Can you Install Dolphin Emulator on a Meta Quest 3?
Script:
aiight, i think we can all agree The meta quest three is such an amazing device, i personally use it for PCVR as i have a super high end Custom Built PC that is 4k VR ready,
But the meta quest 3 is also a stand alone VR gaming console, meaning that it does not require a powerful Computer to VR Game like the Valve Index
The quest 3 has its own Game store, and the experience that i have had on the quest has been very smooth and snappy, even in PCVR, the Wireless air link
connection has been perfected for me with little to no stutters or compression pixelation issues.
the Quest 3 uses the Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 Mobile chipset we will get more into that in just a moment
the pancake Lenses so clear and require little to no adjustment to get a perfect picture and focus.
as someone who upgraded from the Meta quest 2 to the Meta quest 3, this might just be enough for the upgrade.
For $500 You are getting alot for the buck, Not only are you getting a PCVR and Standalone VR Machine, but you are also getting an amazing retro gaming machine!
Now, back to The chipset, The Meta quest 3 uses the Snapdragon, XR2 Gen 2, you might have hear of this manufacturer, as this is the same manufacturer that
supplies most High end android smartphone brands, so got me thinking, if the OS is using a mobile chipset, i dont think Mark AZuckerberg would put in the effort to
implement his own ARM Operating system.
as It actually turns out, that The Meta Quest OS, is actually an Android Based OS, In other words, the Meta quest 3, is running android.
I can just imagine the amount of Iphone users that just threw away there headset, right now.
but anyway, In theory, if the meta quest 3 is running android, that must mean that the meta quest 3 can Open and install .APK files?
an APK file stands for Android Package Kit file, which contains app data and information,
So you know, when you open the playstore on an android phone, and download an app, what your doing is asking google
install an APK file onto your device, these are simimlar to .EXE or executable files on Windows
But what most of you might not know, is that you can install these APK’s yourself via THE INTERNET, and for this video, we are mainly focusing on
installing Dolphin Emulator.
so if you go on dolphins emulators official website, and go to downloads, there is an option to install dolphin to Android via an Android Package Kit
So all we would need to do is install it on the quest 3 and be good, right??
not quite, there is a few rodblocks that we need to get over.
The quest 3 doesnt exactly give us any file management capabilites from the getgo, so even if we install the APK File, we have no way of opening and installing it
straight from the base OS, BUT, the Quest does have a developer mode. Developer mode allows VR Game developers a more complex OS that allows for seeing System Files, and allows the
user to install apps from unknown sources, allowing developers to troubleshoot and test out there games on the quests hardware. But in our case, where turning it on to be able to install
Dolphin emulator.
turning on developer mode, unlocks a hidden app, which is the file management app, which will allow us to install Dolphin emulator, here is how you unlock developer mode
So right now, developer mode will not be able to be turned on, because you havent created an organization just yet, dont worry, this isnt hard at all, just takes a few minutes
to set up, so what you need to do , is go to Developer.oculus.com, and from here, you are able to create an organization, make sure you are logged into the same facebook account,
that you are logged into the quest.
From here, you have to confirm your identity, eather by, 2 factor authentication, or putting a credit or debit card on file. Dont worry, this is completely free
after you confirm your not a skinwalker, you need to go to my organization groupings, and itll ask you to create a new organization,
Once you do this, you have to create a new name for your organization, it doesnt matter what you name it, as this will be the only time you will have to do anything with it.
after you do this, restart your Meta Quest Headset, and developer Mode should be able to be flicked on.
After you flicked on Developer mode, You are already halfway done with the Dolphin Emulator installation!
__________
After setting up organization groupings, phone part
After setting up your new organization account, there is just one more step to enable developer mode.
You need to go into the Meta Horizon App on your Smartphone and make sure that your quest is connected to the app.
on the top left, click on the Quest icon and than click on Headset settings, from here, you should have a developer mode option, click that, and than
developer mode should be able to be flicked on!
AFTER YOU DO THIS RESTART YOUR META QUEST HEADSET, AND YOU SHOULD HAVE A NEW SELECTION IN THE SETTINGS FOR DEVELOPER
____________________________
After this, we need to install the Dolphin APK File , al you need to do is go into your headset, and open up the integrated Browser in your my library page.
Search up, Dolphin Emulator, and open the official dolphin emulator website.
on the top of the page, click on “downloads”
from here, find the latest version, and than hit download for android, im not gonna download it again cause i already have it installed,
after you do this, go to the meta quest store and install this VR app, Mobile Vr Station, Than open the app.
from here, choose “configuration wizard” and than “Show all Options” and than Configure scoped storage, and than “Step 1: Request Access”
now, anyone who has an android phone might be faamiliar with this screen, this is the file management App that is found on all android smartphones.
from here, go back to the Quest 3’s main directory by clicking on “Quest 3” on the top left of the window, and than click on downloads
once you are in downloads, you are not able to directly click on the .APK file to install it, as it says to protect your privacy, please choose another folder.
to get around this, all you need to do is click on the little open icon on the top right of the File
when this message pops up, just hit continue, im hitting cancel since i have it installed already.
once you do that, you can close out of this app, you have successfully installed Dolphin emulator on your Meta Quest 3!
To open dolphin emulator, you need to go to your library, and then click on the third icon, of a folder with a question mark on it, to see your apps from unknown sources,
and dolphin emulator should be an option!
Before you leave this app, there is one more step we gotta do, go back to the quest 3’s main directory, and than hit, create a new folder, and name this folder, roms. once you do this, hit okay, and than you are good to go!
____________________________
Alright, great! Now you have Dolphin Emulator Installed on your meta quest headset! There are only 2 more steps you need to do to to get to playing your favorite retro games in your own personal world!
To transfer Gamecube Roms, all you want to do is connect your Quest to a PC where the roms reside via a USB C Cable.
Once you do this, put on your quest headset, and a prompt should pop up on the screen, asking you if you want the computer to have access to the quests files, you click on it, and than the quest should pop up on your PC as a drive.
once you have access to the quests files, locate your roms and open them on one side of your screen,
than open your Quests Main directory, and put that to the other side of your screen, in your quests files, click on downloads, now choose which roms you want to transfer,
Click and drag these roms from your computer to your quest, and let them transfer.
Once you have done this, you are good to go and your able to disconnect your quest from your headset!
once you are back in the quest 3, open dolphin emulator and than click on “add games”, once you click on add games,
you will see it will open up a windows that is similar to the one that we were in when we were installing dolphin,
from here, click on that “Roms” folder that we made and transferred our rom too.
you should be able to see your games in this list, if this is the case, all you need to do it click “Use this folder” at the bottom of the windows.
and thats it! You have successfully installed Dolphin emulator And your games to the app!
There is just one more step we need to do before we can get to playing, and that is connecting a wireless bluetooth controller.
luckily, this is the easiest part of this entire installation,
Here, i am using an 8BitDo Wireless Bluetooth Pro controller.
__________________________________________
After getting your bluetooth controller, make sure that it is turned to bluetooth mode, as mine was set to connect to my PC via a dongle, once this is done, open up settings and go to Devices.
in this bluetooth window, look for your bluetooth controller in the “available Devices list” after youve done that, your controller should pop up beneath “connected devices”
and thats it! You have successfully connected your controller to your quest headset, and are ready to play Dolphin Emulator!
To configure your bluetooth controller, go back to dolphin, and click on the cogwheel on ther top right of the window, from here, go to Gamecube input, and make sure to select Gamecube Controller 1.
from the device list, make sure that you have your bluetooth controller selected. scroll down and here is where you can configure your controller in dolphin!
make sure you have your bluetooth controller selected before assigning control inputs.
after you are done configuring dolphin, all you need to do is go back to the game select screen and click on a game you want to play!
from this windows, you can do plenty of customizations, like grab the window and drag it too wherever you want it in the room, focus the window to make it the size of your wall and have no other interruptions,
as you can see, the quest perfectly tracks this window, so you can walk around it and itll be like your looking at a real window into Super mario sunshine! the audio even corresponds to where this window is!
you are also able to dim the lighting around your room to make it look like you are in your own world!
there are sometimes these slight stutters, but overall, ive played a few games with this, Luigis mansion, windwaker, mario sunshine, there are no performance issues at all! and this is running at 1080P!
you can even get up close to the window and inspect Mario’s little mustache
you can curve the screen to more fill your peripheral vision, im about to show a cool usecase for this in just a moment,
i like to bring my chair to the other end of my room, and set up mario sunshine on a big screen, curved to my peripheral vision, you can see just how extraordiary this looks, very emersive
and all you need to do to change games, and exit focus mode, hit the back button, and hit, exit emulation.
Thank you guys so much for watching and i hope you enjoyed this video! if you have any questions or concerns, make sure to ask me in the comments, and i will try my best to get to everyone!
Thank you so much and i hope you have fun!
make sure to like, comment, subscribe, and as always, stay awesome!