FOSSPicks
PS3 emulator
RPCS3
Emulators are amazing. They keep old consoles and computers alive when the companies that built them have either mismanaged themselves into oblivion or moved on to "freemium" titles for smartphones. Although it's difficult to believe that Sony's remarkable PlayStation 3 (PS3) is now over a decade old, it's not so difficult to guess why its hardware has yet to be adequately emulated. The venerable PS3 uses an esoteric CPU, consisting of one PowerPC-based core alongside eight Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs) and its GPU. This architecture makes the PS3 a particular challenge to emulate, especially on x86 hardware, but it's beginning to look like it may finally be possible.
RPCS3 is still very much under development, despite that development starting in 2011, but it's getting tantalizingly close to being usable. In fact, it's getting so close that its developers claim just over 12 percent of all PS3 games can now be played through on the emulator! Because the current download is a .AppImage
, it can be run in place, and you'll also need to download Sony's firmware separately. Fortunately, you're spared having to rip this from your console. Just point the emulator at one of Sony's official updates, and it installs the firmware itself. After that, you'll need to use your own games to get up and running. RPCS3 runs remarkably well – well enough to actually play some of your old favorite games, and even some newer ones. Thanks to Vulkan support for GPU drivers and a huge plethora of recent performance improvements – notably rewriting the vertex GPU processing – many games can run smoothly on a modern system, and there are plenty of options to squeeze the most out of your hardware. You can also configure your keyboard to act as a games controller if you don't have one handy. RPCS3 is incredibly clever and fast; more fundamentally, it works.
Project Website
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.