This week, developers behind the PlayStation 3 emulator RPCS3 announced thatRPCS3 had now achieved stable, native Arm64 architecture support for Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms— Arm64 architecture support so definitive that it even includes the Raspberry Pi 5, of all devices, utterly pushing the limits of emulation believed possible on theRaspberry Pi 5. In the past,Raspberry Pi 5 has also been seen emulating GameCube and Wii(Wii less effectively) — but with the correct settings adjustments, it seems even PS3 emulation is possible on today’s entry-level Arm hardware.
Running PS3 emulation on Raspberry Pi 5 is very much “challenging the limits of PlayStation 3 emulation”— considering the settings used, which make the affair look like a genuine PlayStation Portable (PSP) game by scaling down to the PSP’s output resolution of just 273p versus PS3’s native 720p. But this makes running some 3D games actually possible, includingGod of War(andGod of War II)HD(originally PS2 games),Catherine, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, and more. 2D games will be a lot more playable across the board, of course, but even being able to turn around playable framerates in PS3-era 3D titles is well beyond the emulation capabilities most would expect from a Raspberry Pi 5.
Over on the MacOS side of things, native support for Arm architecture versus simply emulating x86 has netted some massive performance gains on Apple Silicon playing PS3 games. Framerates are seeing increases of anywhere from 50-100% just by running natively instead of being forced through x86 translation on top of intensive PS3 hardware emulation, making truly performant Arm-powered PlayStation 3 emulation a reality instead of a far-off dream.
Unlike the Raspberry Pi 5 testing which more or less approximates a PlayStation Portable, the Apple Silicon testing shows off high performance in some true PS3 powerhouses, including the likes ofGod of War IIIandSkate 3.These titles are much harder to emulate than PS2-to-PS3 HD ports likeGod of War HD, but they are still quite playable on Arm architecture hardware, so long as it has the muscle to back the experience.
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Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.
