ZSNES

ZSNES

The GUI of ZSNES
Original author(s)	zsKnight, _Demo_, pagefault, and Nach
Developer(s)	ZSNES Team
Initial release	0.150 / October 14, 1997 (1997-10-14)
Stable release	1.51 / January 24, 2007; 4 years ago (2007-01-24)
Development status	Private work in progress
Written in	x86 assembly, C, C++, PSR.
Operating system	Linux, MS-DOS, Windows Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Xbox
Available in	English
Type	Video game console emulator
License	GNU General Public License Version 2
Website	zsnes.com

ZSNES is a free software SNES emulator written mostly in x86 assembly with official ports for Linux, MS-DOS, Mac OS X, Windows and an unofficial port for Xbox.

Background

Development of ZSNES began on July 3, 1997 and the first version was released on October 14, 1997, for MS-DOS. Since then, official ports have been made for Windows and Linux. The emulator became free software under the GPL license on April 2, 2001. It is still being actively developed despite the departure of its original developers zsKnight and _Demo_.^[1] Much of the development efforts concentrate on increasing the emulator's portability, by rewriting assembly code in C and C++^[2], including a new GUI using Qt.^[3]

ZSNES is notable in that it was among the first to emulate most SNES enhancement chips at some level. Until version 1.50, ZSNES featured netplay via TCP/IP or UDP.

Due to being written in low-level assembly language for x86 processors, it is not possible to port ZSNES to devices using RISC processors. Other than the first Xbox, no mainstream gaming device has ever used an x86 processor.^[4]

Reception

ZSNES is arguably the most popular and highest rated SNES emulator available.^[5] It has been also reported as the best Super NES emulator available for Linux.^[6] British game magazine Retro Gamer called ZSNES "very impressive" and praised the "incredible toaster mode" in 2005.^[7] It also has a reputation of being one of the fastest SNES emulators available.^[8]

However, developers and advocates of competing emulators often criticize ZSNES for its relatively poor accuracy^[9] and being written in x86 assembly, meaning non-portability across processor architectures and high difficulty to develop and maintain.^[10]

See also

Free software portal

• List of video game console emulators

References

1. ^ badinsults (October 9, 2009). "ZSNES is not dead, it is still under active development". http://board.zsnes.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=13245. Retrieved July 23, 2010. 
2. ^ grinvader. "Re: Current Status FAQ". ZSNES board. http://board.zsnes.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=204739#p204739. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
3. ^ "ZSNES GUI 3.0 the first screenshot". ZSNES board. http://board.zsnes.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11027. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
4. ^ Deathlike2 (November 3, 2007). "No Port requests". http://board.zsnes.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=10713. Retrieved July 23, 2010. 
5. ^ "Super Nintendo Emulators - rating vote counts and results". The Emulator Zone. http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/snes/. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
6. ^ "Playing Classic Console Games". Retro Gaming Hacks. O'Reilly Media. p. 184. 
7. ^ "Retro Coverdisc". Retro Gamer (15): 108. 2005. 
8. ^ "Fastest SNES Emulator". Emuforums.com. http://forums.ngemu.com/showthread.php?t=21157. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
9. ^ byuu. "Why Accuracy Matters". byuu's homepage. http://byuu.org/bsnes/accuracy. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 
10. ^ byuu (4 April 2011). "Re: bZSNES v1.51 released!". byuu's message board. http://board.byuu.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1522&p=32625#p32625. Retrieved 24 October 2011. 

External links

• ZSNES Website
• ZSNES Documentation
• ZSNES Development Site (outdated)
• ZSNES SVN commit log