M1 Mac: Retro Gaming Setup for Fun

One of the things that I was missing after buying an M1 Mac was the ability to natively run x86 Virtual Machines. I’ve previously discussed the virtualization options that you might take if you want to run something on your M1 Mac. Unfortunately, non-x86 architecture means that you cannot run things directly using Virtual Box or VMWare and x86 software/games.

There is UTM software available, but it’s only for those enthusiasts who are ready to sacrifice the speed and stability of the Operating System it’s running. Windows XP works quite slowly, Windows 7 and above is not practically usable according to my experience.

Thankfully, we still have solutions like CrossOver and DOSBox to give us a hand in hard times for retro gaming on new M1 computers.

What options do we have for running Windows, DOS, and Sinclair games on M1 Mac?

Of course, the free and easy-to-use DOSBox would be the first option here. Easy to run Windows 3. x games and DOS Games. I have an article about configuring it for your needs.

The CrossOver opens the doors for running Windows x86 binaries. It’s using a WINE translation layer that translates the Windows API request to a Mac/Linux one and vice versa. You can either install Steam and play your library of games there or you can directly install those games there.

All applications are rated and have a specific “bottle” configuration for each configuration. This way you can have a specific configuration for each game or the application and use it the way you want. Some application need a specific version of DirectX or .NET framework or a specific font configuration to run. CrossOver custom configurations are the way to go when you need to run something fast.

Most of the retro games would work fine on Steam, almost at native speed. Remember, this all happens while running on a completely different processor architecture and Operating System.

Steam is just one example of having a curated library with games. You can also install QPC2 from the CrossOver library (it will automatically download and install it).

I’ve only tried the installed software on the QL operating system and I would like to try more. So far it works quite fast and I’m sure there are games available for it.

UTM might be slow if you are trying to run any modern x86 operating system there. However, it’s quite fast if you try to run MacOS9 (PowerPC) there. I’ve tested it and came to the conclusion that it’s quite usable.

Yes, you can play your Mac OS 9 games on an M1 Mac computer. Great feeling, I know.

Conclusion

M1 Mac might not be the first, nor the greatest choice for Retro gaming, but it’s good enough for occasional retro gaming.

I still recommend that you consider buying a second old Windows computer for Retro gaming. Mac could emulate some of your favorite games, but if you want a complete experience — a computer from the early 2000s era might serve a better purpose.

Have fun playing your favorite games!

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