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https://github.com/n1ckoates/steamdeck-emulation

🎮 Guide to play emulated games on Steam Deck
https://github.com/n1ckoates/steamdeck-emulation

dolphin emulation emulator guide hacktoberfest linux nintendo pcsx2 steam steamdeck yuzu

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🎮 Guide to play emulated games on Steam Deck

Lists

README

        

Steam Deck Emulation Guide

This guide covers how to install emulators on a Steam Deck, setting up controls, playing games with optimal settings, and integrating them into Steam itself. It uses [Steam ROM Manager](https://steamgriddb.github.io/steam-rom-manager/), which automatically downloads cover art for each game and adds a shortcut to Steam. The end result will look like this, with Steam collections for each system:

![A screenshot of the Steam Deck interface showing a library of various emulated video games.](https://github.com/n1ckoates/steamdeck-emulation/assets/58091943/bc18a983-265b-45da-a371-2e811436123c)

**This is an unofficial guide**, not affiliated with Valve or any of the emulator developers. To my knowledge, it's not possible to mess up your Deck from this guide, but I take no responsibility if you do. This guide **does not** cover getting ROMs or other copyrighted material.

> **Want to automate all of this?** Check out [EmuDeck](https://www.emudeck.com/), a program that sets all of this - and more - up for you.

### Current Systems Supported

- [x] Nintendo Switch (Yuzu)
- [x] Wii (Dolphin)
- [x] GameCube (Dolphin)
- [x] Nintendo 64 (simple64)
- [x] SNES (Snes9x)
- [x] PlayStation 2 (PCSX2)
- [x] 3DS (Citra)
- [x] DS (melonDS)
- [x] PSP (PPSSPP)
- [x] PC Engine (CD) / TurboGrafx-16 (-CD) / SuperGrafx (Mednaffe)

[Open a GitHub issue](https://github.com/nchristopher/steamdeck-emulation/issues/new) to request support for a system.

### Storage

This guide assumes your ROMs are under `~/roms` (a folder in your home directory), with a file structure like this:

```
roms
├── switch
├── wii
├── gamecube
├── n64
├── snes
├── ps2
├── 3ds
├── ds
├── psp
└── pce
```

### SD Cards

If you store your roms on an SD card, substitute `~/roms` with `/run/media/mmcblk0p1/roms` in each guide. You'll have to give each Flatpak access to your SD card. Open up a terminal and run

```bash
flatpak override --filesystem=/run/media/
```

Substitute `` with the emulator's Flatpak name (specified in each guide). For example, Snes9x's Flatpak name is `com.snes9x.Snes9x`, so you'd run

```bash
flatpak override com.snes9x.Snes9x --filesystem=/run/media/
```

## Getting Started

To start off, switch to Desktop mode by pressing the **Steam** button, navigating to **Power**, then **Switch to Desktop**.

Open Firefox, then navigate to [Steam ROM Manager's latest release](https://github.com/SteamGridDB/steam-rom-manager/releases/latest), and download the file ending in `.AppImage` that **DOES NOT** contain `i386`. It should be named something like `Steam-ROM-Manager-2.3.40.AppImage`.

Open SteamOS' file manager Dolphin (it's different from the emulator Dolphin), then navigate to wherever you saved the file, probably in **Downloads**. You can run it by just double-tapping the file. If prompted for Steam's directory, enter `/home/deck/.local/share/Steam`.

From here, the guide branches off for each system you want to emulate:

- [Nintendo Switch](./emulators/yuzu.md)
- [GameCube and/or Wii](./emulators/dolphin.md)
- [Nintendo 64](./emulators/simple64.md)
- [SNES](./emulators/snes9x.md)
- [PC Engine (CD) / TurboGrafx-16 (-CD) / SuperGrafx](./emulators/mednaffe.md)
- [PlayStation 2](./emulators/pcsx2.md)
- [Nintendo DS](./emulators/melonds.md)
- [Nintendo 3DS](./emulators/citra.md)
- [PlayStation Portable (PSP)](./emulators/ppsspp.md)

## ⚠ Common Issues

- If you've successfully performed the setup steps for an emulator but you get a blank screen when booting a ROM, the emulator may not have access to your ROMs directory. Open a terminal and run `flatpak override --filesystem=~/roms` to allow it to find your ROMs. Replace `` with the Flatpak name found in the guide for the emulator.

## ❓ Support

If you need any help, try asking in the `#emulation` channel over in the [Steam Deck Discord](https://discord.gg/myS7JkUtvA).

## 📜 License

Copyright © 2022-2023 Nicholas Christopher

Unless otherwise stated, this guide is licensed under [Creative Commons BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).