The History of Arcade Emulators - Part 2

MAME (1997)

MultiPac

Created by Nicola Salmoria, the Multi Arcade Machine Emulator, or MAME, began as an emulator for the arcade Pac-Man called MultiPac in December 1996 for MS-DOS. The emulator later ran other Pac-Man games, such as Ms Pac-Man. It is considered such a classic that it even received a port in January 2005 by Franxis for the GP32 handheld. Also in December 1996, he also created emulators for individual games. Among them Mr. Do and Lady Bug from Universal, Pengo from Sega and Rally X from Namco, all also for DOS. All four with the name Arcade Machine Emulator in the title.

MAME (1997)

The following month, in January 1997, it began to merge the emulation colors of its emulators and form MAME. Its individual emulators were updated by the end of January, and MAME was released in February, also for MS-DOS. At the time, it only ran Pac Man, Ms Pac Man, Crush Roller, Pengo and Lady Bug. In each new version, several new arcade games were added, as was the case in the second version with Mr. Do!, Crazy Climber, Crazy Kong, and so on. The same year also brought Galaga, Super Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Star Wars, Bubble Bobble, Gunsmoke, 1943, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr., Mario Bros., Galaxy Wars, Frogger, Centipede, Space Invaders, Super Cobra, Stargate, Defender and many other classic arcade games. Most of them were from companies such as Namco, Sega, Nintendo, Taito, Konami, Atari and Williams. Irem and Data East only arrived in 98. Speaking of 98, very well-known boards that were still successful in arcades until the time started to appear, such as CPS-1, with games like Captain Commando, Final Fight, Strider Hiryu, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and the Street Fighter II franchise from 99 onwards, Neo Geo MVS, with the Metal Slug, KOF, Art of Fighting, Bust a Move franchises, and Sega's System boards, such as System 2, 16, 18 and C-2, with classics like Wonder Boy, Shinobi, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Alien Storm, and Williams/Midway and Midway T boards, bringing Mortal Kombat 1, NBA Jam, Terminator 2 and others. In 1999, Capcom, Data East, Namco and Konami boards appeared, bringing classics such as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, X-Men, The Simpsons, Vendetta, Sunset Riders, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Robocop and others. In 2000, the remarkable Cave 68k arrived with its DoDonPachi's and Power Instinct, followed by Midway Wolf with MK3 and UMK3, and Sega X Board with the two games in the After Burner series.

MAME32

The long-awaited CPS-2, which was still in full swing, arrived in January 2001 with Street Fighter Alpha, in a version for MS-DOS, followed by Street Fighter Alpha 2, Vampire Savior, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, and many others. 2002 was the turn of PolyGame Master, the famous Taiwanese arcade machine, with Knights of Valor, the Neo Geo 64, with Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition, and Midway V with the sequel Cruis'n USA and Cruis'n World. Capcom's ZN-1 board appeared in 2003 with Battle Arena Toshinden 2, and the following year with the sequel Street Fighter EX, followed by Namco System 11 with Tekken 1 and 2, and Midway Killer Instinct with the two games that gave the board its name . In 2004, the Sega Y Board with Power Drift and Rail Chase and the Konami Bemani DJ-Main with Beatmania 6 appeared, later bringing the famous Pop n' Music franchise. In 2005, they began to play Sega Model 3 games, such as Scude Race and Lost World. Another version of Konami Bemani, inspired by the PSX, also appeared, with the music games Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Freaks in 2006. The CPS-3 of the SFIII sequel appeared with its three titles in 2007. Sega Naomi with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and Crazy Taxi appeared in 2009, and Capcom's ZN-2 board with the Street Fighter EX2 sequel appeared in 2012. Some boards never ran very well in MAME, such as the Sega Model and Sega Naomi series, and the Sega Titan, Sega System 32 and Atomswave boards.

MAME Classic

Regarding the number of games, in December 2000, the project was already emulating 1900 ROMs. Five months later, it was already emulating 2883 ROMs. The frequency of games added increased more and more. An interesting fact: MAME was the first emulator to run the game Street Fighter 1, in February 1999. In the same month that the emulator was released, in February 1997, a Windows interface called MAME32 was released, version 0.3, created by Christopher Kirmse, who was not involved in the MAME project. It helped users who had difficulty accessing games via the command line, as the emulator actually worked. Over time, this GUI was improved. Michael Soderstorm began to help Christopher with the development, in addition to other members of the project. In December 2007, it became MAMEUI, which was more improved. At that time, MAME already had its own interface. Despite the innovation of MAME32, one of the most widely used interfaces initially, and which brought greater fame to MAME, was MAME Classic from 1999, created by Richard A. Insalaco. Both GUIs are still being developed today.

MAME (2007)

About MAME, when it was launched, it provided some screen size options, sound and joypad support, as well as reset, pause and snapshot. By the end of 1997, it already supported several other screen sizes, FM sound, frameskip, cheats, VSync, among others. The emulator had versions for MS-DOS released until April 2001, when in May it began to support the Windows system, starting a new cycle of the project from then on. This version is known as MAMEW. It also provided a command line interface. From April 2006, it began to release its emulator compressed no longer in a .ZIP file, but rather in an installable .EXE format. In August 2007, it finally began to bring its own interface no longer in a command line, but with front-end/menus, showing a list of games, control configuration and configuration of shortcut keys for functions such as frameskip, pause, snapshot, save state, reset and others. In October 2007, it began supporting 64-bit versions. From the February 2016 version onwards, its original front-end was expanded, with directory configuration, such as ROMs, snapshots, cheats and languages, interface configuration, with color and language, video configuration, such as resolution, filters and others, sound configuration, such as sample rates, among others.

MAME 0.205

Since its inception, MAME has always been an open-source emulator, which has enabled its many hacks, ports, and forks. Its creation relied on Marcel de Kogel's Zilog Z80Em emulator, Shawn Hargreaves' Allegro library, SEAL, Carlos Hasan's sound API library, Robert Schmidt's Tweak tool for changing MS-DOS graphics modes, and Ville Hallik and Michael Cuddy's AY-3-8910 sound circuit emulator. MAME's importance was not only in running many classic arcade games, but also in bringing back to life old boards that were no longer used and would one day disappear completely. the year of its launch, several programmers joined the project and added new arcades throughout the platform. In the first year, we highlight Paul Leaman, Mirko Buffoni, Dan Boris (creator and supporter of several emulators for the second generation of home consoles), Mike Coates, Aaron Giles (creator of VGS for PSX), Toninho, Zsolt Vasvari, among others. Several other renowned figures also helped in the project, such as Neil Bradley (creator of the Retrocade for Arcade), Ernesto Corvi (creator of the Virtual Super Wild Card for SNES), David Haywood (creator of the Sega System C2 Emulator), Richter Belmont (creator of Modeler), ElSemi (creator of Nebula), as well as Brad Oliver, who started with the project, among many others. At one point, there were over 100 people contributing to the project. All of this helped in the expansion of the MAME project.

Although the emulator does not focus on console emulation, it begins to add some of them around 2003, as was the case with Atari Jaguar and PS1 (through the Atari CoJag and Capcom Sony ZN-1 arcades), Mega Drive, Game Gear and Master System (both through the MegaTech Arcade coming from MESS), Sega Saturn (through the Sega Titan arcade) and Super Nintendo (through the Nintendo Super System arcade also coming from MESS). From 2004 onward, they began to emulate the NES. In 2005, the N64 (through the Seta Aleck64 board). In 2006, PC Engine/TurboGrafx16. In 2007, Atari 2600 (with a better emulator than Stella in some cases) and Dreamcast. In 2009, 32X. In 2010, ColecoVision. In 2011, Intellivision. In 2013, PC Engine CD and Odyssey 2. In 2014, Gameboy and Gameboy Color. In 2015, Sega CD and Xbox. In 2016, Game Boy Advance, SG-1000 and Virtual Boy. And in 2017, PC-FX. Among others. Some systems never worked well on MAME, such as the Sega CD, 32X, Playstation, N64, Dreamcast and Atari Jaguar. Among others. Many of them came because of arcades similar to console hardware, as was the case with the PS1, Mega, SNES, N64, Master, Game Gear, Sega Saturn and others.

In 2015, MAME formally merged with MESS, with whom it had been a partner for a few years, acquiring its entire programming library. It currently runs over 8,000 games, out of a total of 10,000 listed games (some of which still don't run). The emulator was the one that gained the most forks, over 70! Many of them for specific emulations, such as Neo Geo or CPS2, for example. It also works on several operating systems, such as MacOS and MacOS X, Symbian, QNX, BeOS, Linux, Android and iOS, as well as computers such as Amiga and IBM PC, consoles such as Xbox, Dreamcast, PS2 and Nintendo Wii, portables such as GP2X and PSP, among many, many others. Today, MAME is the most complete emulator of arcade games, covering the largest number of generations of the genre. Its base has served as the basis for several other arcade emulator projects. I would venture to say that all of them came after it. As of the end of this article, its last release was in October 2024.

1997: Namco Pac Man with Pac-Man/Puck Man, Rally-X, and New Rally X, Sega Vic Dual with Frogs, Head-On 1 and 2, and Carnival, Sega Z80 with Commando, Pengo, and Bank Panic, SEGA G80 Vector with Space Fury, Zektor, and Star Trek, Nintendo Playchoise 10 with Mario Bros, and Double Dragon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1998, Ninja Gaiden in 1999, and Duck Hunt in 2000, Taito System SJ with Jungle Hunt and Elevator Action, Taito 8080 with Space Invaders, and Lupine III and Polaris in 1998, Konami Scramble with Crazy Kong and Super Cobra, and Frog in 2003, Williams 6809 Rev.1 with Joust, Stargate, and Defender, Capcom Commando as Gunksmoke and 1943, Capcom Unique with Son Son and Ghosts'n Goblins

1998: Capcom Mitchell, from games like Pang/Super Pang, CPS-1, from the Street Fighter II franchise (which only arrived in 1999), and games like Pnickies, Pang! 3, 1941, Captain Commando, Carrier Air Wing, Final Fight, Strider Hiryu, and Ghouls'n Ghosts, Neo Geo MVS with Metal Slug, The King of Fighters '94, Neo Bomberman, Art of Fighting, and Puzzle Bobble/Bust a Move, Sega Space Harrier with Hang-On, and the following year with Space Harrier and Enduro Racer, Sega System 2 with Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and Heavy Metal, Sega System 16B with Shinobi and Tetris, and 16A with Altered Beast and Golden Axe, Sega System 1 with Flicky, and Wonder Boy, and Robocop 2 in 2001, Sega System C-2 with Columns, and Blooxed and Puyo Puyo in 2000, Sega System 18 with Alien Storm, and Shadow Dancer in 1999, and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker in 2009 alone, Williams/Midway with Mortal Kombat, Smash TV, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Midway T with NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat 2 in 2000, and Judge Dredd in 2002

1999: CPS Q Sound, from the games Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Muscle Bomber Duo, and Warriors of Fate, Data East Caveman Ninja with Caveman Ninja and Crude Buster, and Robocop 2 in 2001, Namco System 1 with Quester and Galaga '88, Konami X-Men with The Simpsons, Vendetta, and X-Men, Konami TMNT2 with Sunset Riders, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time in 2006 alone

2000: Taito F3 System, responsible for games such as Arabian Magic, and the Puzzle Bobble/Bubble Bobble franchise, Sega X Board with After Burner I and II, and in 2004 Super Monaco GP, Cave 68k with Uo Poko, Do Donpachi, and Power Instinct, and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon in 2001, Power Instinct 2 in 2003, Thunder Heroes in 2007, and Gaia Crusaders in 2008, Incredible Technologies 32-Bit with Street Fighter: The Movie and Golden Tee, and World Class Bowling in 2002, Nintendo VS. with VS. Tetris, VS. Super Mario Bros, and Vs Castlevania, Data East Unique with Battle Rangers, and Desert Assault in 2002, and Boogie Wings and Backfire in 2004, Midway Wolf with Mortal Kombat 3, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and WWF Wrestlemania

2001: CPS-2, with the game Street Fighter Alpha, along with Vampire Savior, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Marvel Super Heroes, Konami Xexex with GI Joe, and Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Z 2 Super Battle in 2012 only

2002: PGM with Knights Of Valor, SNK Hyper Neo Geo 64 with Beast Busters, and Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition in 2004, and Samurai Shodown 64 only in 2009, Midway V with Cruis'n USA and Cruis'n World, Data East ARM6 with Captain America and The Avengers, and Night Slashers in 2005

2003: Capcom Sony ZN-1 (based on the PSX), with the games Battle Arena Toshinden 2, and the following year Street Fighter EX and Street Fighter EX Plus, Namco System 22 with Cyber ​​Commando and Ace Driver, and Ridge Racer and Rave Racer 1 and 2 in 2005, Namco System 11 with Tekken 1 and 2 and Soul Edge 1 and 2, Midway Killer Instinct with Killer Instinct 1 and 2

2004: Sega Out Run with Super Hang-On, Turbo Out Run, and in 2006 Out Run, Sega Mega Play (based on the Mega Drive) with Sonic the Hedgehog, Tecmo World Cup, and Golden Axe 2, Sega Y Board with Galaxy Force 2, Power Drift, and Rail Chase, Konami Bemani DJ-Main with beatmania 6th MIX, and Beatmania 3rd MIX and Pop n' Music 7 in 2007

2005: Sega Model 3 with Scude Race and Lost World

2006: Konami Bemani System 573 Analog (based on the PSX) with Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Freaks

2007: CPS-3, with the sequel Street Fighter III, Konami ZR107 with Winding Heat and Midnight Run, and Road Rage only in 2018

2009: Sega Naomi, with the games Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 and Crazy Taxi,

2012: Capcom Sony ZN-2 (based on the PSX), featuring the games Street Fighter EX2 and Street Fighter EX Plus 2

 

Come and discover the history of MAME in video on our YouTube channel.