BBC Micro emulators

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BBC Micro
Bbc-micro.jpg
Developer BBC
Type Computers
Release date 1981
Discontinued 1994
Predecessor Acorn Atom
Successor Acorn Archimedes
Emulated

The BBC Micro, also known as the BBC Microcomputer System or the Beeb as it was affectionately called, was a series of microcomputers created by Acorn Electronics for the BBC's computer literacy project. They were designed to be rugged, stable, and easy to use.

Nine models were produced with the BBC brand, the phrase "BBC Micro" usually referring to the first six (Model A, B, B+64, B+128, Master 128, and Master Compact), the latter three being referred to under the name Acorn Archimedes. Some of the other model variants that followed after include the Master Turbo and the Master 512. The system was primarily used in schools across the United Kingdom, but also found success in the home computer markets in the UK, the US, and West Germany.

The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro; it uses the same processor and is software-compatible (albeit slower) for programs that use the hardware abstractions and video modes provided by Acorn's OS, but uses incompatible hardware. As a result, it has a largely distinct set of emulators.

Emulators[edit]

While the BBC Micro had fewer games than its contemporary systems like the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, or Commodore 64, it was a powerful machine, and several notable titles were created for it, including Elite and Starship Command.

BBC Micro[edit]

Name Platform(s) Latest version BBC Micro BBC Master License Active Recommended
x86
BeebEM Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD AmigaOS RiscOS git B, B+, M128 GPLv2 (Copyleft)
B-em Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 2.2, git A, B, B+, M128, MC MT, M512 GPLv2 (Copyleft)
Model B Windows 10-04-04 Not Norton blocked B, B+ ?
jsbeeb Web Web, git B, M128 MT GPLv3 (Copyleft)
BeebIt RiscOS 0.65 0.72 B, B+, M128 ?
The Beeb (BBC Micro Emulator) Web TurboWarp A, B, B+, M128, MC MT ?
BeebItJ RiscOS 1.03 B, B+, M128 ? ~
Horizon macOS 1.4.2 B ? ~
B2 Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 20241201 B, B+, M128 GPLv3 (Copyleft)
ARM
Beebdroid
(B-em based)
Android 2.0git A, B, B+, M128, MC MT, M512 ?
Console
PSPBEEB PSP 1.10 B ?
BeebEM PS2 PlayStation 2 1.0 Beta 3 B ?
PocketBeeb GameBoy Advance 1.01 B ? ?
BeebemDC Dreamcast N/A B N/A N/A N/A N/A

Acorn Electron[edit]

Name Platform(s) Latest version License Active Recommended
x86
MAME Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.272 GPLv2
BSD-3-Clause
CLK Linux macOS FreeBSD 2024-10-19 MIT (Permissive)
eek Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD git GPLv2 (Copyleft)
ElectrEm Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.6c GPLv2 (Copyleft)
ElkJS Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD git ?
Elkulator Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 1.0
git
GPLv3 (Copyleft)

Multi[edit]

Name Platform(s) Latest version Atom BBC Micro BBC Master Electron License Active Recommended
x86
MAME Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD 0.272 A, B, B+, M128 ~ GPLv2
BSD-3-Clause
Pantheon Windows 14.620 ? Proprietary

Resources[edit]