Developer Successfully Emulates Nintendo Switch Games on M1 Mac

Earlier this week, a developer using the pseudonym Sera Tonin Brocious on Twitter successfully managed to emulate Nintendo Switch games on Apple silicon, which they demonstrated by running Super Mario Odyssey on an M1 Mac.

nintendo switch on mac
As noted by The 8-Bit, the developer was able to achieve this feat with the open source Yuzu emulator, which uses Vulkan, a high-performance 3D graphics API. The implementation is not perfect due to limitations of MoltenVK, a runtime library that maps Vulkan to Apple's Metal graphics framework on macOS and iOS.

The screenshots show Super Mario Odyssey running on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 chip running macOS 11.0.1. This is possible because the processors in the Nintendo Switch and M1 Macs are both based on Arm architecture.


In a follow-up tweet, the developer said the "big hurdle" is proper Metal support, noting that the current MoltenVK implementation results in "middling performance." And while there are no instructions for the public to try this out yet, it's an exciting accomplishment, and one more example of the new capabilities unleashed by Apple silicon.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Awe Dropping Apple Event Feature

Five Things to Expect From Apple's 'Awe Dropping' September 9 Event

Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
Apple today announced its "Awe Dropping" iPhone-centric event, which is set to take place on Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. There are a long list of products that are coming, but we thought we'd pull out five feature highlights to look forward to. That Super Thin iPhone - Apple's September 9 event will see the unveiling of the first redesigned iPhone we've had in years, ...
Awe Dropping Apple Event Feature

Apple Event Logo Hints at Two iPhone 17 Pro Features

Wednesday August 27, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
Apple's logo for its upcoming September 9 event hints at two rumored iPhone 17 Pro features, including new color options and a vapor chamber cooling system. Of course, this is all just speculation for fun, as we count down the final days until the event. New Colors Last month, Macworld's Filipe Espósito reported that orange and dark blue would be two out of the five color options...
Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Antenna Design

Two All-New iPhone 17 Colors Seemingly Confirmed

Monday August 25, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple will offer the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in a new orange color, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman made the claim in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, adding that the new iPhone 17 Air – replacing the iPhone 16 Plus – will come in a new light blue color. We've heard multiple rumors about a new iPhone 17 Pro color being a shade of orange. The ...
crossbody strap

iPhone 17's 'Crossbody Strap' Accessory to Feature Magnetic Design

Thursday August 28, 2025 7:49 am PDT by
Apple's cases for the iPhone 17 lineup will be accompanied by a new Crossbody Strap accessory with a unique magnetic design, according to the leaker known as "Majin Bu." Apple's Crossbody Strap reportedly features an unusual magnetic design; it likely has a "flexible metal core" that makes it magnetic along its entire length. At the ends, "rings polarized oppositely to the strap close the...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3: Four Key Design Changes Anticipated

Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:05 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022 other than a shift from Lightning to USB-C, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will launch AirPods Pro 3 later this year, and apart from new features like heart rate monitoring, we're also expecting a few design changes. The fourth‑generation AirPods offer useful clues to Apple's design cues for ...

Top Rated Comments

ocnitsa Avatar
61 months ago
Why waste time with that when you should be working at getting Goldeneye to run on it??
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
61 months ago

Hardware is fast enough but apple would never allow an emulator in the store. Have fun running benchmarks
Why would it have to be in the store?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
61 months ago

I thought Dolphin was GameCube’s code name internally at Nintendo
Correct - that's where the Dolphin emulator gets its name from. It's also where the ship in Pikmin and the island in Sunshine got their names from.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4U Avatar
61 months ago
And within 1 week's time, Nintendo sends cease and desist letter. ?
Nintendo is notorious about things like this.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hawkeye_a Avatar
61 months ago

I love my Switch, altough this is a great accomplishment, i dont ever see myself replacing my switch with my mac. 2 different devices.
What if you could run macOS on your Switch? :eek:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Minato1990 Avatar
61 months ago
Need to buy one now ASAP
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)