PlayStation Vita emulators

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PlayStation Vita
Vita.png
PS Vita (PCH-1000)
Developer Sony
Type Handheld game console
Generation Eighth generation
Release date December 2011 (Japan)
February 2012 (North America)
Discontinued 2019
Predecessor PlayStation Portable
Emulated
For emulators that run on the PlayStation Vita, see Emulators on Vita.

The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is an eighth-generation handheld game console by Sony Interactive Entertainment, released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America on February 15, 2012, and retailed for $249. It had a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore at 333 MHz (Boosted to 499 MHz when overclocked) with one of its cores reserved for the OS, 512 MB of RAM, 128 MB of VRAM, a quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU, which can push 133 million polygons onto the screen every second at a clock speed of 166 MHz, and a custom sound and image processor called Venezia. It also features most of the PSP hardware, but it has been officially used only for backwards compatibility purposes.

Emulators[edit]

Name Platform(s) Latest
Version
PlayStation TV Hardware features Enhancements Compatibility License Active Recommended
x86
Vita3K Windows Linux macOS git ~ ~ 59%
1329 out of 2120 reported titles
GPLv2 (Copyleft)
ARM
Vita3K Android 0.2.0-12 ~ ~ 59%
1329 out of 2120 reported titles
GPLv2 (Copyleft)
Vita3K
Vita3K, an open-source PS Vita emulator, has seen significant advancements in recent years, particularly in game compatibility. It is the best and only Vita emulator for PC and Android currently.
RPCS3

The RPCS3 developers once considered adding Vita emulation support, going as far as displaying a simple 'Hello world' and a basic atomic test sample.[1] However, Vita development was completely halted since then and focused exclusively on PS3 emulation down to the website's branding. A Patreon post admitting as much asked users whether they're still interested in Vita emulation. Significant further developments on Vita coming from RPCS3 aren't very likely considering the general lack of developer interest, and those like frangarcj, who went on to join Vita3K. The RPCS3 project has since removed Vita support from the codebase.[2]

Enhancements[edit]

Name Vita3K
Graphics Resizable Internal Resolution
Ultrawide hack
Widescreen already supported on PSVita system.
But there is no support by system for render games in other ratios such as ultrawide 21:9 or super ultrawide 32:9.
Texture Replacement *
Ray-tracing
(DXR, VRT and MRT)
Implementing ray-tracing in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be possible soon.
However, you can try "Screen-Space Ray Traced Global Illumination" shader using ReShade.
Pre-rendering AA
(MSAA, SSAA)
Super-resolution techniques
(DLSS, XeSS and FSR 2+)
Requires access to the depth buffer and temporal data like motion-vectors, so it is quite challenging and unlikely to be possible soon.
Besides any GPU that can use DLSS can run Vita3K at 4k native with ease anyway.
RTX Remix Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future.
Performance Overclock
Internal Framerate Hack *
Frame generation technologies
(LSFG, DLSS-G, ExtraSS and AFMF)
Implementing frame generation technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future, however post-processing techniques such as motion interpolation is quite possible. Input latency will be a crucial factor, but its impact likely varies depending on the specific technique used, it is recommended to use after applying the "Internal Framerate Hack".
While AFMF or LSFG could be used with Vita3K, please be aware that some visual glitches and artifacts may occur at this time.
Rendering latency reduction technologies
(LatencyFleX, Reflex and Anti-Lag+)
While most emulators offer frame pacing or framebuffer latency control options, implementing rendering latency reduction technologies isn't currently feasible. This is likely doesn't offer enough benefits to justify the development effort.
Preload ROM image to RAM
For users with sluggish multi-platter HDDs or plagued by horrible seek times, this enhancement might offer smoother experience, potentially reduced power consumption; it also shines when images reside on a network drive.
Although keep in mind that preloading image would take some time, and it will require additional amount of RAM capacity.
Post-Processing Post-rendering AA
(FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA)
Post-rendering scaling
(Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1)
Filters
AI-powered filter compatible
(Freestyle)
?
Shader Chain
Inverse tone mapping compatible *
TAS features Macros/Scripts/Lua
Rewind
Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed
Savestates *
Movie recording/playback
Controls Mouse Injector Compatible
Input lag-mitigating technique
Quality of life Pause/Resume Emulation ?
Built-in mod editor and manager
Built-in Cheat Manager
Built-in Patch Manager ?
Streamable compression format
Per-Game Profiles ?
Command Line Options ?
Variable Refresh Rate compatible ?
Big Picture Mode
Misc RetroAchievements
EmuVR support Exclusive to libretro cores. So there is no support at the moment.
AI Service
With the help of OCR and other techniques, the AI service can provide a live translation of a game, or text-to-speech capabilities for the visually impaired among other things, either on demand or automatically.
Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment. So there is no support.
Debug Features

Hardware features[edit]

Name Vita3K
Front and Rear Cameras
Microphone *
Disney Infinity Base ?
Controls Motion Sensor *
Touchscreen
Multi-Touch ~[N 1]
Rear Touch Pad TBD
Communication PS3 Communication
PS4 Communication
PlayStation Network *
Ad-Hoc *
Infrastructure *
GPS TBD
Location Data Acquisition Service TBD
System Software LiveArea and apps ~
PlayStation Mobile
Trophies WIP
PlayStation emulation
(for PSOne Classics*)
PSP emulation for Digital PSP titles
(incl. PSP Minis and PSP Remasters)

LiveArea and apps[edit]

psdevwiki: PlayStation Vita system software section
Wikipedia: List of PlayStation applications

LiveArea is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. You can launch various applications from this interface as well.

  • Vita3K has pull request for this feature at the moment, although it currently doesn't show installed games, only system apps.

Trophies[edit]

PSNProfiles: PlayStation Vita Trophies

Trophies are PlayStation Network awards presented to players for completing specific tasks in a game. The feature is present in most PlayStation 3 games, and all PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games.[1] Trophies shouldn't be confused with RetroAchievements.

  • Vita3K has partial support for Trophies at the moment. See SceNpTrophy.cpp for the current situation. Also, Vita3K has built-in manager for Trophies (Using Vita3K GUI-Trophy Collection application).

Communication[edit]

Ad-Hoc

Thanks to Ad-Hoc feature on Sony handheld devices, it is possible to play on the same network and local multiplayer over the internet with programs like XLink Kai[2][3], also see LAN Tunneling programs for more information.

Infrastructure

Thanks to Infrastructure feature on Sony handheld devices, it is possible to play online multiplayer using private servers on the internet.

PS3 communication

Remote play (via the PS3 system's wireless LAN), copying games to play on a PSVita system that can be played on either PS3 or PSVita systems etc.[3][4]

PlayStation TV[edit]

PlayStation TV
PlayStation-TV-FL.jpg
Developer Sony
Type Microconsole
Generation Eighth generation
Release date November 2013 (Japan)
October 2014 (North America)
Discontinued 2016
Emulated

The PlayStation TV (PSTV) was a microconsole released by Sony in 2013 that essentially served as a home console version of the PlayStation Vita handheld gaming device. It allowed users to play a large library of PlayStation Vita games on their TVs. In addition to playing Vita games, the PlayStation TV offered remote play functionality, enabling users to stream games from their PS4 consoles to their TVs. While the PlayStation TV was initially marketed as a companion device to the Vita, it was discontinued in 2016.

References[edit]

External links[edit]