MA2 Converter

Extract text from Maimai charts and lighting shows (MA2)

Select File
Drop or upload your .MA2 file

Online File Converter

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How to extract text from your MA2 file

Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your MA2 file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.

Convert MA2 to another file type

To convert MA2 Charts and shows to another format, you need Simai or other Game software.

Convert a file to MA2

To convert other file formats to the "Rhythm Game Chart" file type, you need software like Simai or a similar tool.

About MA2 files

A .MA2 file is strictly context-dependent, serving two very different professional communities: rhythm game enthusiasts and stage lighting designers.

1. Sega Maimai Rhythm Game Chart (Primary)

Most commonly, a .MA2 file is a custom music chart designed for simulators of the Sega arcade game Maimai (such as Simai or Maipad). Technically referred to as a "Music Animation Set 2," this file is actually a plain text container. It scripts the timing, location, and type of notes (Taps, Slides, Holds) that appear on the circular screen.

Common Friction Points:

Format Confusion: Users often cannot open these because they lack a dedicated simulator. Since the file is just text, Windows does not know how to handle it.
Encoding Issues: Japanese characters in the chart metadata often break if opened in standard editors without Shift-JIS support.
Missing Audio: The .MA2 file contains only the chart data (coordinates/timing), not the actual music. You usually need an accompanying MP3 file in the same folder.

Best Conversion Targets:

To Text (.TXT): Since the file is plain text, you can simply rename the extension to TXT or open it with Notepad++ to edit note patterns manually.
To Simulator Formats: Use tools like MA2 Converter to adapt older charts for newer Maimai DX simulators.

2. GrandMA2 Lighting Show File

In the professional AV industry, a .MA2 file (often found as show.ma2.gz or within a .gma2 folder) represents a show database for the MA Lighting GrandMA2 console. These files contain the entire logic of a stage show: patch lists, cues, sequences, and 3D visualization data.

Practical Constraints:

Proprietary Lock-in: You cannot "open" this file to see a list of lights without the GrandMA2 onPC software. It is a compressed binary database.
Version Mismatch: A file saved on version 3.9.60 cannot be opened on older console firmware.

Best Conversion Targets:

To PDF/CSV: Use the GrandMA2 onPC software to load the file and "Export" patch lists or cue sheets to PDF or CSV for documentation.
To XML: You can export specific layers (like fixture profiles) to XML for editing in external tools.

Convert.Guru analyzes your MA2 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.

Users also converted MMOD, SPF, DSF and MA1 files.

FAQ

If you want to convert MA2 file to , you can use Simai or similar software from the "Rhythm Game Chart" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….

To convert files to MA2, try Simai or another comparable tool in the "Rhythm Game Chart" category.

The MA2 Converter Story

The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MA2 converter.