If we had to describe DuckStation from a technological perspective, then we’d say it’s a PS1 emulator running on Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S through UWP (Universal Windows Platform; an application architecture that allows easy porting between Windows 10 and Xbox) with DirectX 12 support. The results are excellent: the Developer Mode, available on the Xbox Series, enable us to run our PS1 image files with no hassle and good quality.

Microsoft‘s consoles’ Developer Mode already shows substantial creativity with its incredible results.

Here’s the official description: “DuckStation is a simulator/emulator of the Sony PlayStation console, focusing on playability, speed, and long-term maintainability. The goal is to be as accurate as possible while maintaining performance suitable for low-end devices. “Hack” options are discouraged. The default configuration should support all playable games, with only some of the enhancements having compatibility issues.

A “BIOS” ROM image is required to start the emulator and to play games. Although mismatching game regions and BIOS regions may have compatibility issues, you can use an image from any hardware version or region. A ROM image is not provided with the emulator for legal reasons. You should dump this from your console using Caetla or other means.” In other words, you need to find the BIOS for yourself and make sure to use the same region as the games you run. (For instance, if you prefer the NTSC games with 60 Hz, get the appropriate system BIOS for it.)

DuckStation supports internal resolution scaling up to 16x, the equivalent of 8K with improved and smooth visual output, even on the Xbox Series S (the video below showcases the emulator on this console). This project is something Sony should take notes of, as their backwards compatibility only goes back one generation. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series support even some of the original Xbox games from two decades ago.

DuckStation proves how a game that’s 50x smaller than many recent AAA titles (650 MB vs. 30-40 GB…) can still be fun on modern hardware.

Source: WCCFTech