PS2 PCSX2 Emulator released its first major update in 4 years, improving a lot of things

Emulator programmers who spend their spare time developing software are not making money. They are software that helps run old console games on computers. The developer of Dolphin emulator software for the GameCube and Wii estimates that last year they contributed more than $10 million in effort throughout the project. Perhaps PCSX2, the PlayStation 2 emulator software also takes the same amount of effort. On Thursday, the PlayStation 2 emulator project received a new major update after 4 years from 2016. This is an update of years of software and compatibility improvements.

A period of 4 years sounds like a lot, but it’s not really that much. Dolphin, despite being an actively involved project, hasn’t had a stable release since Dolphin 5.0, summer 2016. That’s because the developers of these two families are focused on improving as well. like adding features to them.

The new PCSX2 version, 1.6.0, improves the user interface, supports modern display features such as sync, more controller customization tools, and game support, along with many bug fixes. You can read Details about them on the PCSX2 website.

Here are some of the improvements included in this update. For example, the screenshot in James Bond 007: Nighteye is a clear example of the graphics issue that has been fixed.

Or this bug from Jak 3, making the character’s face black.

Like the error below from unplayable to playable.

Slowly, these small updates bring the emulator closer to the PlayStation 2.

Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 5 won’t be backwards compatible for PS2 (select games only). The limited emulator on PS4 adds about 50 games to your digital purchase. PCSX2 is considered the best way to play old games on new hardware, not to mention it can reach higher resolutions than PS2.

You can download version 1.6.0 on the PCSX2 website here.