How to play Mario Kart 64 on Mac

PlatformsOperating system, Portable console

Game summary

Mario Kart 64 is the second main installment of the Mario Kart series. It is the first game in the series to use three-dimensional graphics, however, the characters and items in this game are still two-dimensional, pre-rendered sprites. The game offers two camera angles and three engine sizes: 50cc, 100cc and 150cc. Each kart has distinctive handling, acceleration and top speed capabilities. Shells that you fire at rival racers, Bananas that make them skid out and Lightning Bolts that make them small and very slow are just a few of the game's unique power-ups.
First released: Dec 1996

Play Mario Kart 64 on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play Mario Kart 64 on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

Mario Kart 64 installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Mario Kart 64 like you would on any PC.
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