EmulationStation

EmulationStation is a graphical front-end for emulators like RetroArch, OpenEmu, and standalone emulators. It allows you to visually browse your game collections and launch games directly from a unified interface.

EmulationStation alternatives ➤

What is EmulationStation?

EmulationStation is an open source graphical frontend for emulators designed to organize and view game console libraries. It works with emulators like RetroArch, OpenEmu, standalone emulators, and more to provide a unified visual interface to browse, select, and launch games from multiple systems including NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PlayStation, and more.

Key features of EmulationStation include:

Attractive graphical interface for browsing by system, genre, title, etc.
Controller navigation and customization
Support for box art, video snaps, descriptions, and other metadata
Scrapes game data from sites like TheGamesDB
Custom themes and view options
Works on Linux, Mac, Windows, and more

EmulationStation helps organize and launch large game collections from various emulators and systems for a streamlined emulation experience. It's commonly used on media center devices like HTPCs connected to TVs for a console-like interface. The graphical style is inspired by game consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Official Links

Official Website
emulationstation.org

The Best EmulationStation Alternatives

Top Apps like EmulationStation

LaunchBox, Batocera.linux, Retropie, RetroArch, Lakka, RomStation, Mame, Happy Chick, RetroX, Mednafen, Recalbox, Pegasus are some alternatives to EmulationStation.

Sugggest an alternative ❐

LaunchBox

LaunchBox is a customizable frontend and launcher for emulators and PC games. It provides a unified interface to help you easily organize and launch all your games in one place.Some key features of LaunchBox include:Automatic game importing and metadata lookup - LaunchBox can automatically import your games from...

Batocera.linux

Batocera.linux is an open-source Linux distribution designed specifically for retro video game emulation and gaming. Based on RecalboxOS, Batocera.linux integrates a large number of emulators and game engines to allow playing thousands of classic arcade, console, and computer games on modern hardware.Some key features of Batocera.linux...

Retropie

Retropie is an open-source project that transforms a Raspberry Pi into a retro gaming console. It installs various emulators for old game platforms like NES, SNES, Genesis, Arcade machines, and more. This allows you to play classic video game ROMs on your Raspberry Pi with controllers connected via USB or...

RetroArch

RetroArch is an open-source, cross-platform frontend for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications. It's designed to be fast, lightweight, customizable and extensible.Some key features of RetroArch include:Supports many emulators and video game console cores for systems like NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1, etc.Advanced...

Lakka

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that is specifically designed to turn a computer into a full-fledged emulation console for classic video game systems. Based on RetroArch and the Libretro API, Lakka makes setting up emulators and playing classic games simple and user-friendly.One of the key advantages of Lakka...

RomStation

RomStation is an open-source, customizable emulator frontend for managing collections of ROM files and launching emulators. It supports a wide range of popular emulators for systems like Arcade, NES, SNES, Genesis, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and more.Some key features of RomStation include:Intuitive GUI for browsing ROMs by system, genre, year...

Mame

MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is an open source emulator application originally developed by Nicola Salmoria. First released in 1997, MAME emulates the hardware found in early arcade video game systems, allowing users to play the classic arcade games from the 1970s to the 1990s on modern personal computers and other...

Happy Chick

Happy Chick is a feature-packed video game emulator that enables users to play classic games from multiple retro gaming consoles on modern platforms. Originally launched in 2014 for Android devices, Happy Chick has expanded support to also include Windows PCs, iOS devices, and Mac computers.At its core, Happy Chick is...

RetroX

RetroX is an open-source, cross-platform application for emulating classic gaming systems and playing retro video games. It supports emulation of popular retro consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Sega Genesis, Nintendo Game Boy, Arcade cabinets, and more.Some key features of RetroX include:Intuitive...

Mednafen

Mednafen is a popular and customizable open source multi-system emulator. It supports emulating a wide variety of older video game consoles and computers including the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket, Atari Lynx, and more.Accuracy is one...

Recalbox

Recalbox is a lightweight yet powerful operating system tailored for retro video game emulation. At its core, Recalbox takes advantage of the flexibility and horsepower of the Linux kernel while providing a simplified user interface focused on gaming.Once installed on compatible hardware like the Raspberry Pi, Recalbox provides all...

Pegasus

Pegasus is an open-source, privacy-focused email client developed by a non-profit organization called the Pegasus Foundation. It was created in response to growing concerns over government surveillance and corporate data mining of private communications.Some key features of Pegasus include:End-to-end encryption of emails to prevent unauthorized accessAnonymous registration that...