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Emulation
Home » Game Rooms » Arcade Games » EmulationArcade games have had such a big impact on society, they are now sought after by many for historical or nostalgic purposes. Unfortunately, like all electronic devices, arcade games wear down and break. One way to preserve the games that would otherwise be lost forever is through emulation. Emulation is a method of translating the computer instructions for one type of system (like Pacman) into something that will run on a different system (like your PC).
The most popular arcade emulation program is called MAME, which stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. First released in February of 1997, MAME now supports more than 3000 unique arcade games. Although it can be used to play many classic games, it is important to remember that only the hardware is emulated. If you want to play Asteroids, you will need to also locate a copy of the software ROM file. In many countries, the only legal way to obtain a ROM file for MAME is to own the original hardware and extract the necessary data yourself. Be sure to check your local regulations before downloading a ROM file from the Internet.
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