How to play PS3 games like NCAA football on Asus ROG Ally

There has never been a better time to be a nostalgic gamer.

Between the constant churn of remastered classics and oldies being added to Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, chances are most of your favorite old games are available top play in one form or another. There’s one super popular series that hasn’t been updated in over a decade now though, EA Sports’ NCAA Football. EA abandoned the series following the release of NCAA Football 14 in 2013.

But new laws allowing EA to pay college football players have paved the way for the return of the series in July 2024. There’s also no guarantee the new version of the game, EA Sports College Football 24, will live up to the classic NCAA Football series. The original achieved cult status among gamers and college football fans by capturing the feel of the sport while serving as a trial ground for features coming to Madden.

What if I told you that you didn’t have to wait for the new game to play some NCAA Football?

I got NCAA Football 14 running on my Asus ROG Ally. I’m using an NCAA revamped mod that updates rosters and uniforms. All you need to do the same is the Asus ROG Ally and the PS3 emulator RPCS3. The emulator is made specifically to play PlayStation 3 games on computers. You can add any of your old PS3 games to the emulator, and they’ll get a graphics and performance boost as long as your device can run it.

PS3s are getting close to 20 years old now, so using the RPCS3 emulator is a great way to preserve your gaming library. Here’s all the steps you’ll need to follow in order to set up NCAA Football 14 on your ROG Ally (or even on your PC or gaming laptop, if you prefer).

ASUS ROG Ally

The Asus ROG Ally is a PC gaming handheld that runs on Windows 11 and a custom AMD chipset. It has a Full HD display and can play PC games from multiple platforms.

Install RPCS3

To play any PS3 game, you’ll need to download the RPCS3 emulator. It’s software that works like a PS3 but uses your ROG Ally’s juiced-up modern processor and chips. The same goes if you’re installing RCPS3 on your gaming laptop or PC.

1. Head to RPCS3.net and download the emulator.
2. Right click and extract the download file.
3. In the extracted file, select rpcs3 application (purple icon) to open the emulator.

Sony

Install PS3 firmware

In order to emulate PlayStation 3 games on RPCS3, you’ll need to install the latest firmware for the PS3. Most PS3 games have piracy protections encoded into the games, so even though you’re not using a real PS3, you’ll still need the firmware to play. Luckily, this is easy.

1. Follow this link to the Playstation website.
2. Select update using computer.
3. Right click and save as to Download the update.
4. Drag the update file into the RPCS3 emulator.

RCPS3

Using RCPS3 requires having a copy of the game you want to play in file form on your ROG Ally or PC. There are a few ways to get it: If you have a physical copy of the game, RCPS3 has a guide on how to extract the game data from the disc. You might also be able to find the game online to download – just be aware that some copies on the internet might not be totally legally to download, so proceed at your own risk.

Once you have the game file, just drag it into the RCPS3 window on your device, and the game will pop up on your games list in the emulator.

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Controller input

There are still a few things you’ll need to do before you can start dominating your rivals, recruiting five-stars, and playing mascot vs mascot classics. The most important is setting up your controller input on the Asus ROG Ally or your PC.

1. Select Pads (controller icon) on the RCPS3 top menu.
2. In the top right beneath the section titled handlers, open the drop-down menu and select XInput.
3. Click Save. (Make sure you click save.)

After that, you should be ready to start gaming. You can follow those same steps to add up to seven more controllers. Be sure to mess with other settings like your display resolution or audio output, but I’ve found the default settings to be perfect on the Asus ROG Ally. The first time you open the game, it will take a little while to boot up, but it’ll load much faster after that.

Try NCAA Revamped

You’re going to want to install NCAA Revamped. It’s a little complicated, but it adds a fresh layer of paint to a decade-old game that, when combined with the power of the ROG Ally, makes a pretty impressive package. NCAA Revamped is a mod that updates rosters, team uniforms, and stadiums. It even adds new teams that have joined the highest level of college football since the game originally came out.

Here’s a quick breakdown on how to get NCAA Revamped installed and working:

1. Head to this link and download the NCAA Revamped mod.
2. Rename your NCAA Football 14 game file to BLUS31159-[NCAA Football 14]. Make sure it’s exactly that.
3. Open the RCPS3 folder and find the dev_hdd0 folder.
4. Create a new folder in the dev_hdd0 folder and name it disc.
5. Move the newly named NCAA Football 14 file into the new disc folder. (The image above shows what it should look like when you’re done.)
6. Drag the NCAA Revamped download into the RCPS3 emulator. If it works correctly, you should see the title card for NCAA Football change in the game list.

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Should you mod your Asus ROG Ally to play old PS3 games?

I’ve been blown away by how much I’ve enjoyed diving back into NCAA Football 14 on my Asus ROG Ally. I’m a huge college football fan, and it’s been kind of surreal to play one of my favorite games from my childhood on a handheld gaming device. That’s without even getting into the improved HD graphics or insane loading speeds on the ROG Ally. I highly recommend all college football and sports gaming fans try this mod.

There’s also a ton of value to be added to your ROG Ally if you have old PS3 games laying around. Huge games that are still getting remastered today from series — like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Uncharted, and more — are all not only playable on the emulator, but usually get a significant graphics and performance boost. The ROG Ally can be a hub for all your gaming.

I use mine to play PlayStation games with PS Remote Play, Xbox games with Games Pass, and PC games with Steam, and now, PS3 games.

8:28

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More FAQ on PS3 games for Asus ROG Ally

Q. Does RPCS3 support online play?

Unfortunately, you can’t play most PS3 games online using RPCS3. Some games will support limited online play, but it’s rare. You can play with up to 7 other controllers locally, though.

Q. What other games can you play using RPCS3?

You can play any PS3 game on RPCS3. That includes amazing games like Fallout 3, Red Dead Redeption, the first three Uncharted games, and Demon’s Souls. Some of these games have been re-released for modern systems, so RPCS3 might not be the best way to play them, but if you already own PS3 copies of games, uploading them to RPCS3 will let you play them anywhere with improved 60 frames per second HD graphics.

Q. Will RPCS3 work on other devices?

I’ve set up RPCS3 on my ROG Ally and on my MSI laptop. It also offers different versions for Mac and Linux users as well, so regardless of your operating system, you should still be able to play your classic games. You will need some decent hardware in order to play. I have an entry-level Windows 11 gaming laptop with 8GB of RAM, an Intel Core i7 Processor, and GeForce RTX graphics card, and RPCS3 runs perfectly on it.