While not many gamers are aware of MAME, some enthusiasts have gone so far as buying or building a stand-up arcade cabinet to house a computer loaded with MAME. Because source code is also available, programmers are encouraged to contribute to the ongoing project in order to ensure stability, add more controller support or squeeze in additional features. The software was originally created in late 1996 by Nicola Salmoria, but has been re-released multiple times over the years to adapt to new hardware, including 32- and 64-bit machines. Support for other platforms, such as Mac and mobile devices, can be found elsewhere on the Web.

Now imagine having thousands of these authentic arcade games on your laptop.īest of all, MAME is free, available for Windows-based PCs at. So, a gamer who downloads, say, Tron, for an emulator isn't seeing a clever remake of the once-popular Bally Midway arcade game - this is the exact same Tron as you remember it from the smoky bar in your neighborhood. In fact, the software doesn't even know that it is not being played on its target platform. For gamers with a yen for yesteryear, this means almost any game, from any platform, can be played on today's PCs (and other platforms), be it an archaic computer (such as Commodore 64 or Apple II), a video game console (including Intellivision or ColecoVision) or an authentic coin-operated arcade machine. It's a downloadable emulator called MAME ( ), which stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator.īy definition, an 'emulator' is any program that allows a computer to run software designed for a different machine, altogether.

There is a way to relive the golden age of video games - aside from scouring through garage sales in search of an original Pong console. 'Old school' gaming not only strikes a nostalgic cord for those old enough to remember the words to 1982's Pac-Man Fever, but it was a time when games were easy to control (the Atari 2600 joystick only had one button, if you recall) and you needn't have to download a 100-page PDF manual to figure out what to do. So why do so many still prefer classics such as Centipede from the arcades, Lode Runner on the Commodore 64 or Sonic the Hedgehog from the Sega Genesis? Today's video games boast near photo-realistic graphics, enveloping surround sound and the ability to play against anyone, anywhere in the world.

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