Welcome Mac users to Emulator Info! Are you bored of playing the same mobile-based games in the Apple arcade and if you want to enjoy some console-quality gaming experience, you’ve reached the right blog where today’s topic is How to Download and Install RPCS3 Emulator for Mac.
We all know how exclusive and restricting the security is in apple products. May it be iPhones and iPads running on iOS or MacBooks running on their own macOS. These devices don’t allow any unauthorized applications. This makes it difficult to install any kind of emulators on Apple devices.
I present to you, RPCS3 Emulator, the best PS3 emulator that you need. And it will surely work on your Mac no matter the macOS version! You can have intel or even a Silicon m1 Mac, you can still play playstation3 games. It emulates PS3 and plays up to 2/3rd (2191 out of 3274) games quite smoothly on your MacBooks (Windows and Linux PCs too)
So, on this happy note, today we will learn How to Download and Install the RPCS3 on Mac and also discuss some more aspects.
Let’s dive into the article!
Conquer your Rivals!
RPCS3 Emulator
RPCS3 is an open-source and completely free emulator. This emulator plays an unbelievable number of games from the PS3 console and hence is the most popular and trusted PS3 emulator out there.
Moreover, RPCS3 offers loads of best features to gamers such as cheats, saving states, tweaks in graphics, etc. That’s not it! This emulator has superb compatibility with all OS: Windows, Linux, and Mac! And it can run on specs as low as that of Mac1.
RPCS3 on Mac
Until late 2016, RPCS3 worked quite poorly on macOS as compared to Windows and Linux. The developers of the PS3 developers themselves admitted the weak performance of RPCS3 on Macs. They also said that MacOS users are a huge player base and that things will improve with time. It was also mentioned that not only RPCS3 but even Apple (macOS) should make some changes for achieving better compatibility.
But all of that is changed now. Today, RPCS3 is so compatible with even low-spec PCs that you could get 60FPS in M1 Mac for various games. This kind of performance was never seen before since generally only gaming PC with the latest processors are able to give 60FPS. Furthermore, certain games like Tomb Raider could also run on an amazing 120Hz. This could be accomplished by tweaking some settings in the custom configure.
Specifications
Following are some requirements you will need to download and install the RPCS3 for Mac.
Minimum Requirements
For running all games. Stability and playability are not guaranteed
CPU
- AMD – Any x64 CPU
- CPUs without AVX2 and at least 4 cores and 8 threads
- CPUs with 2 cores per CCX cluster
- Intel – Any x64 CPU
- CPUs without AVX2 and at least 4 cores and 8 threads
GPU
- AMD – OpenGL 4.3 or higher
- AMD Evergreen architecture, minimum HD 5000
- NVIDIA – OpenGL 4.3 or higher
- NVIDIA Fermi architecture, at least GTX 400 series
RAM
4 GB of RAM minimum.
Storage
- SSD or HDD storage for emulator and games data
- 512 MB for emulator data, 5 GB for virtual console dev_hdd1 cache
- 128 MB at an average for emulator cache and console user data per game.
OS
macOS
macOS Big Sur 11.6 or newer
Recommended
For playability and optimum performance
CPU
- AMD – 8 cores and 12 threads
- AMD Zen 2 architecture or newer
- AMD Threadripper above 1000 and 2000 series
- Intel – 8 cores and 12 threads,
- Intel Skylake architecture or later
GPU
- AMD – Vulkan that supports active driver
- AMD Polaris architecture, RX 400 series or above
- NVIDIA – Vulkan that supports the active driver
- NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, GTX 900 series or above
RAM
- 8 GB (or more) dual-channel RAM
- Dual-channel memory is highly recommended over single-channel
- SSD storage for emulator data, SSD or HDD storage for games
Storage
- 512 MB of emulator data
- 5 GB for virtual console dev_hdd1 cache
- 128 MB at an average for emulator cache and console user data per game
OS
macOS
macOS Monterey 12.0 at least
Download and Install RPCS3 Emulator for Mac
- The official RPCS3 website (https://rpcs3.net) just recently got the Mac version officially. Earlier, it was hosted by a Citra CI website.
- Go to the official RPCS3 website.
- Scroll down where you can see download options for Windows, Linux, and macOS
- A small file ‘.dmg’ file is downloaded. This is the installer program.
- Along with the emulator, you also need the official firmware for Playstation3.
- This firmware is hosted on the Sony website
- Click on the ‘download PS3 update’ button
- Click ‘allow’ on the prompted window to start firmware download.
- This update will have a ‘.pup’ format.
- Install the emulator by double-clicking the dmg file.
- Drag and drop the RPCS3 icon directly into the application folder.
- On your desktop, right-click on the disk image and eject it as you no longer need it
- Go to your finder and search for the big 3 icon representing PS3 and open it
- Do the normal initializing process by agreeing to the checkboxes
- As the app starts, click on ‘file’ then click ‘install firmware’.
- Go to downloads -> PS3UPDAT.pup
- The system will take from a few seconds to a minute for uploading PPU modules
- Connect a Bluetooth controller if you wish. Enable it from the ‘Pads’ section in RPCS3
- Download .ISO files to the games you want and go to files -> add games in RPCS3 to start an amazing PS3 experience on your Mac!
Some FAQs of RPCS3 Emulator
What is RPCS3 licensed under?
RPCS3 has GNU General Public License Version 2 (June 1991). These licenses state that RPCS3 and its source code can be used for any purpose, but the distribution of RPCS3 requires the source code to be released.
How can I get started using RPCS3 on my PC?
Visit the RPCs3 site and go through the Quickstart Guide explaining how to get started.
How stable is RPCS3 in its current state?
RPCS3 is quite stable as it can seamlessly run 2/3rd of the PS3 games. Stability sometimes may vary game-to-game as some games are too heavy on the system or not configured properly. New updates and features keep coming in regularly to increase stability.
What input devices can I use with RPCS3?
Typical input devices like a keyboard and mouse are obviously supported. Also supports Bluetooth controllers such as DualShock 3, DualShock 4, and DualSense. Developers keep on adding more controllers to this support list.
What PlayStation 3 peripherals can I use with RPCS3?
We currently have support for the PlayStation Eye Camera, however, PlayStation 3 Move controller support is still under development.
Can I just insert a PlayStation 3 game disc and start playing games?
In its current state, RPCS3 does not support reading game data directly from PlayStation 3 format discs. PlayStation 3 discs are formatted in a very special way that can only be read with an actual PlayStation 3 system, or a compatible Blu-ray drive from select manufacturers. For more information on what Blu-ray drives are capable of reading games, please refer to the Quickstart Guide.
Where do I get PlayStation 3 games and software?
Typically, you want to dump your own PlayStation 3 games and software from your own console. We believe that this is the most efficient and safest way to migrate your disc-based games and digital games from your console to your PC.
You can also dump games using select compatible Blu-ray drives. Not every Blu-ray drive will recognize PlayStation 3 games due to how data is formatted on the disc. For more information on what Blu-ray drives are capable of reading games, please refer to the Quickstart Guide.
How do I dump PlayStation 3 games and software?
You will need two different tools for dumping PlayStation 3 game discs from a Blu-ray drive. For more information on how to get started dumping your own games, please refer to the Quickstart Guide.
Can I play multiplayer games online with real consoles or other RPCS3 users?
Online multiplayer is something we’re thinking about and that already works on a very small amount of games with simple network code. We may not focus on it until RPCS3 is as stable and as accurate as possible. Playing games online with real PlayStation 3 systems will require the user to connect to a PlayStation Network server in many cases, thus requiring private PSN servers to be made first.
Can I play local-multiplayer games with RPCS3?
Local multiplayer is completely supported. We support up to 7 concurrent controllers at any given time, just like original PlayStation 3 hardware on both Windows and Linux. The controllers can be assigned with a wide range of configurations. For example, one player can use a keyboard while another can use a compatible gamepad. To learn more about compatible gamepads, please refer to the Quickstart Guide.
Can I import my save data from my real PlayStation 3?
Yes, saves can be imported from a real PlayStation 3 system using the standard USB flash drive transfer method. Due to how the user account system works on a real PlayStation 3 system, in some cases, you may need to re-sign your save. For more information on how to manage your save data within RPCS3, please refer to the Quickstart Guide.
Why do you work on game X instead of game Y?
We don’t work on developing a game X or Y emulator, we work on developing a PlayStation 3 emulator.
Improvements to the emulator apply to all games that use the updated functionality, as our goal is to create the most accurate PlayStation 3 emulator possible and therefore we do not include game-specific hacks.
I’d like to create a patch, contribute, or possibly become a developer. Where do I start?
That’s awesome, contributions are welcome! Check the Coding Style Guidelines and Developer Information. Find something you want to implement or improve (such as broken games, bugs, missing features, Roadmap goals, etc.), work on it, test your changes and send a Pull Request. If you have any questions, hit us up on our Discord Server in the #development channel.
Where can I submit issues, feedback, and comments that I want to report?
Good, you can do it through the GitHub Issue Tracker (development-related issues) or the Forums (general questions, support, and commercial/homebrew games discussion). Please be sure to follow these guidelines and the ones on the issue template before sending anything:
- Check if your system matches all the system minimum requirements;
- Check if the issue is meaningful for the team (e.g. The Last of Us doesn’t work is obvious and therefore useless);
- Search older issues/forum threads to see if your issue was already submitted;
- While reporting issues, don’t forget to include details about your system (OS, CPU, GPU, etc.), as well as the RPCS3.log file.
- Use understandable English. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but clear enough to understand your message;
Emulator Info’s Words
RPCS3 is an amazing PS3 emulator and maybe the best one. It works on almost all versions of Windows, Linux, and Mac. It’s difficult to get emulators on macOS but not in the case of RPCS3. It’s easily accessible and fully loaded with many features.
We rate RPCS3 4.8 stars for its easy interface and ability to seamlessly play PS3 games on all versions of Mac from m1 max.
Game on Fellas!
