Emulators can bring retro games to iPhone
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Apple allows emulators to be submitted to the Store app. Here's what's coming so you can play your favorite retro games on your iPhone.
Changes to the App Store Review Guidelines in early April repealed a rule that had essentially banned emulators from the App Store. After the rule was lifted, it was expected that there would be a sudden influx of emulators for Apple to include in its digital store.
Emulators for the iPhone have been around for some time, but outside of the App Store in the form of apps downloaded separately. Thanks to Apple's changes, some projects are moving to the next level and potentially gaining more support due to a larger user base.
We've already seen the move to the likes of Delta, but there are many more emulators on the way. The more emulators there are, the more opportunities users have to emulate older consoles.
Here's what could soon be included in the App Store for retro gamers. This message is current as of April 26, 2024.
Folium
Folium is an emulator that allows you to run games for Nintendo Game Boy. Advance, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS. Support for PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2, as well as Sega Genesis, is currently under development.
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In the message X, the developer confirmed that it was tested on TestFlight, and hopes to soon be included in the App Store itself
iDOS
It's a complicated story. iDOS once existed in the App Store, but was removed from it. The iDOS emulator is an x86 emulation project designed for gaming and running software that uses DOS.
An April 14 blog post explains that iDOS was resubmitted following a policy change. After some problems with the submission due to Apple blacklisting iDOS 2, the submission was made under iDOS 3.
After an attempt was made to explain the situation, it was again rejected as “designer spam” due to There have been many recent submissions using the same design.
The developer continues to fight the denial and hopes it will eventually be continued.
Ignited
Ignited Multi-Core Emulator provides an emulator that improves the user experience of each of the major emulators.
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Its support is mainly Nintendo-centric, including NES, Super. NES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS It also supports some Sega consoles, including Genesis, Master System and Game Gear
Ignited is aiming for inclusion in the App Store. and it has a testing build of TestFlight, but only for patrons of the project
MAME4iOS
The mobile analogue of the famous MAME emulator, MAME4iOS is aimed at. arcade games rather than home console games
In a post on Reddit, Harakari's maintainer said that they have submitted the app to the App Store for review.
uoYabause
uoYabuse is a port of the Yaba Sanshiro Sega Saturn emulator. It has historically been focused on Android, but iOS builds are also available.
A tweet from emulator developer Yaba Sanshiro on April 6 mentions that the emulator has been submitted to the App Store for review. However, there were no updates after the tweet.
PPSSPP
As the name suggests, PPSSPP is an emulator specializing in Sony PlayStation Portable games. It's available now on PC and Android, and there's also an “unofficial” installation guide available to get it working without access to the App Store.
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The project's April 6 blog post discusses the Apple emulator. the rules have changed, but there is confusion regarding the lines that “must include links to all downloadable software.”
If Apple's interpretation of the rules allows the use of emulators with a choice of ISO or ROM, it is estimated that the App Store listing will occur later in 2024.
Provenance
Provenance, another multi-emulator interface, offers extensive support for a wide range of gaming platforms. The list includes many games from Nintendo, including NES, Famicon Disk Sistem, Game Boy, SNES, Game Boy Color, Virtual Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance and Pokemon mini.
There is also support for Sega consoles, including Genesis, Mega-CD and Saturn, Sony PlayStation, Bandai WonderSwan, NEC TurboGraphix systems and other systems from Atari, Bandai and SNK.
Provenance EMU
The emulator is already available for additional download, but it is planned to launch it soon in the App Store. On April 19, the team confirmed that they were working on a release.
In a Patreon update, the team discussed using TestFlight for betas, but also noted the lack of an “exact ETA” due to the need to comply with App Store guidelines for the review process. The team also planned to remove anything that might cause a reaction from Nintendo, such as logos and system branding.
RetroArch
Front-end interface for emulators and game engines RetroArch provides emulation for a large number of platforms. Both what it can emulate and what it can run on.
Downloads for running games via sideloading are already available for iOS and Apple TV, but there is no App Store compatible version yet.
Developer hizzlekizzle confirmed on Reddit that there is an App Store version of RetroArch. However, they declined to provide more details, such as when it would arrive.
Not all emulators
Although changes in the rules have opened up the possibility of more emulators appearing in the App Store in the future, he will not allow every type to appear.
One area of concern is Apple's recent ban on Just In Time (JIT) compilation. This is compiling code while the program is running, not before it starts.
Apple considers this a security issue, despite using it for Safari itself. Due to Apple restrictions, some emulators cannot be submitted to the App Store for review because they automatically fail.
For example, the DolphiniOS emulator for emulating Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Gamecube games requires JIT due to the need to translate PowerPC code to run on Apple's ARM-based chips.
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