mGBA vs OpenEmu
mGBA
mgba.io
OpenEmu
openemu.orgSide by side
| Figure | mGBA | OpenEmu |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Game Boy Advance Emulators | 8.4 (#3) | 8.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Game Console Emulators | 8.4 (#6) | 8.2 (#12) |
| Project history | The timeline says the project started in April 2013. | Wikipedia records OpenNestopia beginning in 2007, the name changing to OpenEmu in 2009, and OpenEmu 1.0 releasing on December 23, 2013. |
| Purpose | mGBA is an open-source Game Boy Advance emulator designed to run on lower-end hardware without sacrificing accuracy or portability. | OpenEmu is open-source video game emulation software for Mac. |
| Support | The FAQ directs users to file bug reports on the GitHub issue tracker and recommends attaching the built-in bug report ZIP on PC for version 0.9.0 or newer. | The project directs users to read its contributing guide before reporting bugs through GitHub Issues or IRC. |
| Supported systems | mGBA also emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color; DS support is very early and only available in the medusa branch. | 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 | mGBA is a Game Boy Advance emulator that aims to run on lower-end hardware without sacrificing accuracy or portability. | 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
mGBA
mGBA is a free, open-source emulator for Game Boy Advance games, designed to run on lower-end hardware while maintaining accuracy and portability. It also emulates Game Boy and Game Boy Color; most GBA games boot, while the FAQ notes bugs in Game Boy and Game Boy Color support. Nintendo DS support is very early, limited to the medusa branch, and has poor compatibility. Desktop downloads cover Windows, macOS, Linux, and Ubuntu, with homebrew builds for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, Wii, and PlayStation Vita. Supported GBA peripherals include rumble, rotation and tilt sensors, a solar sensor, realtime clock, partial link cable support, and BattleChip Gate. Game Boy features include rumble, tilt, realtime clock, Game Boy Printer, and partial Game Boy Camera and Super Game Boy support. The Wireless Adapter, IR Adapter, and Soul Adapter are not supported. Built-in Lua scripting can access emulator memory, registers, save states, buttons, game information, screenshots, callbacks, and frame or instruction advancement. The project began in April 2013 and uses the Mozilla Public License 2.0.
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.