PCSX

PCSX is a family of open-source PlayStation (PS1) emulators for personal computers. It provides a software-based recreation of the PlayStation hardware, enabling PS1 titles to run on modern systems. The project originated in the late 1990s and produced several forks and derivatives, the most notable being PCSX-Reloaded. These efforts aimed to improve compatibility, speed, and cross-platform support, often by adopting different core implementations or plugin approaches.

PCSX emulates the PS1's central processing unit, typically the MIPS R3000 family, along with the graphics and audio subsystems and the CD-ROM drive interface. Early versions employed interpretation or dynamic recompilation (DynaRec) for CPU emulation, with platform-specific optimizations. Graphics and audio were handled via software rendering, with optional plug-ins or cores on some ports.

BIOS ROMs from a real PlayStation are required to boot games, and distributing BIOS ROMs is not allowed; users must supply their own copies. The project is released under an open-source license.

Platform support historically included Windows and Linux, with additional ports to other Unix-like systems and some macOS builds. Over time, many PCSX variants were superseded by newer emulators and by multi-system front-ends such as RetroArch, which includes PCSX-derived cores, and by Libretro projects in the PSX space. PCSX remains notable for its role in early open-source PS1 emulation and is cited in historical discussions of the field.