all the games of the Nintendo consoles is the Visual Boy Advance, also known as the Mac Boy Advance. The emulator was written specifically for OS X and had backward compatibility with almost all the Mac OS. Download N64 | Download VBA
4. PlayStation Emulators for Mac
The Sony PlayStation is very popular as well as its games. Have any PS games but don’t want to get a PlayStation console? Then the PCSX Reloaded PlayStation Emulator software for Mac OS is your best bet.
The software is open-source; thus, it receives lots of support and also, it is very easy to install.
After installing the emulator, it is better to keep all your games inside a folder on your Mac, where the emulator will load games from.
That way, if you place any new game ROMS in the folder, the emulator will be able to load it easily.
In case you love to edit memory cards, you can work with the emulator. It also comes with its built-in BIOS. Download
5. OpenEmu
OpenEmu is steadily taking over the emulator market for Mac OS as it is compatible with Mac OS 10.7 and higher.
The emulator is user-friendly with the iTunes menu type. It also detects game ROMs and runs them according to their requirements.
Consoles supported by the emulator includes Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx, ColecoVision, Famicom Disk System, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Gear, Intellivision, NeoGeo Pocket, Nintendo (NES), Nintendo 64 (N64), Nintendo DS, Odyssey2/Videopac+, PC-FX, Sega 32X, Sega CD, Sega Genesis, Sega Master System, SG-1000, Sony PSP, Sony PlayStation (PSX), Super Nintendo (SNES), TurboGrafx-16, TurboGrafx-CD/PCE-CD, Vectrex, Virtual Boy, and WonderSwan… Download
6. PPSSPP
PlayStation Portable Simulator Suitable for Playing Portable is one of the original and most famous PSP emulators ever.
The emulator is widely used across the globe and supports a wide range of PSP games with a simple menu that allows you to tweak settings if you wish to. It has its own support page and forums. Download
7. ScummVM
ScummVM is a program that allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they were never designed!. Download
8. DeSmuMe
DeSmuMe is a Nintendo emulator designed to allow users to play dual screens of Nintendo on their PC as the emulator simulates the dual-screen on the PC monitor.
The emulator also receives Mac OS updates as it is always constantly being updated by the developers and on the course to become one of the top emulators on the Mac market. Download
9. DosBox
Honestly, people still play these games made for MS-DOS hence the need for DosBox. If you miss those games and still want to use your dos commands, this emulator is for you. Download
10. PS 3 Emulator For Mac
This PS 3 Emulator is designed especially for PlayStation 3 games for Mac OS. It allows you to load whatever PS 3 game you may wish to play on your Mac and it is totally free.
11. Xamarin Android Player For Mac
Xamarin Android player for Mac is one of the popular Android emulators out here being that it is capable of virtualizing the Android OS across devices. You don’t just have an Emulator; you get to see how the device will behave in real-time.
This emulator is very popular since Android developers also use it. Other alternatives are Nox Player and GenyMotion.
12. iOS Emulator for Mac
The iPadian emulator helps users run iOS applications on the Mac. The Emulator is based on Adobe AIR thus creating an iPad interface on your Mac and allowing you to run iOS games on your Mac flawlessly.
You can edit photos, read eBooks, listen to music, check the weather, visit your Twitter page, read the news, play games, and more. Thanks to the built-in Notification and Messages system you can view the latest Facebook posts, chat with your friends and stay updated. Download
If you have used any of these best gaming console emulators for Mac or if there are other emulators you have used and would love to share with us, please comment below.
