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The Sony Playstation was the most popular gaming console in America, with a library of thousands of Playstation games currently available. Featuring advanced 3D texture-mapped graphics, full transparency and shading effects, and high-quality CD sound, it was considered impossible to emulate decently until the release of Connectix Virtual Gamestation.
 | PCSX Test 3 for OS X. |
From the home page:PCSX is a Sony Playstation™ (PSX) emulator which will allow you to play many PSOne game titles on a Macintosh Computer System. PCSX is not an original emulator but is ported from the Linux emulator of the same name. Since PCSX relies on plugins for core functionality several plugins have been ported and / or written from scratch. For simplicity these plugins are bundled with the main emulator download.
 | Gil Pederson's PCSX for OS X home page. |
| the official PCSX home page. |
 | the Virtual Game Station Compatibility List. |
NOTE: Virtual Game Station was purchased from Connectix by Sony in late 2001, and was subsequently discontinued. It is no longer available from Connectix for purchase, though you can still find it in some retail stores. Unfortunately, it will never be updated to run on Mac OS X--you need to reboot into OS 9 to use it, because it is incompatible with the Classic Environment.
Connectix Virtual Game Station is Connectix's emulator for the Sony Playstation. It offers amazing compatibility, excellent speed, and simple installation. CVGS is compatible with any G3-based Apple Macintosh or better; their modestly-chosen reference platform is simply a first-generation iMac. Even with the least powerful of G3-based Macs, almost all games run flawlessly. (Feel free to read the Compatibility List to verify this.)
For the first time, the concept of emulation doesn't have to come hand-in-hand with either nostalgia or mind-numbing slowness. And for the first time, new Macintosh customers don't need to worry about the availability of games on the platform. With CVGS, the Mac actually gets games like Tomb Raider 3 at the same time as the PC version, and titles like Metal Gear Solid before the PC. Add in an inexpensive USB gamepad, and the CVGS experience is just as good as the console. This is an amazing precedent for Macintosh gaming.
There are a few things which CVGS doesn't do. One of the most notable omissions is Dual Shock technology--all new Playstations now include force-feedback controllers, which means games can shake the controller as you play the game. Lack of support for 3D hardware is another glaring omission--CVGS renders all polygons in software, which means that CVGS can't take advantage of 3D hardware.
| the support page of Connectix Virtual Game Station (now discontinued). |
 | of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on Virtual Game Station. |
 | of Metal Gear Solid on Virtual Game Station. |
 | of Mortal Kombat 4 on Virtual Game Station. |
 | of Tomb Raider 3 on Virtual Game Station. |
 | of Gran Turismo on Virtual Game Station. |
 | of Final Fantasy 7 on Virtual Game Station. |
 | of Jet Moto 2 on Virtual Game Station. |
| FlareStorm 2.0 release 2004-02-24. |
| the FlareStorm 2.0 release 2004-08-17 source code. This source is virtually identical to the 2004-02-24 binary. |
| FlareStorm version 1.2 alpha 1. |
FlareStorm is a new Playstation emulator for the Mac. Its compatibility is currently limited due to the difficulty of properly emulating the CD-ROM, and controller support is unfinished, but FlareStorm can already play a few commercial games!
FlareStorm was rewritten from scratch to support Mac OS X--Mac OS 9 version has been discontinued.
FlareStorm version 2.0's compatibility is lower than in the 1.2 series; however, it no longer needs a BIOS ROM image file.
| the FlareStorm home page (Babelfish Translated). |
 | to 2510, who developed FlareStorm. |
| ThePI Fourth Release, a Playstation emulator. (link broken) |
ThePI is a new Sony Playstation emulator which possesses the capability to play most Playstation demos. Its crisp graphics and good speed are very promising; with luck, future versions of ThePI will be capable of playing real Playstation titles. Currently, ThePI is not capable of running any commercial games.
| the home page of ThePI. (this link points to an archive of the original page) |
| to Raphael, who developed ThePI. |
| PSMac 0.1pb, a Playstation emulator. |
PSMac is a Playstation emulator for the Macintosh that has been discontinued. It was unable to run any commercial games.
| the home page of PSMac. |
| to Corey O'Connor, who developed PSMac. |
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