PCSX2 is an open-source PlayStation 2 (PS2) emulator for the Microsoft Windows, Linux and OS Xoperating systems. In its latest stable release, many PS2 games are playable, and several games have full functionality. The current development version is reported to be fully compatible with around 80% of the PS2 library. The main bottleneck in PS2 emulation is emulating the multi-processor PS2 on a PC x86 architecture. Although each processor can be emulated well on its own, accurately synchronizing them is very difficult.
PCSX2, like its predecessor project PCSX (a PlayStation emulator), is based on a plug-in
architecture, separating several functions from the core emulator.
These are the graphics, audio, input controls, CD/DVD drive, and USB and FireWire
(i.LINK) ports. Different plug-ins may produce different results in
both compatibility and performance. Additionally, PCSX2 requires a copy
of the PS2 BIOS,
which is not available for download from the developers, due to the
copyright concerns and legal issues associated with it. PCSX2 is not
compatible with PlayStation games, which in turn can be played by using a PlayStation emulator such as PCSX or ePSXe.
