Recently PCSX2 team, the folks behind an open-source PlayStation 2 emulator, announced that they have successfully created a piece of software for Windows, Linux, and macOS that could run almost every game in the PS2 catalogue. Except one.
The team noted that not every game will run perfectly and will at least load up to the menu screen. They have tested their emulator against 2689 PS2 titles and found that 97% of them are “playable”.
Only 22 of the games they tested were labeled as “Perfect”, as in they run bug free.
So What’s The Big Deal?
Well, emulating a modern console like the PS2 — using a piece of software to make another piece of hardware pretend that it is a PS2 — is difficult. And being able to make a single emulator that can run almost every game from a console is a huge achievement.
PCSX2 can run almost every PS2 game except for Real World Golf, a golfing game that uses a special controller called a Gametrack; an early version of a motion controller that uses cables attached to players’ hands to determine movement for the swing.
Is Emulation Legal?
Emulators are technically legal. The ability to run old software or games on modern hardware is a boon for those who want to preserve them for future generations.
However if you don’t own a licensed copy of the game in the first place, it could be considered piracy. And that is a whole new can of worms.
