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The '''[[gametech:VMU|Sega VMU]]''', short for '''Visual Memory Unit''', is a [[Sega Dreamcast emulators|Dreamcast]] accessory that is stowed inside the gamepad, serving the purposes of second screen during gameplay, storage device and, when unplugged, pocket calendar and handheld game console. Its two first functions are implemented in many, if not most, Dreamcast emulators, but its qualities as a rudimentary handheld are left fully for standalone VMU emulators, which this article is about. It is also known as '''VMS (Visual Memory System)''' in Japan and in PAL regions. It competed with the [[PocketStation emulators|Sony PocketStation]], a [[PlayStation emulators|PlayStation]] accessory launched one year later. Its 48×32 screen makes it one of the most low-res game consoles of all time, together with its competitor the GameKing (32×32also 48×32) and also the GameKing its competitor (64×3232×32) and the [[Pokémon mini emulators|Pokémon mini]] (96×64). Its games were distributed as bonus features of Dreamcast games: they must be downloaded to the VMU when stowed in a controller.

! scope="col"|[[libretro|Libretro Core]]! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>

! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]

!colspan="67"|PC / x86

|SoftVMS|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|MS-DOS|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD|AmigaOS}}|[https://web.archive.org/web/20210606212834/http://mc.pp.se/dc/sw.html 1.10 (source only)]|{{✗}}| {{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{~}}

|[[MAME]https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/RetroArch VeMUlator (VeMUlator_libretro)]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}|[httphttps://wwwbuildbot.mamedevlibretro.orgcom/nightly/release.html nightly]| {{MAMEVer✓}}]|{{✓✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗TBD}}

|ElysianVMU[[MAME]]|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|WebFreeBSD}}|[http://evmuwww.elysianshadowsmamedev.comorg/ 0release.2.0html {{MAMEVer}}]|{{✗✓}}| {{✓}}|{{✗✓}}|{{✗}}

|DirectVMSElysianVMU|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|Web}}|1[http://evmu.elysianshadows.com 0.2.80]| {{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}

|DreamVMUDirectVMS|align=left|{{Icon|Windows}}|0[https://www.zophar.net/vms/directvms.html 1.8]|{{✗}}| {{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}

!colspan| [https://web.archive.org/web/20040415081512/http://xega.emucamp.com DreamVMU]| align="6"left|{{Icon|Windows}}| 0.1| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|Mobile / ARM{{✗}}

|Visual Memory Emulator|align!colspan=left|{{Icon|Android}}"7"|[https://play.google.com/storeMobile /apps/details?id=com.nuritsubushi.vmemu 1.00]|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}ARM

|VeMUlator|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}|[https://buildbot.libretro.com/nightly/android/latest/ libretro core]<br />[https://archive.org/details/vemulator 1.0 RC1]|{{✓}}|{{✓✗}}| {{~}}<brref group=N>[https://github.com/libretro/vemulator-libretro/commits/><small>(master The libretro only)core is still active.]</smallref>|{{~✓}}

|ElysianVMUVisual Memory Emulator|align=left|{{Icon|LiAAndroid}}|[httphttps://evmum.elysianshadowsapkpure.com/ 0visual-memory-emulator/com.2nuritsubushi.0vmemu 1.00]|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}| {{~}}

!colspan| ElysianVMU| align="6"left|{{Icon|LiA}}| [http://evmu.elysianshadows.com/ 0.2.0]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}|Console{{✗}}

|SoftVMS|align!colspan=left|{{Icon|Dreamcast}}|[http://mc.pp.se/dc/sw.html 1.10]|{{✗}}|{{✗}}"7"|{{~}}Console

| SoftVMS| align=left|{{Icon|Dreamcast}}| [http://mc.pp.se/dc/sw.html 1.10]| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{✗}}| {{~}}|-|VMU Emulator(demo)|align=left|{{Icon|PSP}}|[http://web.archive.org/web/20140105092850/http://virtuamunstaz.de/ 1.0]|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{~✗}}| {{✗}}

:The first VMU emulator, originally named simply Visual Memory System. Supports a fuckton heckton of systems, but after version 1.7, the only port distributed with compiled binaries is Dreamcast. Extant documentation is close to zero. The most up-to-date compiled binary one can find online seems to be the MS-DOS port of version 1.8, wrongly [http://www.emu-france.com/?wpfb_dl=50 archived in Emu-France] under Windows. Sound emulation does not seem to work. ;VMU Emulator:A 2005 port of SoftVMS for the Sony PSP. Works fine enough.

:The module is listed as [http://adb.arcadeitalia.net/dettaglio_mame.php?game_name=svmu preliminary ] and sound isn’t emulatedas of version 0.249. There are better options around.

:An extremely ambitious project from the developers of ''Elysian Shadows'', a crowdfunded game that was supposed to be launched for all then-modern systems plus the Dreamcast. The closed-source ElysianVMU was supposed to be the ultimate VMU emulator ever, with an external Jet Set Radio graffiti editor, serial (VMU-to-VMU) communication support via TCP, and perhaps most importantly, an SDK to allow it to communicate with PC games that wished to use a VMU as an accessory. Ports for iOS and Android were announced, together with plans to make the emulator on a smartphone communicate with a game being played on the PC. It generated a lot of hype in the community until development laid dormant in 2018, not too long before the game that birthed it also seemed to fizzle out — out — the devteam last tweeted in early 2019 and the “upcoming” game is still being listed as ''coming soon to Ouya''. The emulator itself? It’s barely usable; no sound emulation seems to be implemented and compatibility is worse than old versions of SoftVMS.