Play NES and SNES on your Mac using the Wii Classic Controller

Remember the original Nintendo and the Super Nintendo? Ever wish you could relive those days of yore on your Mac?


Well not only can you play those games again in full 8-bit glory, you can play them using the Wii Classic Controller. Here are the components you'll need:

• NES or SNES emulator
• Wiimote
• Wii Classic Controller (optional)
• Wiimote interface for OS X

NES Emulator

Nestopia is the most mature NES emulator for the OS X that I've come across so far. It runs games such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Mega Man 2, and Castlevania III almost flawlessly.

To install the emulator, simply drag and drop the application into your Applications folder.

SNES Emulator

SNES9X is one of the best SNES emulators to set up on the OS X. You should also take a look at the unofficial OS X build of ZSNES. They both run games such as Super Mario World flawlessly.

To install the emulator, simply drag and drop the application into your Applications folder.

Wiimote Interface for OS X

DarwiinRemote is the application we'll need in order to interface with the Wiimote via Bluetooth.

To install DarwiinRemote, simply drag and drop the application into your Applications folder.

To connect the Wiimote to your Mac, click on the "Find Wiimote" button, then follow the on-screen directions. (The directions will tell you to press the 1 and 2 buttons on your Wiimote simultaneously.) Once your Wiimote is connected, you'll be able to see your Wiimote movements graphed in real-time by DarwiinRemote.

Using the Wiimote or Wii Classic Controller with the Emulators

Since our emulators all accept keyboard input for controlling the emulated games, we'll set up the Wiimote or Wii Classic Controller to mimic keyboard key presses via DarwiinRemote.

First, we'll configure the emulators' keyboard controls. As an example, I've included my keyboard layout for SNES9X:
Then, we'll configure DarwiinRemote to mimic the appropriate keyboard key presses through the Preferences panel. As an example, I've included the mapping for my Wii Classic Controller that corresponds to my key configuration in SNES9X:That's all there is to it!

Top 3 Things to Know for PC Users Using a Mac

For those of you who are traditionally PC users and are trying out the Mac operating system, I thought I would share with you the three most fundamental differences from Windows that will affect your productivity.

1. Closing a Window is not Closing the Application

In the Windows operating system, each application has its own window so closing the window is the same thing as closing the application. However, in OS X, each application is not embodied by its own window.

To properly close an application, you should go to the application menu and select "Quit…". For example, in Firefox, you would go to the Firefox menu and select "Quit Firefox". A convenient and universal shortcut for this action is Cmd-Q.


2. There's no Start menu

The Windows operating system has used the Start button and the accompanying menu for access to applications. In OS X, there is an Application folder where all the applications reside. Whereas Windows uses Shortcuts that point to the applications in the C:\Program Files\… folder, OS X just has its applications directly within its Application folder.

So to install an application in OS X, you just have to drag and drop the application into the Application folder. To uninstall, you just have to delete the application from the Application folder.

3. Use the Cmd key instead of the Ctrl key

On computers that use the standard PC keyboard, most shortcuts use Ctrl key combinations. In OS X, that role is played by the Cmd key. For example, the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands are Cmd-X, Cmd-C, and Cmd-V, respectively. In Safari, Cmd-T opens a new tab for browsing.

The Control key can be used in combination with a mouse left-click to change the click into a right-click.