There’s a new PSP emulator on the scene! From one of the members of the Dolphin team, in collaboration with the fine folks of the Internet, PPSSPP uses a JIT (just in time) compiler to keep its hardware requirements minimal, and it’s looking very promising. At this early stage (0.4 at the last release) it has been confirmed as supporting several games, but nothing at 100% compatibility. It’s being developed on five platforms simultaneously, so expect rapid progress. Check it out. (The Mac version must be built from source.)

The classic and groundbreaking real-time-strategy game Dune II is now playable in your web browser. Based on the game’s open-source implementation OpenDune, Dune 2 Online seems pretty faithful to the original experience. I haven’t encountered any problems yet, but I’m still early on in the campaign.

ZX Spectrum emulator zxsp reached version 0.8.0.pre9 this week. The developer wrote a long-ish post explaining the new features in detail. In short, the emulator now supports audio input from a standard audio input device, and it includes memory inspectors. Get it here (scroll to the bottom).

It was a quiet month in emulation on the Mac, but continue reading for more updates—including progress on the Mini vMac Cocoa port and new versions of QEMU, VICE, and FCEUX.

Sorry it’s up so late. I’ve been busy meeting deadlines.

We’ve been mighty spoiled by Sixtyforce developer Gerrit recently. The 0.9.6 update reported on last time was quickly followed by 0.9.7, with automatic update notifications added alongside a slew of bug fixes. Get it from the Sixtyforce (or 64ce, as I hear the cool kids call it) website. And don’t forget to register to support further development.

SpeedofMac’s website went down a while back, and hosting troubles led to him moving to ConsoleEmu.com. Head there for the same downloads and information about (NES and later) console emulators that you came to expect from the previous incarnation, now with a more platform-agnostic outlook.

BSNES is no more; byuu has renamed his super-accurate Super Nintendo emulator Higan after adding multi-system support. You can now also use it to play NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS games. The source code is Linux only at this stage. No word yet on whether Richard Bannister is in any way equipped to port it to the Mac. This is the official Higan page.

Continue reading for more emulator news, including major updates to FS-UAE and zxsp and new versions of OpenMSX, ARAnyM, Stella, Bizhawk, and more.

Nintendo 64 emulator Sixtyforce got a rare update recently. Version 0.9.6 adds code-signing, 64-bit Intel support, bug fixes, updated memory protection, USB controller hot-pluggable support, faster texture conversions, basic Conker’s Bad Fur Day support, and loads more. It also drops PowerPC support. See here for the full release notes. Limtc on the forums has reported less jerky performance and better sound. Grab it here, and be sure to let us know how it performs for you. 

Parallels 8 has been released. New features include full Mountain Lion integration—full screen, Mission Control, multi-touch gestures, Launchpad, Notification Center, etc—a presentation wizard, dictation, shared bluetooth, shared trash, drag and drop attachments in Outlook, and some other stuff. You can run Mountain Lion as a guest OS, too (bring on the infinite recursion). It also comes with the usual performance improvements and enhanced security. Check it out here.

There’s heavy competition, though, as VMware Fusion 5 dropped this month. It comes “loaded with more than 70 new features.” There’s Launchpad integration, AirPlay Mirroring, Notification Center support, a new UI, Mountain Lion guest support, Windows 8 “optimization,” USB 3 support, “near-native” performance, improved battery life, faster 3D graphics, one-click snapshots, a new Linux 3D graphics driver, and a new “embedded learning center.” You can peruse the full sales pitch here.

Continue reading for more updates, including new versions of DBGL, VirtualBox, QEMU, Bochs, and others, and an upcoming FS-UAE 2.0 release.

MacScene's new sister site Archive.vg launched its public beta at the end of July. It's shooting to be the IMDb of video games, and has had some great feedback so far. The Archive.vg iPhone app was just released on the App Store (free!), with near-full access to the database—it's missing screenshots, but it has credits and contributors (which you won't find on the website just yet). The app also has collections, which you can expect on the site at a later date. On the Archive blog, two articles may be of special interest to MacScene regulars: An Emulator for the Rest of Us—How OpenEmu Changes Everything and The Perils, Challenges, and Uncertainty of Collecting and Preserving Video Games.

Dapplegrey, a DOSBox frontend, reached a major milestone sometime recently—version 3.0. I can't kind find any release notes, but it has a shiny new UI and organisational features—along with a new icon. Mountain Lion users take note that it's not signed for Gatekeeper. You can get it from the Classics for X website.

Classic adventure game interpreter ScummVM version 1.5.0 "Picnic Basket" has been released. This update adds support for 11 more titles, including Backyard Baseball 2003, Dreamweb, Blue Force, and Once Upon A Time: Little Red Riding Hood. Changes include "dramatically" improved MT-32 emulation and TrueType font support. See the Release Notes for more details. As always, you can download the latest release from the ScummVM downloads page.

Continue reading for more emulator updates, including new versions of OpenMSX and Sheepshaver, a name change for gbpablog, and more.

Bizhawk, a multi-system emulator with built-in TAS recording capabilities, has been ported to the Mac. It eschews an OS X-native UI in favor of a wrapper that keeps the features from the Windows version. There are no plans for a Mac-native UI in the future, unfortunately. See the MacScene discussion thread for more details, or download Bizhawk via the TASVideos forums.

Nintendo DS emulator DeSmuME version 0.9.8 has finally been released. Chief among changes is a new Cocoa front-end, which seems to improve the responsiveness. This update also provides a "host of compatibility fixes"—loads of graphical and core bugfixes. Get it from the DeSmuME website.

The developers of ResidualVM issued a call-out for playtesters on April 15 for an upcoming 0.1.0 release. ResidualVM is a sister project to ScummVM that currently supports Grim Fandango to a point of completeability. Details for the playtesting can be found here, while you can learn more about the project at the ResidualVM website.

Angelo Salese has stepped down as MAME project lead because of "real life issues and concerns." Miodrag Milanovic is now in charge.

Continue reading for more emulator news and updates, including new versions of FS-UAE, PCSX-Reloaded, Mini vMac, and more.

Classic Sierra adventure game Space Quest 2 has been remade by Infamous Adventures with 320x200 resolution, a 16-bit colour palette, and over 4000 lines of recorded dialogue, along with allowances for mouse-only control. Team VSB have also released a feature-length Space Quest sequel called Vohaul Strikes Back. The SQII remake is currently Windows only, although a Mac version should be coming soon. Vohaul Strikes Back is Windows only.

OpenEmulator now supports the 1977 Apple II. The latest update (1.0.2) to the module-based emulator supports early Apple II hardware with cycle-accurate video emulation and joystick/mouse support. OpenEmulator also supports the Apple I. See here for a feature list for the Apple II support, or head over to the OpenEmulator website for more information and a download link.

Atari 2600 VCS emulator Stella has been updated to version 3.5. Stella is now donationware. You can donate many things other than money—there's a list of suggestions provided on the Stella website. Changes include improvements to joystick management code, restructuring of the OpenGL code, and a new default snapshot directory, amongst many others. See the Stella news page for the full list. Hit up the official Stella site for a download link.

Continue reading for more emulator updates, including new Hatari, Mini vMac, Dapplegrey, Bochs, RPCEmu, and more.

Apple has released the next major update to its Mac operating system. Mac OS X Lion, which is currently available only through the Mac App Store, serves as a great indication of Apple's future direction, and not just because it integrates the most successful aspects of iOS. There are changes afoot in the world of personal computing; Lion may well be both a beginning and an end. Check out John Siracusa's incredible 19-page review on Ars Technica for a complete breakdown

As always with major system upgrades, due caution is advised -- backup your system, research app compatibility, and be prepared for problems. Many older emulators will likely no longer work, as Lion drops PowerPC support altogether. Richard Bannister notes that all current releases of his emulators and other programs are "believed to be compatible," with the sole exception of audio editor Cacophony. Many others, as you'll see, have put out updates to address Lion compatibility.

Keep reading for more emulator updates.