The Sony Playstation redefined console gaming when it was released in 1996.
It was a breakthrough at the time with its high capacity CD-ROM drive replacing
the venerable game cartridge. Game developers changed the way they presented
games with this new console by using computer-generated cinematics and 3D game
graphics. Emulation now lets you play all of the classic Playstation Games right
on your PC. Here is a primer on how to get started.
- Make sure your computer has what it takes to run the program.
Unlike emulators and roms of older consoles, the Playstation needs a good
amount of processing and memory power to play consistently well. Your
computer has to be at least a Pentium III or comparable, running at MHz or
higher. Look in your computer's "System Properties" for this info.
I'd suggest at least a 1GHz processor and 128Mb RAM if you really want the
best chance of success.
Find a good Playstation emulator online. Consistently the best place to find good quality, working emulators is
emulator-zone. They currently have seven Sony Playstation emulators to offer, but I would suggest the one
Download the emulator file. Click on the file "ePSXe
1.6.0" and when prompted to open or save file, choose to save it. The file
will download at once.
Install the emulator. After the download s complete, open the
"ePSXe 1.6.0.zip" and then click on the "ePSXe" icon. Click
"next" when the Extraction Wizard appears. You have the option of
extracting the files to the default location (in your documents and settings
folder) or to anywhere you would prefer. I prefer extracting them to the desktop
because then there's no need to search for any folder. Clicking "next"
now will prompt the extraction of the files, after which a window appears to
notify you of completion. The "would you like to view the files" box
will have a check in it. Click finish.
Finding Your Favorite Games Doesn't Have to Be Hard
- Open the emulator. If you installed the emulator on the
desktop, click on the ePSXe icon (if you are doing this for the first time,
it probably already popped up as soon as you hit "finish" in the
previous step). Windows XP will ask you if you are sure you want to run it.
Click "run" and the emulator starts. Before playing anything,
though, you need to perform the next two steps.
- Install ePSXecutor utility. Open the "ePSXecutor
1.0.6.3pre.zip" and click on the "ePSXecutor" icon. When the
Extraction Wizard comes up, click "next." When asked where you
want to extract the files, put them in the "plugins" folder of
your ePSXe emulator.
- Install Playstation bios. After downloading the bios,
click "open." Drag your "SCPH101.bin" file into your
"bios" folder of your ePSXe emulator.
- Load a Sony Playstation rom and play. In my experience,
getting a gamepad or joystick enhances the quality of play. You can redefine
the controller settings under the "options" tab. There are
hundreds of Playstation roms that run at full speed and look great. Google
"roms" and see what is out there!
