Atari800MacX vs kat5200

Atari800MacX is a free macOS application that emulates Atari 8-bit computers and the Atari 5200. It supports the Atari 400/800, 1200XL, XL/XE, XEGS and Atari 5200 systems, with cartridge and machine support, joystick input, full-screen or windowed display and hard-drive emulation. Save states and controller remapping are supported. A native Cocoa interface supplies preferences, menus, file associations and help, while libSDL is bundled in the application package. The emulator needs ROM image files from original Atari systems; those files are not included. Version 6.0.1 is the latest release listed, dated January 22, 2022, and requires OS X 10.12 or newer. Version 6.0.0 added support for ARM-based M1 Macs. Listed updates include synchronized sound, a graphical debugger, VAPI and PRO images, copy and paste, configuration files and a new hard-drive emulation scheme. Downloads include the application and source code. Development is described as sporadic due to work commitments.

kat5200 is a free emulator for playing games from Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computer systems on a personal computer. It supports Atari 5200, Atari 400, Atari 800, Atari 800 XL and Atari 800 XE systems, with builds listed for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. The emulator does not include game ROM images or BIOS files, so users must obtain and configure them separately. Controls can use a game controller, keyboard or mouse, and multiple input entries can be assigned to an emulated function. Users can save different input profiles and assign them to games in the Launcher. The Simulate Analog option can help when a game expects controller-axis positions but the player uses a keyboard or digital controller. Initial setup offers ROM-directory scanning and options for trackball, paddle and two-stick games. Version 1.0.0 uses TOML configuration and adds per-ROM profiles. The Android version is provided as an APK, not through the Play Store, and must be sideloaded.