Sony PlayStation 3

• Emulator: RPCS3
• Folder: /userdata/roms/ps3
• Accepted ROM formats: .psn .squashfs
• Accepted folder extensions: .ps3

Sony distributes this firmware on their website for installing onto your PlayStation 3; no link can be provided but it's easy enough to find by using a search engine.

PlayStation 3 ROMs can come in many formats, disc-based, PSN and that other one. Installation differs depending on format.

Batocera accepts these kinds of PS3 games in the following folder structure:

roms/ps3/
     └─ Game name.ps3/
        ├─ PS3_GAME/
        │  ├─ LICDIR/
        │  ├─ TROPDIR/ (trophy data)
        │  ├─ USRDIR/ (the main game data)
        │  ├─ ICON0.PNG
        │  ├─ PARAM.SFO
        │  ├─ PIC0.PNG
        │  ├─ PS3LOGO.DAT
        │  └─ (various other metadata files)
        ├─ PS3_UPDATE/ (built-in firmware update, if applicable)
        └─ PS3_DISC.SFB

From Batocera v33 and higher, you can losslessly compress PS3 game folders as SquashFS images and still have RPCS3 read them as if though they weren't compressed at all!

To do so, open up SSH and run the following commands on your already installed disc-based game:

cd /userdata/roms/ps3
mksquashfs "Game name.ps3" "Game name.ps3.squashfs"

For example:

cd /userdata/roms/ps3
mksquashfs "Little Big Planet.ps3" "Little Big Planet.ps3.squashfs"

PSN games were originally downloaded from the online store and installed onto the hard-drive. Because they are not disc-based games, some manual action is required:

1. On the system list, press [F1] on the keyboard and click on Applications in the left sidebar
2. Open rpcs3-config
3. Click on File → Install Packages, Raps, Edats
4. Navigate to and install the PSN game's PKG files ( wtf is a PKG file?) (this may take a while)
5. Once that's complete, exit out by pressing [Ctrl] + [Q]
6. In the file browser, click on Share and navigate to system/configs/rpcs3/dev_hdd0/home/00000001/exdata/ ( how do we find out this number?)
7. Place the corresponding RAP license file into the folder
8. Click on Share and navigate to roms/ps3
9. Create a new text file titled after the game's name followed by the .psn extension. For instance, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.psn
10. Open this as a text document and enter the game's ID code in a sinle line. For instance, NPUB30162

The PSN game will be installed to /userdata/system/configs/rpcs3/dev_hdd0/game/<GAMEID>. This is subject to change in the future.

Here's an example text file (which can be downloaded) that can be placed in rom/ps3:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.psn

NPUB30162

For this example text file, the resulting folder structure would look like this:

/userdata/
 ├─ roms/ps3/
 │       └─ Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.psn
 └─ system/configs/rpcs3/dev_hdd0/game/NPUB30162/
                                       └─ (the game data)

RPCS3 (Russian Personal Computer Station 3) is an experimental emulator for the PS3. Founded in May of 2011 by DH and Hykem, its development has been steadily increasing in activity over time. It's pretty much the only PS3 emulator that can consistently run most commercial games.

It requires more resources than older systems, benefiting from a decent CPU and a Vulkan-capable GPU for hardware acceleration. Games won't run correctly if you don't have GPU acceleration, refer to RPCS3's hardware recommendations on their website. Here's a cool benchmark table: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Rpq_2D4Rf3g6O-x2R1fwTSKWvJH7X63kExsVxHnT2Mc/edit#gid=0

With that said, this is still an experimental emulator, and most games have issues (even if minor). Consult its compatibility list first before making any reports. If one of the games is marked as “playable” on the compatibility list but you're still having issues with it, consult RPCS3's wiki for that specific game.

Standardized features available to all cores of this emulator: ps3.videomode

When RPCS3 is run for the first time (just attempt to launch any game from ES), it will ask to install the provided firmware from the BIOS folder (userdata/bios/PS3UPDAT.PUP). Do so. This may take a while, grab a cup of tea while you wait. When it's done, simply exit the program (File → Exit or [Ctrl] + [Q]) and launch a game again. This will need to be done for every new firmware released. This action can also be invoked manually by going to File → Install firmware.

On the first run of each game, RPCS3 will compile PPU modules. This takes a long time, so grab some tea. In all future launches, wait time is dramatically decreased.

It is possible to have RPCS3 compile the PPU for all currently detected games (as opposed to only doing so when the game is launched). In rpcs3-config, go to ( precise instructions) boot menu → compile PPU cache for firmware and all games.

Here are the Sony PlayStation 3's controls shown on a Batocera Retropad:

For PS3 game specific issues, be sure to check RPCS3's wiki first.

For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.