Internet Arcade Makes 900 Classic Games Playable for Free in Browser

No quarters needed.

The Internet Arcade has made roughly 900 coin-operated arcade games from the '70s, '80s and '90s available to play for free in web browsers. Players can choose from a handful of suggested games or search the non-profit organization's digital archive for games from developers such as Atari, Capcom, Nintendo and Sega.

The games are emulated using the JavaScript Multi Emulator Super System (JSMESS) software package. Firefox is the recommended browser but different browsers offer varied results. While the games can be controlled using a keyboard, gamepads do work with the emulator after a bit of manipulation to get them operating properly.

“Obviously, a lot of people are going to migrate to games they recognize and ones that they may not have played in years,” Internet Arcade Operator Jason Scott said in a blog post. “A few more, I hope, will go towards games they’ve never heard of, with rules they have to suss out, and maybe more people will play some of these arcades in the coming months than the games ever saw in their ‘real’ lifetimes.”

“My hope is that a handful, a probably tiny percentage, will begin plotting out ways to use this stuff in research, in writing, and remixing these old games into understanding their contexts. Time will tell,” Scott said.

The arcade project is the latest in the Internet Archive’s mission to preserving computer and video game history. Last year, the Internet Archive launched the Historical Software Collection, a collection of classic console and computer games and software.