Raspberry Pi computers are miniature motherboards that provide everything you need from an average PC all within a small package are definitely all the rage. They are highly customizable and make for great problem-solving computer solutions for all manner of tasks.
They are also great for those learning to build PCs, as all of the components are visible to the naked eye, which teaches you a great deal about computer science.
PCs are also very present in the public conscience thanks to the various benefits they bring when it comes to gaming. Gaming on a PC offers boundless possibilities, and with the right specs and the right programs, you can even get to playing some of your favorite retro classics.
Emulation might be a hot-button issue, but it is proving to be a perfectly valid way to access older gaming content that might otherwise become defunct or outright lost without careful preservation.
Emulation allows us to play older games well into the future. This is another reason why Raspberry Pi devices are proving so popular: emulation!
But can an average Raspberry Pi 4 be used to emulate games from the PS2 era (see also ‘Can Raspberry Pi 3 Run PS2?‘)? Why don’t we find out together?
Can Raspberry Pi 4 Run PS2?
Technically speaking, it is possible to get PS2 games running on a Raspberry Pi 4, but the results that you see will prove less than satisfying.
Sadly, the Raspberry Pi 4 just does not have the computational power to be able to run PS2 games as smoothly as you might like. This makes it largely an impractical system to attempt to run PS2 emulators on.
If you were to try to play PS2 games on a Raspberry Pi 4, you would expect to see issues as wide-ranging as graphical issues, frame rate issues, and even sound issues.
When trying out some classic PS2 roms on our Raspberry Pi 4, we found that in certain games, character models would have trouble loading in, and often loaded in missing polygons, and sometimes even textures.
This also applies to environments, with visible screen tearing and damage to textures evident on buildings, rocks, and trees in many games. This can make older games look far worse, which is a disservice to many great classic games from the system.
Frame rates are also considerably ruined in the emulation process. Many of our favorite fast paced games became absolutely sluggish and incomprehensible, which rendered many of them completely unplayable.
At best, most PS2 games running on Raspberry Pi 4 can max out at around 30 frames per second, while most generally sit between around 20 frames per second to as low as 10 frames per second. This can prove detrimental to many games that require quick thinking and instant movement.
Because of the impact on visuals from the lower computational power of the Raspberry Pi 4, you can also expect some audio issues from PS2 games. Many audio files outright became corrupted, and would not play when cued in game, which had a significant impact on atmosphere in some games.
If audio did play during other PS2 games, then it would very often be very choppy, with lots of audio clipping that caused our speakers and headphones to become incredibly loud at random intervals.
Can PCSX2 Emulator Run On Raspberry Pi 4?
Unfortunately, no. The most popular Playstation 2 emulation platform will in fact not run consistently on a Raspberry Pi 4. This is because PCSX2 currently runs natively on x86 processors. Raspberry Pi computers instead use ARM processors, which means that they are totally incompatible with one another.
If the PCSX2 emulator program were to be compatible with Raspberry Pi 4, you’d likely experience graphical and audio issues that would make the experience very disappointing. Thus, it is best to use other emulators that are compatible with ARM processors if you want to emulate on your Raspberry Pi 4 (see also ‘How To Safely Overclock Raspberry Pi 4‘).
However, it is also better to find a different device to emulate Playstation 2 games, as the Raspberry Pi 4 simply does not have enough power.
Do You Need To Overclock A Raspberry Pi 4 To Run PS2 Games?
Most certainly. You would definitely have to overclock your Raspberry Pi 4 to be able to run PS2 games. Without overclocking your Raspberry Pi 4 (see also ‘How To Overclock Raspberry Pi 3‘), it is very likely that your PS2 games would not even boot up in the first place, and if they did, they would be running at sub-10 frame rates!
Overclocking a Raspberry Pi 4 is very easy, though the results when it comes to Playstation 2 emulation are hardly worth it anyway, as they will still run very slowly, and with significant audio and video fidelity issues.
Will The Raspberry Pi 4 Ever Be Able To Run PS2 Games Reliably?
It’s certainly possible that emulator developers will be able to optimize and streamline the emulation process so well that even a Raspberry Pi 4 can run to a perfect degree. However, the likelihood that they would expend the energy and time necessary to achieve these results is very low.
Emulation is in a constant state of evolution, as it is a long-term process to work out exactly how certain consoles process certain games.
Thus emulators can improve massively from one year into the next. This is why it could be possible that Raspberry Pi 4 devices could come to emulate the Playstation 2, but the effort needed to get there is considerable.
Raspberry Pi 4 devices may make it easier to access high-quality computing in a much smaller, and often very adorable package, but this does not mean that they are capable of doing everything that a top-of-the-range gaming PC is capable of.
Raspberry Pi 4s make it easier to port around all you need from a computer (see also ‘How To Port Forward Raspberry Pi‘), but unfortunately they cannot be used to play games released past 1999.
This is because they just don’t have enough power to be able to process information like how a Playstation 2 does.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can The Raspberry Pi 4 Run ps3?
Definitely not. The Raspberry Pi 4 has trouble even processing Playstation 2 games, so there is no doubt that it would also have trouble processing the considerable demands of Playstation 3 games.
Playstation 3 emulators are also a long way away from usable, and have only recently been developed to work consistently with a small few games, thus it is unlikely that Playstation 3 games will be running on Raspberry Pi 4 hardware in the foreseeable future!
Can Raspberry Pi Emulate PS4?
No. As mentioned earlier, a Raspberry Pi 4 encounters considerable difficulty even trying to render Playstation 2 games. Playstation 3 emulation is still a long way away, and would not work on the Raspberry Pi 4 (see also ‘How To Power Raspberry Pi 4‘).
Playstation 4 emulators do not even currently exist, and the games most certainly would not be compatible with Raspberry Pi 4 infrastructure anyway!
Can Raspberry Pi Run Xbox games?
No. The original Xbox is similar in power to the Playstation 2 and Gamecube (see also ‘Can Raspberry Pi 4 Run Gamecube‘), both of which the Raspberry Pi 4 has trouble emulating games for. Thus it is safe to say that no Raspberry Pi device could run original Xbox games.
As a tech enthusiast from a young age, it was inevitable that I'd find my way to the humble, yet brilliant Raspberry Pi. With this site - I aim to build out a knowledge base that will give you everything you need for your own Raspberry Pi journey!
