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How to emulate the original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 on Mac
Alex Baggott | Jun 07, 2024

Games on the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 can be played on an Apple Silicon Mac with a little bit of work. Here's how to emulate the classic consoles on a Mac or MacBook.

The transition from the fourth to the fifth generation of video game consoles was a unique time in gaming history. It heralded the movement from 2D to 3D games during the mid-1990s.

This involved pioneering work in bringing real-time 3D graphics to life, as well as the disruption of major players in the industry.

It also adds a whole new dimension (literally) to emulating games. Polygon transformation, projection, lighting and shading, texture mapping, anti-aliasing, depth and occlusion, animation, and camera positioning must all be handled accurately by emulators.

Some of these aspects can even be manipulated to produce better visuals.

Incidentally, it's easy for modern Macs to perform the graphical computations made on the hardware of fifth-gen consoles. But, it's more taxing for them to emulate the console performing those same calculations.

When we add multiple graphical enhancements on top of this, you'll see how emulating these games can rapidly make your Mac's hardware struggle.

Unlike the fourth generation systems in our previous guide, the setup for emulating fifth generation consoles on Mac depends on the particular console.

Also, due to the higher complexity, not every available approach works well. So, the following guide makes recommendations based on the results of our testing and experimentation.

Important: The legalities of emulation

Before you start, you should ensure that you understand the legality of emulating games. It is usually legal to emulate a console as long as you own the original hardware, so make sure that you do.

You should also own a legitimate copy of the original game, since downloading or distributing a game without owning it is illegal. However, the legality of using digital copies of physical games depends on copyright laws in your jurisdiction, and can vary significantly between regions.

Please check all of this out before proceeding.

The need for BIOS files

In the world of emulation, optical disc systems such as the PlayStation or Sega Saturn need BIOS files to run. Cartridge-based systems like the N64 do not.

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) files contain the firmware necessary for the console to interface with the game's hardware. Essentially, the BIOS acts as an intermediary, handling system startup routines and ensuring proper communication between the game and the emulated hardware.

On the original consoles, the BIOS initializes the hardware, including the optical drive, to make sure that it reads the game disc correctly. It also manages core system functions such as memory card access, audio, and video settings.

This provides a standardized environment in which games run.

Additionally, BIOS files perform security checks to authenticate the game disc, verifying that it's a legitimate copy. This step is crucial for consoles designed to prevent piracy.

Many optical disc consoles implement region locking through their BIOS. This restricted games to specific geographic regions, such as Europe or the US.

In contrast, cartridge-based systems like the Nintendo 64 do not require BIOS files for emulation. This is because cartridges are self-contained, meaning the hardware initialization and system functions are directly managed by the cartridge itself.

Games on cartridge-based systems access the console's hardware directly, bypassing the need for an intermediary firmware layer.

For emulators, this distinction means they require the original BIOS file to accurately replicate the startup routines and system functions of consoles that used them. Without the BIOS, these emulators cannot perform essential tasks, leading to compatibility issues or failure to boot games.

The BIOS region must match the region of the game ROM. For example, an SCPH-3000 BIOS (a model of Japanese PS1) can only run PS1 games that were released in Japan.

You must also make sure that you only use BIOS files from the hardware that you own. For example, if you own PAL PS1 from the UK, it's illegal to download and use the BIOS of an NTSC PS1 from the US.

How to extract your PlayStation (PS1/PSX) BIOS

This process dumps the BIOS from your PS1 and converts it for use in an emulator.

This guide uses a piece of software called MemcardRex which is currently only available for Windows. Therefore, you'll either need access to a PC to run it, or you'll need to use CrossOver or a virtual machine.

How to extract the PlayStation BIOS with BIOS Dumper...
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