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>.<folder extension>" "<game name>.<folder extension>.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 .
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 roms/ps3.
7. Create a new text file titled after the game's name followed by the .psn extension. For instance, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.psn.
8. Open this as a text document and enter the game's ID code in a sinle line. For instance, NPUB30162.

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

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.psn

NPUB30162

The resulting folder structure would look like this:

roms/ps3/
     └─ Game name.psn

and the PSN game itself is installed in a mysterious place no-one knows about…

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

The emulator used is RPCS3, the PS3 opensource emulator. 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, please refer to RPCS3's hardware recommendations on their website.

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.

You can check the latest PS3 game compatibility from the official list on RPCS3 website.

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

For further troubleshooting, refer to the generic support pages.