psx4droid (PSX Emulator)

by Antonio Wells Aug 2, 2010 12:49 PM – 18 Comments

Install

psx4droid (PSX Emulator). psx4droid, the Sony Playstation (PSX/PS1) emulator for high-end Androids. Fast and feature packed including: Uses formats BIN, ISO, IMG, PBP, Z, ZNX, and Eboot (compressed too), WiiMote controller works, Trackball dpad, Memory card & save states, Virtual control overlays, Scaling modes, and more!

psx4droid is no longer available in the Android Market. You can only get it from AndroidTapp.com Store!

Price: $4.99

AndroidTapp.com Android Game Review:

Pros & Cons:

Pros

Play Sony PlayStation games on Android devices

Cons

Google removed the app from the Android Market
Convoluted setup, involves desktop intervention and highly technical
Some games are slow and laggy even on higher end Android devices

Features:

psx4droid is a PlayStation and PSP game emulator for Android. Were you or are you still are a PSX gamer?!? This app brings back the joy and excitement of late 90′s/early 2000 game titles whether you have still have the original console or not. Once the emulator is installed and properly configured, plus you’ve found game ROMs, you can play and control with save states to resume later plus on screen multi-touch enabled Dpad controller.

Gripe Alert: If you’re interested in old game console emulators and have experience with them then you know the burden levels involved in setting them up and more problematic finding good ROMs in the file types the emulator supports. I guess you can’t complain too much as you’re getting this play access for [cough] free. But at least the six dollar app should come with the vital scph1001.bin file at start up versus you hunting it down on the Internet when greeted with the “You MUST specify the BIOS file in the settings before you can play any games” error message at first launch.

The other major caveats are that the emulator do not support ECM file type ROMs therefore you must convert them to BIN file types to play. Some ROMs are laggy even on higher end Android devices (I have Street Fighter Extreme on Nexus One and still have stutter in game play and sound). Lastly, not related to the app but finding good ROMs are a pain on some sites. We’ve found DopeRoms to be the best site without all the run-arounds for ROMs.

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Playing Street Fighter Extreme 1

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Playing Street Fighter Extreme 2

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Playing Street Fighter Extreme 3

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Playing Street Fighter Extreme 5

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Playing Street Fighter Extreme 4

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Playing Street Fighter Extreme 6

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Save Game Slots

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Select ROM

: psx4droid PlayStation Emulator Settings Menu

6 Steps on How to Setup and Configure psx4droid to Play ROMs

Please note: AndroidTapp.com is not responsible for the files suggested to download in the instructions below, we’re here to give you instructions on how to setup and use the app.

Purchase and download psx4droid in the Android Market (use the QR barcodes above to scan), but don’t open the app yet… we need a BIOS file.
Download and extract the BIOS file “scph1001.bin”, you can find it here while it lasts: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WL18L5BV.
Connect your phone via USB and create a folder “psx4droid” on your SD Card, then copy the scph1001.bin file in that new folder.
We recommend you browse and download games from DopeRoms, else you can find them elsewhere and in torrent sites, and copy downloaded BIN file games in to the psx4droid folder. If they are not in BIN format see below. Update: search and download ROMs via Rom Search Plus app $2.69.
Update: convert ECM files to BIN file directly on your Android phone with un-ECM for DROID app $0.99. (If applicable) If the games are in ECM format, you’ll need to convert them. To convert ECM ROMs to BIN format download and install EMC v1.0.
1. Virus scan and extract ECM to your desktop or somewhere you can find the full file path later. Open the file “unecm.exe” and use like so by typing:
  unecm ecmfile [outputfile]
  “ecmfile” must end in .ecm. If output file is not specified, it defaults to ecm file minus the .ecm suffix.
2. (Note: if ECM or UNECM immediately opens and closes) go to Start » Run » type “cmd” hit enter then change directories to where you saved the ECM v1.0 files. For example if it’s on your Desktop do “cd C:\Users\[Whatever User's name]\Desktop”, then follow the usage steps from above
Open psx4droid, once greeted with the error message “You MUST specify the BIOS file in the settings before you can play any games”, point to the psx4droid folder created. Then select your game ROM and go!

Thanks ap3604 via soukounian!

AndroidTapp.com Rating

AndroidTapp.com Rating! (4.0 out of 5)

Should you Download psx4droid (PSX Emulator)? If you’re a PSX Gamer you should have this gaming app, else it’s not for your average consumer!

Developer: ZodTTD

Tags: Android App, Android Apps, Android Game, AndroidTapp.com App Review, DopeRoms, PSX Emulator, psx4droid, psx4droid (PSX Emulator), scph1001.bin, Sony PlayStation Emulator

Categorised in: Arcade & Action

18 Comments

By Teovald on August 2, 2010 at 1:32 pm:

i dont think they can legally package scph1001.bin with the application, it is the psx bios and is licensed by sony.

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By Gabriel on August 3, 2010 at 6:28 pm:

Indeed they cannot and its amazing that a website posting this does not even know this…gosh…

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By Jason Norment on August 4, 2010 at 11:25 am:

Not necessarily true. First, check with your country’s laws. Secondly, I would only suggest using an emulator if you own the actual device itself. Even the ROM’s are copyrighted and should only be used if you own the actual game itself. Using a file named “scph1001.bin” doesn’t mean that the file is the original PSX BIOS developed by Sony. Often there are alternate BIOS’s you can use in replacement of the original one to load the games correctly. Of course, they follow the same name scheme typically of the original because thats what the emulator knows what to look for. Further research would determine whether the packaged file is the original BIOS or an alternate.

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- By Don Crothers on August 7, 2010 at 1:06 pm:
  
  Just because someone has made a third-party BIOS for the PSX does not make it legal to use. They absolutely cannot package a working BIOS with this app.
  
  After all, if someone made an operating system called Windoze 7 that works exactly the same as Windows 7, only it’s not entirely made by Microsoft… would that be legal? Yeah, same thing applies.
  
  Reply
  - By Austin Williams on October 6, 2010 at 7:15 am:
    
    Isn’t that the entire purpose of React OS?
    
    Reply
  - By Ronk on December 2, 2010 at 7:50 pm:
    
    Or what if somebody made an operating system that looked and worked exactly the same as MacOS, and called it Windows instead of PCOS or something? Or what about Linux with any of the KDE GUIs? If you know Windows, the GUI interfaces for Linux are the same thing. Basically, if someone DID write an OS that looked and performed exactly the same as windows, only they called it windoze, it would be perfectly legal provided that they did not “borrow” any code from windows. Though I’ve no idea why you would write an OS from scratch only to make it work like Windows…
    
    Or what about if there was this browser called Netscape that people paid for and were happy with and then someone made this program called Internet Explorer that looked and worked exactly the same, only it was free and was, in fact, conveniently packaged along with the one software that EVERYONE using a computer would have to install (Windows, for the oblivious out there)
    
    Or what if there was this NEW browser called Firefox that came out, bringing with it new features that really improved over the current browser that everyone used (Internet Explorer, since Netscape went the way of the Dodo when no one bought it anymore because they already had IE for free at the get go), then the very next version of Internet Explorer copies everything that Firefox had done. Then google releases Chrome, which also brings some new ideas to the table, and the next Internet Explorer update conveniently incorporates these as well. The list goes on and on and on, but the short answer is that if you didn’t use someone else’s original code, then yes it would be legal.
    
    Reply
By Lucas on August 8, 2010 at 4:08 pm:

Wow, people still butt hurt about the stupid BIOS being illegal and crap? Guys, this thing is over 16 years old I doubt Sony even cares. Wow, and it’s funny for the people screaming it’s illegal to download, and it shouldn’t even be posted are probably hypocrites them selfs.

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- By Toby on August 20, 2010 at 4:35 pm:
  
  Not butt hurt about it actually being illegal, butt hurt about the review complaining that it’s not included because it’s illegal. Other countries laws don’t come into it in this case. The android marketplace is governed by US law first and foremost as it’s main servers reside in america and they are controlled by an american company.
  
  And as for Sony not caring… Seriously, have you not heard of Sony before? They fight for every penny they can get, regardless of how old the rights are. Not to mention they are now making new money from ps1 games on the PSN store, so it _is_ a current revenue stream for them.
  
  Reply
By Aymon on August 26, 2010 at 3:36 pm:

There is an app called un-ECM for Droid that will convert .ecm files to .bin files without having to use a computer

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By Aymon on August 26, 2010 at 3:38 pm:

Also, you can use Rom Search Plus to easily grab games from DopeRoms on the go, then convert them to .bin with un-ECM

Reply
- By Antonio Wells on August 26, 2010 at 3:43 pm:
  
  Nicely done! Thanks for contributing that Aymon, we’re adding that info to the review!
  
  Reply
  - By Aymon on August 26, 2010 at 3:47 pm:
    
    Thanks! Also I guess I might as well add that you can download that BIOS file from within Rom Search Plus also.
    
    Reply
By balzzzy on September 4, 2010 at 9:07 pm:

This application is a good one and lets me play the Playstation game I own on my mobile. I`m 15 hours in on Final Fantasy Tactics. Having a higher end and new device I can say that first hand the sound is choppy and the app does not load all games. The developer seems to be peeving off its buyers as there has been no support or update for quite some time. All in all it is a good app but is in need of that update.

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By sohc-it07 on November 10, 2010 at 4:59 pm:

hey guys i got the bois file and all that figured out but i still cant get any games to work. every time i go to unecm the file for the game i get an error that says something about needing more memory on my SD card. my sd card is empty so idk what the deal is.

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By Ronk on December 2, 2010 at 7:31 pm:

I was going to point out that the reason they didn’t include the scph1001.bin file is because they are not legally allowed to, but I see that that was the very first comment made. After reading the rest of the comments, I thought I might enlighten ya’ll a bit, as MY familiarity with this subject comes from having lived through it… YES, officially, it is illegal to distribute the scph1001.bin file because it is a sony licensed BIOS, just as today in the PSP scene if you want to use a custom firmware, the “difficult” part is locating the official Sony firmwares, because instead of distributing full custom firmware .bins those who modify the firmware distribute the CHANGES they have made (like a .ppf), and tell you to apply them to the original firmware, which you must find yourself.
This was always the case with PSX emulators, except (of course) for Bleem! which was the only commercially released PSX emulator (I think). I’m not CERTAIN, I remember that they wrote their own versions of licensed components and I SWEAR I can remember being able to use theirs instead of the official Sony ones, if you so desired.

Having said that, let me now state that this was always done preemptively meaning that it was done so that Sony would have no legal way to stop emulators. Young ones, remember that emulators are relatively new things and that the PC had non-commercial emulators for the NES and whatnot, yet it was well known that Roms were illegal to have unless you owned the game, and certainly to distribute, just as they are today. Back then, it was a lot harder to find Roms and they CERTAINLY weren’t available directly on a website that is hosting them, because the rule was ENFORCED back then. Today, it is apparent that they either really don’t care anymore, or don’t consider it worth their time and it is my PERSONAL OPINION that they really only seem to care about the current generation and the one before it.
When Bleem! came out, it kinda scared Sony because Bleem! took advantage of the power of the PC’s aftermarket 3d video cards (mainly anti-aliasing) and the speed of the PC as compared to the PSX’s System 7 architecture to make Bleem! capable of not only playing PSX games, but making them run smoother and look better than it was even POSSIBLE to on the PSX… bleem! was released for Dreamcast too (I still have my copy), and it did the same thing using the DC’s hardware (which goes to show you just HOW much more powerful the DC was compared to the PSX- SoulCalibur was the DC’s launch game- it was a port from the arcade version and ran on the System 7 architecture, which is essentially a PSX. SoulCalibur for the DC was the first time in history that a home version of an arcade game actually SURPASSED the quality of the arcade version).
Bleem! on the DC and the hacking of the DC was all it took for everyone to start porting over existing emulators written for the PC to the DC (I THINK the ease with which this was done is due to the fact that the DC supported a version of WinCE natively, but don’t quote me) and the rest is history.
But my point, as I have digressed a bit, was that traditionally the official Sony licensed files required were not distributed with the emulators because Sony had taken a hard stance against Bleem! and in fact held up its release by REFUSING to allow them to use any official sony anything in their commercial product, so no one in the homebrew scene really knew WHAT Sony might do. As it turns out, today it appears that they only really had it out for Bleem! because it was going to be SOLD and it delivered their product BETTER then they did themselves.

Enough history then… to the guy who said that “just because the file’s called scph1001.bin doesn’t mean that it is necessarily the official Sony firmware”- yeah, technically you ARE correct because, for example, one could have possibly acquired the Bleem!-written version, and you would of course have to rename it to scph1001.bin for the emulator to use it, but as most people can find the official Sony firm with a little effort and Sony doesn’t really seem to care, there hasn’t been a whole lot of motivation for someone to rev-engineer it and code there own. So, I’d be willing to bet you $1000 that if you have a file called scph1001.bin and it WORKS with the emulator, it’s official Sony.
As for the guy who insists that Sony DOES care and fights for every penny, etc… back in the PSX days, there wasn’t a whole lot of broadband going around yet, so if you wanted to pirate PSX games and you had a PSX modchip installed, you either bought a CD burner and copied them yourself from originals, or there were websites where you could buy pirated PSX games for $5 each, and they would be sent to you in the mail. These were known as “HK (Hong-Kong) Golds”, as they originated in Hong-Kong and they were pressed discs colored gold. If you had one of these websites, you operated it until you received (and trust me, you WOULD get one) a cease and desist order from Sony’s lawyers, at which point you would then take that website down and immediately put a new one up on a different server using different credentials until THAT one got a letter, etc. Since it took 56k about 2 days to download something the size of a PSX game, there wasn’t a big problem with digital distribution of pirated PSX games. (In fact, I remember how the first PSX emulators for the PC would have instructions in their readme explaining what a .bin file was, why they needed it, and how to get a .bin file from an original PSX game, because most had never run across that before) While most people had CD readers in the PC at the time, not many people had CD-RWs, cause they worked for CRAP unless they were SCSI, at least until they finally thought of including buffer memory WITH the burner, so a PC PSX emulator was the only way people who didn’t have a chipped PSX could play a copied PSX game.
Oh, I’m tired of typing and I’m sure you’re tired of reading, so allow me to say the one other thing about the article that I wanted to mention:
Someone said that they couldn’t believe that the person writing the review didn’t know that scph1001.bin couldn’t be included- I can understand this becuase this whole emulator-on-smartphone thing is the first time since Bleem! that I have seen emulators actually being SOLD for money, so OF COURSE they didn’t include the scph1001.bin file, and the reviewer is obviously familiar with other PSX emulators, but he PROBABLY downloaded them via torrent, in some package with 5 PSX game .bins or something, and it probably DID include the scph1001.bin. Yet (to me at least), he shows himself to be rather clueless with the entire phrase of, “If you’re interested in old game console emulators and have experience with them then you know the burden levels involved in setting them up and more problematic finding good ROMs in the file types the emulator supports. I guess you can’t complain too much as you’re getting this play access for [cough] free. But at least the six dollar app should come with…”
number one, wtf is a “burden level”? number two, a ROM is a game image taken from a cartridge, since all a cart. IS is some Read-Only-Memory, or ROM. PSX games, and any games that are ripped from optical media, are called images, or sometimes just bins, but are NEVER called ROMS, because they simply have absolutely NOTHING to do with ROM. Then he says “good ROMs in the file types the emulator supports”. A PSX emulator only supports ONE type of file, a complete RAW binary dump of the entire PSX CDgame, known as a “CD image” and all the “different file types” this emulator supports are really the same thing. BIN, ISO, IMG – these are just images ripped by different software. They are the usually the same thing- rename psxgame.BIN psxgame.IMG or psxgame.ISO and it’ll work just the same. PBP, Z, ZNX, and Eboot… I can’t quite remember wtf PBP is, but I think it’s the only one that’s at all different- maybe it’s an actual PSX filename extension, or it has something to do with memcards, but the others are just compressed PSX images, meaning they took the psxgame.bin and ran a compression on it to make it smaller, like winrar or winzip (or jpeg and mp3 even, but most wouldn’t understand that).
Then he says “you’re getting this play access for [cough] free. But at least the six dollar app should come with the scph1001.bin…”. NO, you’re NOT getting this play access for free, as the emulator giving me access to play the PSX game costs 6 dollars, what he apparently meant to say was that even though it might be a little “burden heavy” to find PSX games for download, you really can’t complain since it IS illegal to provide PSX games for free download, so they can’t make it too easy. Then he goes on to complain how the emulator that costs $6 should include schp1001.bin, showing (to me) his blissful ignorance of pretty much anything that requires one to go past skin deep. There’s MY gripes. Oh, and I was going to try this emulator, but it SUCKS because it is NOT free; that is, unless it really and truly was written by these people FOR the android platform, and is not just a PORT of an existing (and most likely FREE) PSX emualtor. If that IS the case, I apologize and hats off to those people for only charging 6 dollars for what must have amounted to a LOT of time and effort spent.
Sorry for the length of my post; if you read it all, you get a special prize! You will be contacted soon via snail mail for confirmation of your prize. I swear.

Reply
- By loay on December 5, 2010 at 10:08 am:
  
  yeah ive read all of your message ,it bring all old memories.
  remembering the old days when I download only dos emulator because my pentium 1 with the speed of 133 mhz can run it flawlessly and I recall there were only one psx emu that was dos but I forget the name (nah the psx even on dos was not smooth enough or I am asking too mush of my old pc)
  
  I do understand compressing to the mp3 format but I didnt know any iso on psx doing it. I saw it on sega cd and saturn isos.
  
  anyhow I know I will not get my prize but at least can I know what it is?
  
  Reply
- By Anondroid on February 6, 2011 at 7:03 pm:
  
  @ronk
  
  It is fair to call disc images “ROMS”, as in “CD ROM”.
  
  Reply
By sw on February 24, 2011 at 5:28 pm:

ronk……..SHUT UP

Reply