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New homebrew software allows for RetroAchievements to be tracked and recorded from games played on original PS2 hardware, rather than through an emulator. Developed by modder "hacan 359", the xeRAbora program works in collaboration with another homebrew utility, Open PS2 Loader, to track player progress on natively played PS2 games.
As noted by RetroDodo, xeRAbora, downloadable right here, plugs into the Open PS2 Loader program and essentially tracks your PS2 gameplay from your PC as you play, reading the console's memory and watching for flags that denote achievements being hit. The player's Retro Achievement account is then notified and updated accordingly. It also works in line with standard PS2 emulation, for those who prefer the One Box method.
Obviously, a little setup is required. The user must first implement xeRAbora into their OPL software, link it to their RetroAchievements account, and then ensure a connection between the xeRAbora/OPL and the PS2 console has been made. Once this throughline is established, playing the PS2 as normal will see achievements updated in the RA account, complete with an optional on-screen notification on the PS2 display itself.
The launch of Achievements/Trophies in gaming's seventh generation sparked, for some players, an entirely new focus, one where the act of earning a game's achievements became prioritised over game completion itself. This birthed a global community of die-hard, dedicated achievement hunters, leading to the eventual creation of RetroAchievements itself (which, for those less inclined, is a group that retroactively fits classic games with their own contemporary achievement lists)
Tools such as xeRAphora open the envelope further for the RetroAchievements community, moving the process beyond emulation and into native hardware. It's easy to envision a future where most classic gaming platforms can be similarly connected, via PC, directly to players' RA accounts. This evolution of, let's say, "the gamification of gaming" is great news, because if there's one thing Achievement Hunters need, it's an even more ravenous appetite for digital box-checking.