ClassicBoy Pro vs MAME
ClassicBoy Pro
sites.google.comMAME
mamedev.orgSide by side
| Figure | ClassicBoy Pro | MAME |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · TurboGrafx-16 Emulators | 8.7 (#3) | 8.6 (#4) |
| Purpose | ClassicBoy Pro is an Android video game emulator with a ROM scanner and game database. | MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework intended to preserve software history by documenting hardware and how it functions. |
| ROM availability | The maker says the app does not include ROMs and users must have the right to each ROM they play. | MAME does not generally include BIOS dumps or software because these are often copyrighted; the team has permission to redistribute some older software. |
| Support | The Google Play listing provides [email protected] as the support email. | Users can report information or code through the MAME GitHub page, MAME Forums, or the project contact page. |
| What it does | ClassicBoy Pro is an Android emulator for playing retro games, with a ROM scanner and game database. | MAME is a multi-purpose emulation framework that documents and reproduces the inner components of arcade machines, computers, consoles, calculators and other electronic amusement machines. |
Plans
In their own words
ClassicBoy Pro
ClassicBoy Pro is an Android emulator for retro games, with a ROM scanner and game database. Its maker describes about twenty built-in emulation cores for systems including PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, NES, Super NES, Sega systems, arcade games, and Atari 2600. External plugins extend support to systems such as Nintendo DS, MAME, Sega Saturn, and PC Engine/CD. The app can scan selected files or directories to identify games for a browsable library, where users can locate or favorite them. Controls include touchscreen buttons, external gamepads, customizable layouts, gestures, and accelerometer input; the maker lists gesture and sensor controls as premium features. Other listed tools include adjustable game speed, cheat codes, save and load states, and game-data import and export. Wireless controllers can connect over Bluetooth. The free version includes on-screen buttons and gamepad mapping. The app is listed for Android and Windows through Google Play Games, but the listing does not show in-app purchase prices. It does not include ROMs, and users must have the right to play each ROM.
MAME
MAME is a free emulation framework intended to preserve software history by documenting and reproducing the inner components of arcade machines, computers, consoles, calculators, and other electronic amusement systems. It can emulate over 32,000 individual systems from the last five decades. Alongside emulation, it includes an interactive low-level debugger for investigating software behavior, diagnosing emulation issues, and developing software for vintage systems. Its Lua interface can inspect device state, access CPU registers, read and write memory, and draw overlays, though the API may change without notice. Plugins support uses such as external-program communication and alternate interfaces; included examples are Discord Presence and a GDB Stub. MAME can save and load states, record inputs for playback, and capture screenshots or video. It is available for Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows; official Windows binaries require Windows 10 or later. BIOS dumps and copyrighted software are generally not included. The project is distributed under GPL-2.0 overall, while more than 90% of files, including core files, are under BSD-3-Clause.