The new “Handheld Experience” officially displayed by the PC’s PS3 emulator RPCS3, the entire UI is completely biased towards handheld operation, from the original desktop interface to a controller-prioritized design similar to Steam Big Picture. Operations, menus, settings – all in-game without jumping back to the desktop. It feels like it’s not for PC gamers, it’s for handhelds like Steam Deck and Rog Ally.
Directly through Steam, PS3 games can be launched like Steam games
The hardest part of this update is integrating directly into Steam. Now you can add PS3 games to Steam, and then launch and operate directly through Big Picture Mode, all with the handle, the process is almost the same as the native Steam game.
This is a lot worse for handheld players, because the biggest pain point of RPCS3 in the past was “like a tool”, not “like a gaming platform”. Now, it’s starting to look like a real gaming system.
Adjust performance in real time without restarting the simulator
Another useful change is that the performance settings can be “adjusted in real time”. Key parameters such as resolution, SPU thread, etc., can now be changed directly in the game without turning off and opening again. This is key for the handheld, as performance requirements are very poor for different games, different scenarios.
Not only Steam Deck, but PC handhelds are also starting to get bonuses
Although the official display is dominated by Steam Deck, the test screen has appeared on Asus Rog Ally, which means that this optimization is not only SteamOS, but the entire handheld market. However, there is a limitation: Intel platform support is not yet fully in place, which means that some handheld experiences may not be consistent.