Don’t worry if you’ve got somewhere to be in 10 minutes; this article on the best PS Vita emulator of the year is going to be a bit of a short one!
We’ve covered many Sony emulators over the years, and there has always been lots of programs to talk about, even if some of them aren’t any good.
The PS2 has the might PSXC2, the PSP has PPSSPP, and the best PS1 emulators all work brilliantly.
But what about the Best PS Vita emulator? Notice I didn’t use the plural there; there’s currently only one emulator for the PS Vita, and it’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot filled with poisonous lava.
That might sound intriguing if you’re a dragon who likes poisonous lava soup, but we’re going to guess that you’re human and not at all fussed about such things.
Still, you’ve made it this far, so you might as well read about the one and only PS Vita emulator and fill your brain with more information for the next pub quiz.
**PLEASE READ – Like hitting a Cucco in Kakariko Village with a sword,**
sharing ROMs is very illegal. Retro Dodo can’t write articles while locked up, so please remember that we’ll send you 1,000 angry chickens if you do anything dodgy on the net. We created this article for you to consider the plight of the PS Vita emulator and not for you to go bragging like the Mouth of Sauron about how illegal you are. So please, do us a favour and check the legality of ROM downloading in your region. Always follow government guidelines on both internet safety and copyright laws.
Table of Contents
Vita3K
- Open Source
- Windows, MacOS, Linux
Here it is, folks; the one and only best PS Vita emulator on the internet!
The Vita3K team are the only ones pushing PSVita emulation in the modern world. Some might say that they’re preaching to an audience of millennials doomscrolling through Reddit. Other’s might just come straight out with it and say that it’s a waste of time.
Before the cave trolls come bashing my door in, I should point out that this is an experimental emulator. Currently, it only plays about 4 games.
Great; the best PS Vita emulator plays 4 games… that’s not a working progress; it’s barely progress at all!
So, who is keeping this program alive? The Vita3K website is a bit of a barren wasteland when it comes to up-to-date information, but fans of the console are hitting up the GitHub page to play around with the code.
We’re never one to leave a console behind, which is why we’ve made this article on the best PS Vita emulator. Come to think of it, as it remains the only PS Vita on the internet, then it is technically the best…
…funny how some things work, isn’t it!
Why Aren’t There Any PS Vita Emulators Available?
Why has no one ever tried to emulate a rice cracker? It’s pretty boring, you can’t do much with it, and there’s barely any games you can play on it apart from ‘eat the rice cracker’.
That’s basically why the best PS Vita emulator is a program that only plays 4 games.
The Vita just wasn’t as popular as the PSP or the Gameboy. That’s why our lists of the best PSP emulators and the best Gameboy emulators are significantly longer.
People certainly aren’t throwing money at Vita3K like they did with Cemu after BOTW dropped on the Wii U. There just isn’t enough demand for a PS Vita emulator, so the situation probably won’t get any better any time soon.
How Do Emulators Work?
Emulators are sneaky little programs that make your handheld, PC, or laptop think that they are a games console from the mid-90s.
They virtually recreate all the wires, chips, and extra things that I don’t understand, creating the perfect environment to play the best N64 games or the best Sega Saturn Games.
Emulators play ROMs. In many ways, they’re a little like iTunes or Windows Media Player in the sense that they act as a medium for playing other files.
Coincidentally, lots of people use the PS Vita as a base console to play emulators on while on the go. The handheld can be modified pretty easily to run RetroArch and lots of the best GBA emulators, making it a much better console altogether!
You didn’t hear that from us though, especially if you work for Sony…
What Are ROMs?
ROMs are computer files that replicate all of the game files on your carts and discs. They can ve played by emulators on any PC or handheld computer.
That’s how lots of the best retro handhelds work and even the best mini consoles like the PS1 classic!
Ripping files from games that you own isn’t illegal, but sharing those files to other people across the world is. The same goes for downloading files that other people have uploaded too.
Think of it like this; if the thing you’re about to do is the kind of thing a pirate would do, then it’s probably not legal.
Check out the best PlayStation emulators for programs that work and provide a great gaming experience!
Seb Santabarbara has bought every Nintendo console that has ever been released in his 33 years on Planet Earth. His favourite game franchise is Zelda, and he’s patiently waiting for Banjo-Kazooie to come back to the fold. When he’s not playing games, he’s travelling the world in his self-converted camper van.
