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RetroArch will soon get the PlayStation 2 emulator PCSX2

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Feel the need to run some classic PlayStation 2 games? It's set to get a lot easier, as the RetroArch team have reported on their work with PCSX2. They've had a bounty open to pay someone to do it since 2018, with it currently sat at $915. The good news is that progress appears to be good!

The RetroArch team noted it's getting "quite usable" and it shouldn't be too much longer until it gets a first release with support for libretro and RetroArch so you can have another emulator under one roof. User aliaspider has been doing a lot of the work, which you can follow the conversation of on GitHub. It currently only supports 64bit and OpenGL / Direct3D 11 with OpenGL having more features supported. It seems Android and macOS are not currently planned for the PCSX2 emulator core.

Check out their work in progress look at it running:

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Find their blog post on it here.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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21 comments
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tmtvl Nov 3, 2020
Poor Play, it's so unloved.
slaapliedje Nov 3, 2020
Guess the question is, can the Raspberry Pi 4 handle PS2 games? I may have to take my old tower and use it as a games console... been tempted to do it anyhow..
TheSHEEEP Nov 3, 2020
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Quoting: slaapliedjeGuess the question is, can the Raspberry Pi 4 handle PS2 games? I may have to take my old tower and use it as a games console... been tempted to do it anyhow..
I'd say... probably?

I've been running PS2 emulators many years ago (when they were still eating more performance, too) and if you assume that the best Pi now has about the power of PCs back then. Definitely possible.
Koopacabras Nov 3, 2020
any words if the release of retroarch on steam is approaching?
mcphail Nov 3, 2020
Quoting: slaapliedjeGuess the question is, can the Raspberry Pi 4 handle PS2 games? I may have to take my old tower and use it as a games console... been tempted to do it anyhow..

I'd be surprised (and delighted) if it was playable. My low-end amd hardware can just about run GT2 with some slowdowns, and that's considerably more capable than a pi 4. It'd be good to hear your experience. If it runs smoothly, I'll be buying a pi 4!
TheLinuxPleb Nov 3, 2020
Is there going to be any ARM version? I think i saw somewhere that this is x86 only.


Last edited by TheLinuxPleb on 3 November 2020 at 3:28 pm UTC
slaapliedje Nov 3, 2020
Quoting: TheLinuxPlebIs there going to be any ARM version? I think i saw somewhere that this is x86 only.
Pretty sure PCSX2 is all open source, so in theory just needs a recompile. I don't think it's one of those emulators that are coded in a way they won't even work on 64bit systems.

Quoting: HoriHopefully the future Pi5 will be able to run at least some PS2 games but the Pi4... I can't see how it could be able to reasonably run any of them.

They did just release the pi 400 that you can overclock quite nicely as it has a massive heat spreader stuck to it inside the keyboard. I'll probably pick one of those up eventually.
slaapliedje Nov 3, 2020
Quoting: The_Aquabatany words if the release of retroarch on steam is approaching?
I'm still waiting for the updated Dwarf Fortress too.
whizse Nov 3, 2020
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Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: TheLinuxPlebIs there going to be any ARM version? I think i saw somewhere that this is x86 only.
Pretty sure PCSX2 is all open source, so in theory just needs a recompile. I don't think it's one of those emulators that are coded in a way they won't even work on 64bit systems.
It was actually only recently ported to 64bit, and porting to ARM or other platforms seems to be a thorny issue: https://github.com/PCSX2/pcsx2/issues/2915
WJMazepas Nov 3, 2020
Quoting: slaapliedje
Quoting: TheLinuxPlebIs there going to be any ARM version? I think i saw somewhere that this is x86 only.
Pretty sure PCSX2 is all open source, so in theory just needs a recompile. I don't think it's one of those emulators that are coded in a way they won't even work on 64bit systems.

Unfornately is not that easy. Until today, there isnt a PCSX2 port for ARM. The only that i know is the Damon PS2 that is available on Android


Last edited by WJMazepas on 4 November 2020 at 12:18 pm UTC
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