Skip to main content

Should be used regarding question concerning video game emulation. A video game emulator is a program that allows a computing device to emulate a different OS or video game console's behavior.

What is a game emulator?

A video game console emulator is a type of emulator that allows a computing device to emulate a video game console's hardware and behavior and play games for that platform.

Game emulators are most often used to play older video games on personal computers and video game consoles, but they are also used to play games translated into other languages, or to modify existing games.

Game emulators are also a useful tool in the development process of home-brew demos and the creation of new games for older or discontinued consoles.

Notable examples of emulation

  • Microsoft has released an Xbox 360 emulator to the Xbox One console, in order to support backwards compatibility.

Correct tag usage

This tag should be used concerning questions that involve the emulation of video games. Note that actually linking to ROM sites are not allowed as per the Arqade Meta post, What's the official stance on console emulation? See the aforementioned meta post for more info.