Whilst MAME does an excellent job of emulating most of SEGA’s earlier hardware there are more specialist emulators for certain SEGA arcade boards. MAME though is still constantly evolving so support will probably come eventually. You can track its development and capabilities at http://www.mamedev.org. MAME also has the advantage of being available on multiple platforms and in 32/64-Bit versions.
The table below is a list of common SEGA hardware, their specialist emulator [program] that plays games on a PC under Windows (though many of these have been ported to other platforms so its worth looking), and some of the games on that hardware as examples though there could be hundreds. There are still dozens more platforms not listed here. There are online museums which covers this information.
System requirements will vary so check each specific emulator but beware some will need a high specification PC in order to get a decent speed. Some may require the BIOS files for a specific board which can usually be found at various emulation sites.
Hardware |
Example Games Ran |
Emulator(s) |
Notes |
Naomi (Dreamcast) |
Crazy Taxi |
Makaron |
Separate version for running Dreamcast. |
Model 3 |
Daytona USA 2 |
Super Model |
|
Model 2, B,C,CRX |
SEGA Rally |
Model 2 Emulator |
Multi-CPU version available |
Model 1 |
Virtua Racing |
Modeler |
Discontinued |
SEGA STV (ST-V) |
Radiant Silvergun |
SSF |
Same emulator for Saturn. |
System 32 |
SEGASonic |
Modeler |
Discontinued |
System 24 |
Bonanza Bros |
Caesar |
Discontinued |
System 18 |
Alien Storm |
MAME |
Can also emulate SEGA consoles arcade machines from other manufacturers. |
System 16A, B |
Golden Axe |
MAME |
|
SEGA Space Harrier |
Space Harrier |
MAME |
|
System E |
Fantasy Zone II |
MAME |
|
System 2 |
Wonderboy |
MAME |
For hardware prior to this MAME will most likely cover this.
Note that all the programs in this list will be updated by their authors. Be sure to checkout an emulation news websites for recent developments.
