An Emulator is a kind of software which basically emulates or creates a similar environment. The main purpose of emulators is to let the user use any particular software or platform in a non-compatible device. Similarly, Game emulators have also become very popular and allow gamers to play old arcade games, console games, or games designed for other platforms.
However, if you are a PlayStation Fan and want to Play Games as the way you play on Console then there are various PlayStation Emulator which you should use if you want to enjoy PlayStation environment.
1. PCSX2a
is an open source PlayStation Emulator for Windows PC. This Emulator comes with 95% compatibility. To get started with PCSX2 you must get the BIOS file from your PlayStation 2 console. These BIOS files are not attached with PCSX2 since it is a Sony copyright so you have to get it from your console first. If you think it’s not working for you, then you must check the compatibility list. The system requirements for this PlayStation 2 Emulator are:
- Windows/Linux OS
- CPU: Any that supports SSE2 (Pentium 4 and up, Athlon64 and up)
- GPU: Any that supports Pixel Shader model 2.0, except Nvidia FX series (broken SM2.0, too slow anyway)
- 512MB RAM (note Vista needs at least 2GB to run reliably)
2. RPCS3
Right after the PCSX2, here comes the RPCS3 which is an Open source PlayStation 3 emulator. This emulator is written in C++ for Windows and Linux Operating System. This Playstation 3 Emulator is currently capable of running over 1800 commercial titles which are powered by Vulkan and OpenGL. Still, the System requirements for RPCS3 is quite low and simple as you don’t need any supercomputer to make it work.
3. ePSXe
It is another Free Playstation Emulator which you can use. The feature of ePSXe thing which make it different from other Playstation Emulators is, that it’s easy to configure and start right away and playing games with ePSXe is easy. In term of features, ePSXe is really something, it can also support plugins for video and audio. All you need to do is, uncompress plugins and easily configure them through ePSXe’s panel. You can also follow the wizard while initializing the emulator and it will guide you further and makes the process easy for you.
4. PPSSPP
It is a PSP Emulator for Windows, MAC and Linux PCs & Android and iOS device as well. By Using PPSSPP, you can run PSP games on your PC in full High definition resolution. Since it’s for Android as well, so if you are an Android user, then you might not get limited to the only PC. With all the extremely amazing features for PlayStation emulation, it is an open source project, which is licensed under the GPL 2.0 and later version, so you can get it for free. This emulator still on updating, so you may get cool features added time to time with the new versions.
5. Mednafen
Mednafen is a portable, utilizing OpenGL and SDL, argument-driven multi-system emulator. This emulator has such ability through which you can remap hotkey functions and virtual system inputs to a keyboard, a joystick, or both simultaneously. It can also Save states, as is real-time game rewinding. The systems which are supported by this Multi-system emulator are:
- Atari Lynx
- Neo Geo Pocket (Color)
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom
- Virtual Boy
- Sega Genesis/Megadrive
- Sega Master System
- PC Engine/TurboGrafx 16 (CD)
- SuperGrafx
- PC-FX
- WonderSwan
- GameBoy (Color)
- Sega Saturn (experimental, x86_64 only)
- Sony PlayStation
- GameBoy Advance
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Sega Game Gear
6. RetroArch
RetroArch comes with its own frontend polished GUI which enables you to run classic games on a wide range of computers and consoles. It is pretty compatible with platforms like Windows, Mac OS X, Linux. RetroArch is highly configurable which means it will show you all the possible options through which you can set how the games will run and displayed. Another best feature of RetroArch which fulfill the needs and save your system by not installing additional software is its game recording feature. Through its recording feature, you can record your gaming session to a video file, it also enables you to live stream your games sessions on platforms like YouTube or twitch.tv.
Once done with Configuring RetroArch, you good to go and will be applied for all. The number of advanced features with RetroArch you will get are, shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, and few more.
These PlayStation Emulators will surely give you an incredible experience, the only thing you should check before go panic is the compatibility. We have listed these 6 Best PlayStations Emulators though, so at least one will work well for you.