How to Make an Android Phone Like a PlayStation

1. Make sure you have an adequate phone. Even though the original Sony Playstation is more than 15 years old, replicating the hardware on a phone is considerably taxing. You will need a phone with at least a 1-gigahertz processor and 512 megabytes of RAM to play Playstation ROMs smoothly. You can find out the specifications of your phone by looking at the box, retail box, documentation or on the manufacturer's website.

2. Download an emulator app. Various Playstation emulators are available in the Android Market, though you may want to install a 'Trail' or 'lite' version before paying for one. Users who are comfortable with non-Market applications can download 'psx4droid' with their phone browser, or download it with their computer and transfer it to the MicroSD card.

3. Download the original Playstation BIOS file and at least one Playstation ROM. You can save these files direcly to your MicroSD card, or download them with a computer and copy them over with a USB cable. The BIOS file is kind of like the Playstation's operating system -- the emulator will need to access it in order to play ROMs. Note that downloading the BIOS file is illegal if you do not own the Playstation hardware -- it's considered copyright infringement. Likewise, downloading a ROM for a game that you do not own is also illegal. Do not violate copyright while enjoying your Android phone.

4. Set up your emulator. Android emulators require a bit of setup before starting. You will need to enter the 'Settings' menu and load the BIOS file, then load a ROM file or folder. Each emulator has slightly different procedures for this, but those familiar with Android should be able to manage it without difficulty. You will also probably want to adjust the controls. Android game emulators can use a combination of on-screen 'soft' buttons and hardware buttons. Phones with slide-out keyboards can replicate a gamepad surprisingly well.

5. Set up a wireless controller, which is optional. Advanced users can connect an external controller via the Bluetooth radio in most Android phones. A popular option is to connect the controller from a Nintendo Wii, which is compatible with most Android phones using various apps from the Android Market. Users with root access and a Playstation 3 SIXAXIS controller can use special Windows software to connect it to an Android phone.