Cemu

Short description: Emulator for Wii U software

Cemu

Cemu 1.22.6c running on Windows 10

Original author(s)| Exzap
Petergov
Developer(s)| Team Cemu
Initial release| October 13, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-10-13)[1]
Stable release|

1.26.2 / February 12, 2022; 4 years ago (2022-02-12)[2]

Preview release|

2.0-61 / December 7, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-12-07)

Repository| github.com/cemu-project/Cemu
Written in| C, C++
Operating system| Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS (experimental)
Size| 24.0 MB compressed (Windows)
Available in| English
Type| Video game console emulator
License| Mozilla Public License 2.0
Website| cemu.info

Cemu is a free and open-source Wii U emulator, first released on October 13, 2015 for Microsoft Windows[1][3][4] as a closed-source emulator developed by Exzap and Petergov.[5] Experimental builds currently support Linux and macOS, in addition to the Windows environment available from launch. Though still under development, it is able to run the majority of games smoothly, assuming compatible hardware.[6][7][8] The popularity of the emulator spiked with the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2017 as Cemu successfully booted and ran the title within hours of its release.[9]

## Contents

* 1 Development
* 2 Reception
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Development

Designed as a proof-of-concept, the initial release of Cemu could successfully boot Mario Kart 8 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD yet lacked Wii U GamePad support and audio and suffered from stutters and video glitches.[10] Cemu could run on 64-bit Windows operating systems and only supported OpenGL 3.3 on release. Despite the Wii U sharing a similar name as its predecessor, the Wii, the emulator was built independently from Dolphin, a Wii emulator, as the systems only shared their CPU architecture in common.[11] The emulator would rapidly progress from this state and increase its compatibility with the Wii U game library and add more features.

A couple of days after The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released, Cemu was able to boot the game - though running at a sluggish framerate, without audio, and filled with many glitches. The anticipation for emulation of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild caused the emulator's Patreon to increase monthly donations to $7,400 per month[12] and later $22,317 per month.[13] Developers of Cemu expected that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be playable with only a few months worth of work,[9] and had a rudimentary version of the game's tutorial playable within weeks of its release.[14] Cutscenes were made available with a community-made add-on called Cemuhook, though Cemu 1.18.0 removed the need for the plugin.[15][16]

## Reception

The emulator has received positive reception on its ability to play Wii U games on PC at higher resolutions than 1080p, the base resolution of the console, via the usage of community graphics packs. For example Mario Kart 8 can be run in 4K resolution on compatible hardware,[17] with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild playable in 4K resolution.[18] Many mods and enhancements have been developed for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild;[19] in August 2017, a hack to Cemu Emulator developed by Cemu community member Xalphenos allowed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to run at 60 frames per second (FPS), higher than the game's native 30 FPS limit.[20]

Unlike other emulators, Cemu was notably not open source from its inception until 2022. Exzap explained that it allows for quick progress and for more control of its development. However, the decision drew criticism from other emulation developers. Higan creator Byuu, later known as Near, condemned the Cemu's closed-source nature, arguing that Cemu benefitted from the work of previous emulators without contributing back. Pierre Bourdon, a Dolphin developer, also disagreed with its commercial status, expressing concern that high paying donors could influence the emulator's development team to favour certain bug fixes or games to support.[21] In January 2022, Exzap revealed Cemu's roadmap, stating that Cemu is planned to go open source in 2022.[22] Seven months later, in its 2.0 release, Cemu became open source under the Mozilla Public License, and introduced its first builds for Linux,[23][24] and later for macOS.[25]

## See also

* Citra, the first Nintendo 3DS emulator
* Yuzu, a Nintendo Switch emulator
* List of video game console emulators

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Plunkett, Luke (14 October 2015). "Wii U Emulation Is Coming Along" (in en-US). http://kotaku.com/wii-u-emulation-is-coming-along-1736385021. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
2. ↑ "Cemu changelog". https://cemu.info/changelog.html.
3. ↑ Khan, Imad (16 May 2016). "Cemu Wii U emulator runs Mario Kart 8 almost flawlessly after update". https://www.yahoo.com/tech/cemu-wii-u-emulator-runs-234217690.html. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
4. ↑ Hassan, Ahmed. "CEMU 1.5.1 Perfectly Runs Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Mario Kart 8 & Super Mario Bros U - TechFrag". http://techfrag.com/2016/05/24/cemu-1-5-1-perfectly-runs-legend-of-zelda-mario-kart-8/. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
5. ↑ Khaw, Cassandra (14 October 2015). "Cemu, the first working Nintendo Wii U emulator, publicly released". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/cemu-the-first-working-nintendo-wii-u-emulator-publicly-released/. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
6. ↑ Mendoza, Menchie (16 December 2015). "You Can Now Play 'Mario Kart 8' On PC With Cemu Wii U Emulator [Video"]. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/116883/20151216/you-can-now-play-mario-kart-8-on-pc-with-cemu-wii-u-emulator-video.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
7. ↑ Khan, Imad (16 May 2016). "Cemu Wii U emulator runs Mario Kart 8 almost flawlessly after update" (in en-US). http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/cemu-wii-u-emulator-update/. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
8. ↑ "Cemu Compatibility List". http://compat.cemu.info/.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Phillips, Tom (March 7, 2017). "Zelda: Breath of the Wild already up and running on PC". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-03-07-wii-u-fans-working-on-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-pc-port. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
10. ↑ "Wii U emulator (almost) runs 'Mario Kart 8' on your PC" (in en-US). 14 October 2015. https://www.engadget.com/2015-10-14-wii-u-emulator.html.
11. ↑ Khaw, Cassandra (2015-10-14). "Cemu, the first working Nintendo Wii U emulator, publicly released" (in en-us). https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/10/cemu-the-first-working-nintendo-wii-u-emulator-publicly-released/.
12. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2017-03-07). "How the Cemu emulator's devs got Zelda: Breath of the Wild running in just a few hours" (in en-US). https://www.pcgamer.com/how-the-cemu-emulators-devs-got-breath-of-the-wild-running-in-just-a-few-hours/.
13. ↑ "Wii U emulator team has huge parts of Zelda: Breath of the Wild working on PC" (in en-US). 2017-03-23. https://venturebeat.com/2017/03/22/wii-u-emulator-team-has-huge-parts-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-working-on-pc/.
14. ↑ Williams, Mike (March 22, 2017). "Breath of the Wild Nearly Running on PC Via CEMU Emulator". USgamer. http://www.usgamer.net/articles/breath-of-the-wild-nearly-running-on-pc-via-cemu-emulator. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
15. ↑ Becht, Eli (May 2, 2017). "'Breath of the Wild' CEMU 1.7.5 Update". Heavy.com. http://heavy.com/games/2017/05/breath-of-the-wild-cemu-wii-u-emulator-1-7-5-update-performance-4k-frames-per-second/. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
16. ↑ Meo, Francesco De (2020-04-06). "Wii U Emulator Cemu 1.18.0c Released; Vulkan Performance Improved For Zelda Breath of the Wild and More" (in en-US). https://wccftech.com/wii-u-emulator-cemu-1-18-0-performance-vulkan/.
17. ↑ "Mario Kart 8, Running At 4K" (in en-us). 7 August 2017. https://kotaku.com/mario-kart-8-running-at-4k-1797582638.
18. ↑ "Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Looks Awesome In 4K" (in en-us). 9 August 2017. https://kotaku.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-looks-awesome-in-4k-1797696064.
19. ↑ Morton, Lauren (2017-11-20). "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's PC mod scene is bizarre and amazing" (in en-US). https://www.pcgamer.com/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wilds-pc-mod-scene-is-wonderfully-weird/.
20. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2017-08-18). "New Cemu emulator hack enables 60 fps in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" (in en-US). https://www.pcgamer.com/new-cemu-emulator-hack-enables-60-fps-in-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/.
21. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2017-03-28). "The ethics of emulation: how creators, the community, and the law view console emulators" (in en-US). https://www.pcgamer.com/the-ethics-of-emulation-how-creators-the-community-and-the-law-view-console-emulators/.
22. ↑ "Roadmap - Cemu Wiki" (in en-US). https://wiki.cemu.info/wiki/Roadmap#Going_open-source.
23. ↑ Fenlon, Wes (2022-08-24). "Here's why Wii U emulator Cemu going open source is a big deal for emulation—and for the Steam Deck". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-why-wii-u-emulator-cemu-going-open-source-is-a-big-deal-for-emulationand-for-the-steam-deck/.
24. ↑ "CEMU, the Wii U Emulator, has now become Open Source" (in en). 2022-08-24. https://overclock3d.net/news/software/cemu_the_wii_u_emulator_has_now_become_open_source/1.
25. ↑ "Cemu macOS Compatibility Chart". https://cemu.emiyl.com/installation.

## External links

* v
* t
* e

Emulators of Nintendo hardware

Handheld|

* higan
* MAME (MESS)
* Mednafen
* VisualBoyAdvance
* Citra
* Wzonka-Lad

Home console|

* FCEUX
* higan
* NESticle
* Nestopia
* Mednafen
* Snes9x
* ZSNES
* Project64
* 1964
* Mupen64Plus
* Project Unreality
* UltraHLE
* Dolphin
* Cemu
* Yuzu

List of Nintendo video game console emulators

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