Retro Gaming on a Mac

Retro Gaming on a Mac

Last updated: 06APR2023 (see Changelog for details)

Macs have always been considered terrible for gaming, but recent advances in Apple silicon chips have paved the way for some spectacular retro game emulation. In this guide we’re going to focus on the cheapest Mac available, which is the lowest-spec Mac Mini (which retails at $599). I’ll walk you through the setup process and do game testing for all your favorite systems: classic retro content like GBA, NES, and SNES, all the way to more powerful systems like Dreamcast, N64, Saturn, PS1, PSP, GameCube, Wii, Wii U, Switch, PS2, PS3, and more.

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RetroArch Starter Guide

RetroArch Starter Guide

Last updated: 28FEB2022 (see Changelog for details)

RetroArch is one of my favorite programs to use for retro game emulation, because it can emulate many systems. But it does have quite a steep learning curve. In this guide I’m going to demystify some of the more peculiar things about this emulation frontend, and show you how I set up RetroArch on my own gaming platforms.

This guide is meant to help you get set up with various RetroArch iterations. The video will primarily be done on Windows PC, but the same method will apply to MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Vita, and Xbox platforms, and more.

RetroArch really shines on retro systems, particularly PlayStation 1 and below games. For more modern consoles, it is often more efficient to rely on standalone emulators, which are generally more optimized than RetroArch. However, if you are using a system that relies primarily on RetroArch for emulation (like Xbox), or you have a beefy PC that can run well regardless of optimizations, you may find success in emulating higher-end systems in RetroArch, too.

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Introducing WebRcade — Play Your Retro Games via the Cloud!

Introducing WebRcade — Play Your Retro Games via the Cloud!

WebRcade is a new browser-based platform that allows you to play your own retro games via cloud storage like DropBox. This will allow you to play your personal library on all sorts of devices — like the iPhone, iPad, Xbox and more. The games all run at full speed and it’s very easy to set up the platform. And it’s 100% open-source and free. In this video I’ll walk you through how it all works!

Find WebRcade here

BackBone One controller (use this link for $10 Apple gift card with purchase)
My 8BitDo Xbox controller video

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Guide: How to run a virtual Windows PC on any Mac

Guide: How to run a virtual Windows PC on any Mac

Last updated 05SEP2020

Many of the specialized programs needed to configure emulators and ROMs for your retro game collection are only available on Windows PCs. As a longtime Mac user (nearly 20 years and counting), I understand the frustration of not being able to access every program that PC users have at their disposal. But instead of going out and buying (or building) a PC of your own, any Mac built after 2007 or so is perfectly capable of running Windows in a virtual environment. So this quick guide will show you how to set up a virtual machine to run Windows within your Mac — for free.

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