PS3 emulation has taken a big step forward as open-source emulator RPCS3 now allows users to play their physical games on PC straight from a disc drive.
As announced on Twitter, RPCS3 says: "Owning your games as physical media allows you to play games released as far back as 20 years ago without relying on any servers!"
Users will need a compatible Blu-ray disc drive for it to work, of course – RPCS3 has a full list on its site, and there are plenty of working options available. On Twitter, the RPCS3 account explains that recent changes to the emulator "have extended direct disc drive play support from being Windows-only to also supporting Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD, and have optimized install times for package installations from the disc drive."
It should be noted that although RPCS3 refers to the process as "plug and play," the first time you insert a PS3 disc, you won't be able to jump right into playing. "You still need to provide the disc's decryption key to the emulator, by placing it on data/redump," RPCS3 adds. "Once it's there, you can boot the disc and it's read and decrypted on the fly."
It's certainly ironic that we're seeing this development – which highlights the usefulness and importance of physical discs – now when we're only a couple of months on from Sony announcing that it's stopping production of discs for new PlayStation games from 2028 onwards. Since then, countless complaints and concerns have been raised by fans, devs, and publishers alike, but one common thread is the worry over game preservation, and the impact that the death of physical discs could have on it.
Flash forward to today and the fact that the RPCS3 emulator should, in theory, provide a permanent way for users to play their old discs even without their aging hardware – the PS3 turns 20 this year, after all – it definitely provides a compelling argument regarding their value.
Sony seems steadfast when it comes to sticking to its plan, but I'm sure this emulation advancement will likely only give the physical disc defenders more determination to fight for what they believe in – probably ruining a few more live chats in the process.
PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not.
