Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

NDS4iOS Nintendo DS Emulator Now Available to Download

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,516
30,794



NDS4iOS, a Nintendo DS emulator that runs on both non-jailbroken and jailbroken iOS devices, is now available to install through an over-the air download, reports TouchArcade.

Similar to the first version of the popular GBA4iOS Game Boy emulator, NDS4iOS requires a device's date to be set back to a prior date, specifically February 8, 2014. The emulator allows users to play Nintendo DS ROMs directly on their iPads and iPhones, and is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 5.1.1 and above. NDS4iOS also includes features such as Dropbox integration and iOS 7 controller support, as well as a settings menu that contains options for control pad style and position.

nds4ios_credit_ta-800x600.jpg
Image credit: TouchArcade​
​
Although several emulators such as the iMAME arcade emulator have snuck into the App Store via shell apps in the past, they are usually pulled by Apple within hours or days after being released. However, NDS4iOS is able to overcome Apple’s restrictions as it bypasses the App Store entirely. Instead, the emulator can be installed directly on an iOS device by visiting its official website and tapping a download link.

The initial release of NDS4iOS follows a major update to GBA4iOS in February, which added controller skins for Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color games as well as iOS 7 controller support, Dropbox integration, and a in-app web browser that can be used to download games from any ROM website. The emulator also temporarily allowed non-jailbroken users to install GBA4iOS without a date change via an Apple Enterprise certificate, however that was revoked soon afterwards.

NDS4iOS is available to install now through the emulator’s official website.

Article Link: NDS4iOS Nintendo DS Emulator Now Available to Download
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/13/nds4ios-nintendo-ds-emulator/
Mattjeff

Mattjeff

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2008
261
3
This concept still confuses me. Could this be used maliciously against iPhones?
 
dermeister

dermeister

macrumors 6502
Jan 19, 2003
458
96
I don't get it - how can this "app" be downloaded outside of the App Store on iOS? Is it an exploit of some sort?
 
S

shandyman

Suspended
Apr 24, 2010
6,458
397
Dublin, Ireland
NDS4iOS Nintendo DS Emulator Now Available to Download

dermeister said:
I don't get it - how can this "app" be downloaded outside of the App Store on iOS? Is it an exploit of some sort?
Click to expand...



WardC said:
Why does it require the user to set the date back in order to run properly? How stupid!
Click to expand...


It uses a certificate that Apple have invalidated, you set the date to prior to the invalidation. It's basically how businesses that make their own apps for internal use distributes their own apps. Someone will probably come along and explain it better.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/App_Store_(iOS)#Enterprise_App_Stores
 
Last edited:
designaholic

designaholic

macrumors regular
Nov 10, 2007
239
30
Bristol, UK
dermeister said:
I don't get it - how can this "app" be downloaded outside of the App Store on iOS? Is it an exploit of some sort?
Click to expand...

Individual Apple developers can provide a limited number of over the air app downloads for testing, and enterprise devs can provide unlimited installs.

Presumably, Apple have revoked these developer's accounts and this is why the app relies on the date being rolled back to circumvent the date specific certification.
 
S

shandyman

Suspended
Apr 24, 2010
6,458
397
Dublin, Ireland
Nintendo are missing a trick here with being stubborn and not being open to change. They could release their own official emu, give a game away with it and then offer an entire back catalog via in app purchase for like £1 and make a ton for games they have gathering dust! Even if it's only NES/SNES/GB/GBA games! Even some original DS games too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973
johnnnw

johnnnw

macrumors 65816
Feb 7, 2013
1,214
21
Works great but the touch screen is hard to use. Now I want to buy a controller.

Any recommendations for a cheap bluetooth controller?
 
S

SolarShane

macrumors 6502
Mar 7, 2014
302
0
ZacNicholson said:
is it illegal to download the roms?
Click to expand...

Depends... If the ROMs are commercial property (Nintendo games for example), then no.

But you can create and download home-brew ROMs all you want. For example, you can create "your own" DS games with DS Game Maker.
 
chriscrk

chriscrk

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2011
524
1,069
Planet Earth (?)
Only thing that bothers me about this is that, if you do a restore, you lose all your progress from games!

I had the Game Boy emulator, did a restore completely forgetting about it, and then I found out I lost my progress in a few games...

Maybe there's a way to save this progress even when doing restores/updates? Does anyone know?
 
S

SolarShane

macrumors 6502
Mar 7, 2014
302
0
shandyman said:
Nintendo are missing a trick here with being stubborn and not being open to change. They could release their own official emu, give a game away with it and then offer an entire back catalog via in app purchase for like £1 and make a ton for games they have gathering dust! Even if it's only NES/SNES/GB/GBA games! Even some original DS games too.
Click to expand...

Nintendo could also release their own controller attachment. They claim that console games are only for consoles, yet look at LEGO Star Wars! It's available for iOS.
 
goobot

goobot

macrumors 603
Jun 26, 2009
6,484
4,375
long island NY
chriscrk said:
Only thing that bothers me about this is that, if you do a restore, you lose all your progress from games!

I had the Game Boy emulator, did a restore completely forgetting about it, and then I found out I lost my progress in a few games...

Maybe there's a way to save this progress even when doing restores/updates? Does anyone know?
Click to expand...

This app has a dropbox save and sync option.
 
N

NoHTML5

macrumors newbie
Apr 13, 2014
2
0
chriscrk said:
Only thing that bothers me about this is that, if you do a restore, you lose all your progress from games!

I had the Game Boy emulator, did a restore completely forgetting about it, and then I found out I lost my progress in a few games...

Maybe there's a way to save this progress even when doing restores/updates? Does anyone know?
Click to expand...

GBA4iPhone has an option to sync saves to Dropbox automatically. This one probably does too. I'd enable it.
 
S

sucramdi

macrumors member
Jan 17, 2011
99
0
Quebec
dermeister said:
I don't get it - how can this "app" be downloaded outside of the App Store on iOS? Is it an exploit of some sort?
Click to expand...

Nope. Apparently its completely legit and was designed by Apple for companies to be able distribute their own apps internally without having to post them to the app store
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom