ares vs OpenEmu
ares
ares-emu.net
OpenEmu
openemu.orgSide by side
| Figure | ares | OpenEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.2 (#12) |
| Spec score · TurboGrafx-16 Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.1 (#8) |
| Spec score · Game Gear Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.0 (#14) |
| Spec score · SNES Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.1 (#8) |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Sega Genesis Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 7.9 (#12) |
| Spec score · Multi-System Emulators | 8.9 (#2) | 8.0 (#23) |
| Spec score · Nintendo 64 Emulators | 8.9 (#1) | 8.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Sega CD Emulators | 9.0 (#1) | 8.0 (#11) |
| Praise: interface | A Reddit reviewer praised the interface as clean and simple and liked the shader and filter choices. | Trustburn reviewers repeatedly describe the interface as clean, elegant, intuitive and appealing. |
| Project history | ares began as a higan fork on March 25, 2020 and became public open source under Luke Usher's leadership on July 5, 2021. | Wikipedia records OpenNestopia beginning in 2007, the name changing to OpenEmu in 2009, and OpenEmu 1.0 releasing on December 23, 2013. |
| Purpose | ares is a cross-platform, open-source multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation. | OpenEmu is open-source video game emulation software for Mac. |
| Supported systems | The catalogue includes Arcade, Atari 2600, WonderSwan, ColecoVision, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Sega systems, Neo Geo Pocket and PlayStation. | The repository lists cores for systems including Atari, NES, Game Boy, GameCube, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Sega systems, PlayStation, PSP, Super Nintendo, TurboGrafx, Vectrex, Virtual Boy and WonderSwan. |
| What it does | ares is a cross-platform emulator for multiple game systems, built around accuracy and software preservation. | OpenEmu is an open-source macOS application that emulates many classic video-game systems through a single native front end. |
Plans
In their own words
ares
ares is a free, open-source emulator for multiple systems, with a stated focus on accuracy and preservation. It supports systems including Arcade, Atari 2600, WonderSwan, ColecoVision, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation, though some listed systems are experimental. Playback options include save states, run-ahead, rewind, and fast-forward. Pixel shaders and optional color correction can alter display characteristics, while Virtual Game-Pads let users configure controls for use across emulated systems. The interface framework uses WinAPI on Windows, Cocoa on macOS, and GTK2 or GTK3 on POSIX platforms. Simple debugging features such as trace logging support development of original software for supported systems. Windows builds support Windows 7 or later; AMD64 binaries require at least Intel Nehalem or AMD Jaguar architecture. macOS binaries require Catalina 10.15 and support Intel and Apple Silicon. The project prefers Linux users compile from source and points to third-party packages rather than official Linux binaries. Source code uses the ISC license. Android is not supported, and a BIOS is required.
OpenEmu
OpenEmu is free, open-source video game emulation software for macOS. It organizes game backups into a unified library, adds box art and supports collections spanning consoles. Users drag and drop backups for scanning and organization. Modular cores from open-source projects emulate systems including Atari, Game Boy, Nintendo, Sega, Sony PlayStation and Super Nintendo; the project lists 31 supported systems. Generic HID-compliant USB or Bluetooth controllers can work immediately, with automatic mapping for recognized devices. OpenEmu is intended for games users already own, and BIOS files are required. The wiki describes an experimental arcade core plugin that is strictly unsupported. The latest release page identifies OpenEmu 2.4.1 binaries as Intel-only. The official site offers a macOS (OS X) application, but the version requirement was not rendered. The project lists save states, CD audio and cheat support, while online netplay is not available.