Ask API. GET https://whichemulator.wtf/ask answers questions from the same data as this page, and it is the only place the setup steps are published. It takes the question as q and, optionally, this page's path as page, and returns JSON with answer, sources and follow_ups, or Markdown with Accept: text/markdown. No key needed.
curl -G 'https://whichemulator.wtf/ask' --data-urlencode 'q=Which PlayStation 2 emulator should I use on a Mac?' --data-urlencode 'page=/ps2/'Questions it answers:
Sony PlayStation 2, Sony, 2000. best-selling console ever made.
whichemulator.wtf calls its recommendation for each system the Gold Cartridge pick. For the PlayStation 2, the Gold Cartridge pick is PCSX2.
Over twenty years of work and it shows. Runs the vast majority of the library at full speed, upscales cleanly, and its game database quietly applies the right fixes per game.
Runs on Windows · Mac · Linux. Open source. Download: https://pcsx2.net
BIOS required: PCSX2 needs a BIOS dumped from a PS2 you own. The setup wizard tells you where to point it.
standalone PCSX2 is the easier, more complete experience
The Emotion Engine leans on two vector units that games programmed directly, and the Graphics Synthesizer had enormous memory bandwidth that developers used for fog, blur and bloom. Reproducing that on a PC GPU is the hard part.
If you see lines or misaligned bloom at higher resolutions, drop back to native for that game. The game database already handles most of these.
Reference: WEM-PS2-DUTU