Sega Model 3
| |
| Developer | Sega |
|---|---|
| Type | Arcade system board |
| Release date | 1996 |
| Discontinued | 1999 |
| Predecessor | Model 2 |
| Successor | NAOMI |
| Emulated | ✓ |
Sega Model 3 is an arcade platform released in 1996 as the successor to Sega Model 2. The Model 3 continued several arcade games series established on previous Sega arcade boards, with games such as Daytona USA 2, Sega Rally 2, Virtua Fighter 3, and Star Wars Trilogy Arcade. Upon release, the Model 3 board was significantly more powerful than any other arcade platform on the market as well as any home console or computer at the time, with graphical fidelity roughly to par with Dreamcast or even some early PlayStation 2 titles; it took several years for home systems to catch-up. It had an IBM-Motorola PowerPC 603e CPU that could run at 66, 100 or 166 MHz, 33 MB of RAM and two Lockheed Martin Real3D/Pro-1000 GPUs. The Model 3 was followed by the NAOMI in 1998 which uses a similar architecture to the Dreamcast.
Emulators
[edit | edit source]| Name | Platform(s) | Active? | Latest version | License | libretro core | Recommended? (overall) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC | ||||||
| Supermodel |    |
✓ | 0.3a | GPLv3 | ✗ | ✓ |
| MAME |  |
✓ | 0.289 | GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause |
✓ | ✗ |
Comparisons
[edit | edit source]- Supermodel is an open-source Sega Model 3 emulator with good compatibility. The aim of the Supermodel project is to develop an emulator that is both accurate and playable. However, after several years of development, it still lacks a lot of the originally planned features, such as a user-friendly graphical interface. It has
an experimental multi-player network build (~6 games supported for now). Check out the help page for instructions on how to use it. A libretro port has been confirmed to be in the making. A fork of the main repo which provides multiple lightguns/mice with ManyMouse support in Linux and macOS. On December 2023 a new fork called Supermodel Dojo (Supermodel道場) added delay based netplay limited to digital controls from Model 3 fighting games and a new UI. Rollback netcode is in development. - MAME has a driver for the Model 3, but emulation is currently in a preliminary state, with no games marked as working yet. It is slow and has lots of bugs, some games hang or crash. See MAME driver at Git page for current compatibility (Ignore game status at top of page, which just shows boot compatibility, and check official compatibility at bottom).
Games
[edit | edit source]| Name | Supermodel | MAME | Ports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boat Race GP ‡ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Daytona USA 2 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Daytona USA 2: Power Edition | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dirt Devils | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Emergency Call Ambulance | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Fighting Vipers 2 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Harley Davidson & L.A. Riders | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| L.A. Machineguns | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Le Mans 24 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Magical Truck Adventure | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scud Race | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Scud Race Plus | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sega Bass Fishing / Get Bass | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sega Rally 2 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ski Champ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Spikeout | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Spikeout: Final Edition | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Star Wars Trilogy Arcade | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park Special | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| The Ocean Hunter | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Virtua Fighter 3 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Virtua Fighter 3: Team Battle | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtua Striker 2 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Virtua Striker 2 '98 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Virtua Striker 2 '99 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Virtua Striker 2 '99.1 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Virtual On 2: Oratorio Tangram | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
This list is updated as of Supermodel 0.3a-20260726-git-24d2ffc and MAME 0.289 (no games marked as working yet).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Sega model 3 emulation (RetroGameForce Published on Jan 19, 2020.)
- Sega Model 3 Games A to Z - Arcade Gaming & Emulation (Dubbloseven. Published on Sep 25, 2017.)
- All Sega Model 3 Arcade Games - Every M3 Arcade Game In One Video (All Games. Published on Mar 4, 2018.)
- Arcade SEGA MODEL 3 Collection (TheRadik. Published on Aug 11, 2018. Supermodel SVN r738 - 1080p60.)
- Emulação - Sega Model 3 (Literalmente{Game}'s PL.)
- ONE-OF-A-KIND SEGA Boat race GP - MODEL 3 - opening (SEGA MODEL KING(WangDrum). Published on 21 February 2026.)
