App Store game emulators: all the news around iOS retro console ports - The Verg...
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App Store video game emulators: all the news on retro console ports for iOS
By Jess Weatherbed, a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.
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After years of being banned on iOS, Apple finally loosened its App Store restrictions to allow retro gaming emulators to be hosted on the platform. Developers have just started to roll out their emulator apps, but the user demand already speaks for itself. Delta swiftly shot to the top of the App Store rankings upon release, and retro gaming emulators were a key motivator driving iPhone owners in the European Union to check out third-party app stores.
Apple says games offered by these emulators must adhere to “all applicable laws” to prevent things like piracy, so it’s hardly a free-for-all. And despite the obvious restrictions, it’s easy to see the appeal: the smaller screen on smartphones is well suited to playing low-resolution games, and iPhones are far more portable than modern gaming handhelds capable of running retro titles, like the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch.
We’re collecting all the latest news around App Store console emulators here, including the latest app releases, updates from developers, and any related accessories that support iOS gameplay.
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Apple opens the App Store to retro game emulators
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeApple is loosening its App Store restrictions and opening the marketplace up to retro game emulators. In an update on Friday, Apple announced that game emulators can come to the App Store globally and offer downloadable games. Apple says those games must comply with “all applicable laws,” though — an indication it will ban apps that provide pirated titles.
Read Article >The move should allow the retro console emulators already on Android — at least those that are left — to bring their apps to the iPhone. Game emulators have long been banned from iOS, leaving iPhone owners in search of workarounds via jailbreaking or other workarounds. They’re also one of the key reasons, so far, that iPhone owners in the European Union might check out third-party app stores now that they’re allowed in the region. Apple’s change today could head that off.
TODAY, Two hours ago
What to do when Metroid Prime 4 still isn’t out.What’s it like to play Metroid Prime Hunters in an Apple-approved emulator for iOS — Delta, in this case — on a Vision Pro?
Well, since nobody asked, I’ll tell you: it’s unexpectedly playable. Emulated Nintendo DS touchscreen aiming works well if you pinch and hold while looking at the upper screen. Sure, you could use buttons to aim in Hunters, but why would you?
Apr 23
Speaking of turning your phone into a Nintendo emulator:The best free Game Boy Advance emulator for Android is back now its developer is less scared. Pizza Boy’s Davide Berra:
After a few weeks of consideration and after discussing with several people (both in the field and not), I’ve realized that I can’t set aside a passion and effort of so many years. Experimentally, I am trying to revisit the apps to make them available again on the Google Play Store with some renewals. Let’s start with Pizza Boy A Basic and hopefully continue with the others.
The pro version let me turn my Samsung Z Flip into a GBA SP.
Apr 23
The best part about Delta Emulator: it’s for your TV, too.Webster already wrote about this, but I’m seriously wowed at how easy it was to turn an iPhone into a retro console for my TV. Once you add a gamepad, everything but joystick-sensitive games (sorry, GoldenEye fans) feels playable!
Delta dev Riley Testut tells me he’s “definitely open” to adding joystick sensitivity adjustment. For now, it uses Apple’s default calibrations.
Apr 22
Why DolphiniOS’s Wii and GameCube emulator isn’t coming to the App Store
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The VergeDolphiniOS, a fork of the popular Dolphin emulator for Nintendo Wii and GameCube games, has confirmed that it’s not coming to the Apple App Store even though emulators are now supported. In a post on Friday, the developer behind the emulator says it’s because Apple doesn’t allow DolphiniOS to use its underlying performance-boosting tech.
Read Article >As explained by developer OatmealDome, DolphiniOS — along with other Wii and GameCube emulators — uses something called Just-in-Time (JIT). This is a compiler that “translates” the GameCube and Wii’s PowerPC-based code into a language other devices can understand, making emulations run a lot smoother.
Apr 21
The game emulator your phone has been missing
Image: The VergeHi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 35, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready to open some tabs, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
Read Article >This week, I’ve been rewatching Killing Eve now that it’s on Netflix, reading about Maggie Rogers and flying cars and the Today in Tabs newsletter, nodding along as MKBHD talks about gadget reviews, testing the Godspeed to-do list app, talking to everyone I know about the Papyrus 2 sketch, listening on repeat to The Tortured Poets Department, and playing with the Plaud AI voice recorder.
Apr 19
AirPlay turns the Delta emulator into a full-on retro console
Image: Riley TestutThe launch of the Delta emulator on iPhones is a big deal in a lot of ways. But for users, it’s also just really cool. Here’s an excellent piece of software that can emulate the NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, GBA, and Nintendo DS so that you can play classic games on a device that’s always in your pocket.
Read Article >Even better: even though there’s no Delta app for the Apple TV (yet), it’s still really easy to use it to play games on your television.
Apr 17
The free Delta game emulator for iPhones is live on Apple’s App Store
Image: Riley TestutThe Delta emulator is officially available on the Apple App Store — for free. You should be able to find in Apple’s official store in many countries outside of the European Union. If you live in the EU, it should be available in the new third-party AltStore PAL app marketplace that just went live.
Read Article >The app marks the first significant and officially sanctioned game emulator for the iPhone since Apple began allowing them, with wide-ranging console emulation from the original Nintendo Entertainment System to the Nintendo 64 (and even the Sega Genesis, for when you want to play those games that Nintendon’t).
Apr 16
A new NES emulator was briefly available on the Apple App Store
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeJust two days after Apple removed the iGBA emulator from the iOS App Store, an NES emulator called Bimmy briefly appeared before being taken down. MacRumors reported that the app was described as being for homebrew games but also supported ROMs provided by players. Unfortunately, when we attempted to download Bimmy, we received an error message saying it’s no longer available.
Read Article >Now, clicking on a link to Bimmy shows “This app is currently not available in your country or region.” This time, it wasn’t Apple that removed it but the developer. Over on MacRumors’ forums, the developer said it pulled the app “out of fear.”
Apr 15
The first Apple-approved emulator for the iPhone has arrived... and been pulled
A screenshot from iGBA.Screenshot: Wes Davis / The VergeI played Game Boy Advance games on my iPhone this weekend thanks to a new emulator called iGBA, which appears to be the first Game Boy Advance emulator on the App Store since Apple started allowing emulators worldwide. The only trouble is, it doesn’t look like iGBA is developer Mattia La Spina’s own work. Something seemingly confirmed by Apple after it pulled the app for violating its copyright and spam rules, according to MacRumors.
Read Article >In an email to The Verge, developer Riley Testut said the app is an unauthorized clone of GBA4iOS, the open-source emulator he created for iOS over a decade ago (and recently resurrected for the Vision Pro). He said his app uses the GNU GPLv2 license. A Mastodon user found that iGBA does not reference the license, which may violate its terms.
iPhones can have emulators now so here are some great iOS controllers
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It’s time, friends.Photo by Alix Diaconis / The VergeYesterday afternoon, I was playing Mario vs. Donkey Kong on my Vision Pro (using the visionOS testflight version of app developer Riley Testut’s GBA4iOS) with an official Nintendo NES controller for the Switch. All the while, I was thinking about what a shame it was that Apple doesn’t allow emulators on its App Store. I hadn’t yet seen the news of Apple’s surprise decision to allow emulators on its digital storefront worldwide.
Read Article >While we still don’t know exactly how emulators will work on the iPhone, Apple’s play here would put its App Store in a better place to compete with alternative app stores in the EU. Assuming that means you can actually play games from the consoles they emulate, it could be a huge deal for retro gaming fans. As great as the Steam Deck and Switch are, the embiggening of portable game consoles has come at the crucial cost of portability (unless you have cargo pants and don’t mind them banging against your knees while you walk).
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