SNES on iPhone?

erandall38 · Sep 10, 2007, 02:12 AM

Is SNES possible on iPhone in the future or is there a reason why it can't be on there?

There are some SNES ROMs I would really like to play.

dukebound85 · Sep 10, 2007, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erandall38

Is SNES possible on iPhone in the future or is there a reason why it can't be on there?

There are some SNES ROMs I would really like to play.

I know you can play nes roms right now. havent heard about snes

The General · Sep 10, 2007, 02:55 AM

They have to use frame skip for NES ... CPU is at a premium. They would have to do a LOT of optimizing to get SNES roms running at any usable speed.

wunderbaren · Sep 11, 2007, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The General

They have to use frame skip for NES ... CPU is at a premium. They would have to do a LOT of optimizing to get SNES roms running at any usable speed.

SNES working great on the PSP, shouldn't it work great on the iphone as well?

racemize · Sep 11, 2007, 09:29 AM

also, there's some button issues for SNES as opposed to NES.

Littleodie914 · Sep 11, 2007, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racemize

also, there's some button issues for SNES as opposed to NES.

That's one of the big issues. There aren't really any external buttons on the iPhone that could feasibly be used as buttons for the controller. And the screen only has so much room for the rest of them.

The General · Sep 11, 2007, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wunderbaren

SNES working great on the PSP, shouldn't it work great on the iphone as well?

Let's make a comparison:

PSP - been out for years, designed to play games, different OS and different processors. Has buttons

iPhone - been out for 2 months, designed to be a phone, internet device, iPod. Has no usable gaming buttons.

No, the PSP running SNES makes no difference.

erandall38 · Sep 11, 2007, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racemize

also, there's some button issues for SNES as opposed to NES.

Forgot about the buttons..... man that is a bummer.

Yuvi · Sep 12, 2007, 02:06 AM

SNES on the PSP uses dynamic recompilation which yields a major speedup but is completely specific to the PSP's processor, so it doesn't help for the iPhone's ARM processor.

However, http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/DrPocketSNES claims fullspeed emulation at 250 MHz (I'm pretty sure on an ARM9 processor), and there are a couple SNES emulators optimized for the GP32 which uses a 133/166 MHz ARM, so it looks very possible on the iPhone's 667 MHz ARM11 (even if it's underclocked to 400 MHz as I've heard)

Of course, the biggest problem is the l/r buttons...

JPyre · Sep 12, 2007, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erandall38

Is SNES possible on iPhone in the future or is there a reason why it can't be on there?

There are some SNES ROMs I would really like to play.

Give it time, there are SNES emulators for other smart phones which use basicly the same processor. I had Zelda running on my HTC 6700 for years. As for the buttons, I never used L+R, and there is plenty of room on the screen.

Chaszmyr · Sep 12, 2007, 08:43 AM

I think if anyone is going to make any sort of game emulator viable for the iPhone then someone would also have to make a controller attachment. Of course, at that point, it kind of undermines the purpose of playing the games on the iPhone.

JPyre · Sep 12, 2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaszmyr

I think if anyone is going to make any sort of game emulator viable for the iPhone then someone would also have to make a controller attachment. Of course, at that point, it kind of undermines the purpose of playing the games on the iPhone.

I highly dissagree, Contra is the only game so far I found unplayable on iPhone, no diagonal. Ive gotten pretty far in SMB3, Zelda, Megaman, Castlevania 1 & 3, all without a single physical button being pressed. If they can add diagonal to an snes emu it would pay fine on most games.

I agree a controller would be better, but the touch on nes.app works well enough to play, and win.

WolfgangK · Sep 12, 2007, 12:15 PM

I would think that GBA emulation could be pretty well done also. Shoulder buttons would be a small issue, but plenty of games don't use them, or aren't essential to the gameplay. They should be able to figure out a system for controlling the diagonal directions.

TragicManner · Sep 18, 2007, 12:30 AM

All I have to say is that a SNES emulator for the iPhone is completely possible. I have a treo 650, which has a 312 MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor, and when that processor is overclocked to about 460 MHz it can run SNES games using an emulator called LJP really smoothly.

Now, if development continues for iPhone emulation (especially because the nes emulator came out just a couple months after the iPhone came out), then there may be many options allowing people to be able to open up "virtual memory" and processor overclocking (though not incredibly likely), making it possible to run SNES games quite well.

Oh, and may I just make a comparison (note: while the iPhone's processor hasn't been officially disclosed by apple, what is shown here is taken from a good source and is probably at least extremely close to what the iPhone has):

Treo 650: 312 MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor running at 460 MHz can run SNES.

iPhone: ARM1176jzf processor (samsung) that runs at 620 MHz, together with a PowerVR MBX 3D graphics co-processor which supposedly runs at 230 MHz (yes, there is a dedicated graphics processor!!!).

Way more capability with the iPhone for game emulation.

So, it is definetely possible. The only problem is that, since apple refueses to release a public SDK, making homebrew apps for the iPhone is long from perfected. All it needs is time.

Bernie-Mac · Sep 18, 2007, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfgangK

I would think that GBA emulation could be pretty well done also. Shoulder buttons would be a small issue, but plenty of games don't use them, or aren't essential to the gameplay. They should be able to figure out a system for controlling the diagonal directions.

Seriously, i want Pokemon Yellow!!

The General · Sep 18, 2007, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TragicManner

a PowerVR MBX 3D graphics co-processor which supposedly runs at 230 MHz (yes, there is a dedicated graphics processor!!!).

Ah, PowerVR. That brings back some memories.

Bernie-Mac · Sep 18, 2007, 02:14 PM

Now that i think about it, why wouldnt the original Game Boy games work? They only had a d-pad and A&B buttons so they should work fine on the iPhone

AppleSJ511606 · Sep 20, 2007, 01:49 PM

It seems as though the processor (after reading above posts) may be able to handle it but the only "bummeristic" thing as everyone says is the controls.

Now when someone develops a mini-iPhone SNES controller that plugs right into the dock connector, we have success!!!

But then everyone would have to buy from a private owner or ebay

ellsworth · Sep 20, 2007, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AppleSJ511606

It seems as though the processor (after reading above posts) may be able to handle it but the only "bummeristic" thing as everyone says is the controls.

Now when someone develops a mini-iPhone SNES controller that plugs right into the dock connector, we have success!!!

But then everyone would have to buy from a private owner or ebay

Man o man... the things we would do to avoid staying home on the couch!!

he he

Consultant · Oct 3, 2007, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racemize

also, there's some button issues for SNES as opposed to NES.

Check this out. I would cut it on a solid surface that's not the iPhone though.
http://cre.ations.net/creation/vinyl...e-nes-emulator

cah87 · Oct 3, 2007, 04:37 PM

Snes is definitely plausible but give it some time. It will be a blast if they come out with it.

bikes302 · Oct 29, 2007, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erandall38

Is SNES possible on iPhone in the future or is there a reason why it can't be on there?

There are some SNES ROMs I would really like to play.

Its been started, check out
http://code.google.com/p/iphonesnes/

AppleSJ511606 · Oct 29, 2007, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikes302

Its been started, check out
http://code.google.com/p/iphonesnes/

lol, it becomes "read-only" in 15 minutes for me!

Sep 10, 2007, 02:12 AM	#1
erandall38 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2007	SNES on iPhone? Is SNES possible on iPhone in the future or is there a reason why it can't be on there? There are some SNES ROMs I would really like to play.

Oct 3, 2007, 04:37 PM	#21
cah87 macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2007	Snes is definitely plausible but give it some time. It will be a blast if they come out with it. __________________ 8gb iPhone; 80gb iPod (Black); 20" New iMac Core 2 Duo 2.4ghz; 15" Macbook Pro; 8gb iPod Nano (Black)

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Sep 10, 2007, 02:55 AM	#3
The General macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jul 2006	They have to use frame skip for NES ... CPU is at a premium. They would have to do a LOT of optimizing to get SNES roms running at any usable speed.

Sep 11, 2007, 09:29 AM	#5
racemize macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2007	also, there's some button issues for SNES as opposed to NES.

Sep 12, 2007, 02:06 AM	#9
Yuvi macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2006	SNES on the PSP uses dynamic recompilation which yields a major speedup but is completely specific to the PSP's processor, so it doesn't help for the iPhone's ARM processor. However, http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/DrPocketSNES claims fullspeed emulation at 250 MHz (I'm pretty sure on an ARM9 processor), and there are a couple SNES emulators optimized for the GP32 which uses a 133/166 MHz ARM, so it looks very possible on the iPhone's 667 MHz ARM11 (even if it's underclocked to 400 MHz as I've heard) Of course, the biggest problem is the l/r buttons...

Sep 12, 2007, 08:43 AM	#11
Chaszmyr macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Boulder, CO	I think if anyone is going to make any sort of game emulator viable for the iPhone then someone would also have to make a controller attachment. Of course, at that point, it kind of undermines the purpose of playing the games on the iPhone.

Sep 12, 2007, 12:15 PM	#13
WolfgangK macrumors member Join Date: Apr 2005	I would think that GBA emulation could be pretty well done also. Shoulder buttons would be a small issue, but plenty of games don't use them, or aren't essential to the gameplay. They should be able to figure out a system for controlling the diagonal directions.

Sep 18, 2007, 12:30 AM	#14
TragicManner macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2007	All I have to say is that a SNES emulator for the iPhone is completely possible. I have a treo 650, which has a 312 MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor, and when that processor is overclocked to about 460 MHz it can run SNES games using an emulator called LJP really smoothly. Now, if development continues for iPhone emulation (especially because the nes emulator came out just a couple months after the iPhone came out), then there may be many options allowing people to be able to open up "virtual memory" and processor overclocking (though not incredibly likely), making it possible to run SNES games quite well. Oh, and may I just make a comparison (note: while the iPhone's processor hasn't been officially disclosed by apple, what is shown here is taken from a good source and is probably at least extremely close to what the iPhone has): Treo 650: 312 MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor running at 460 MHz can run SNES. iPhone: ARM1176jzf processor (samsung) that runs at 620 MHz, together with a PowerVR MBX 3D graphics co-processor which supposedly runs at 230 MHz (yes, there is a dedicated graphics processor!!!). Way more capability with the iPhone for game emulation. So, it is definetely possible. The only problem is that, since apple refueses to release a public SDK, making homebrew apps for the iPhone is long from perfected. All it needs is time.

Sep 18, 2007, 02:14 PM	#17
Bernie-Mac Banned Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sin City, NV	Now that i think about it, why wouldnt the original Game Boy games work? They only had a d-pad and A&B buttons so they should work fine on the iPhone

Sep 20, 2007, 01:49 PM	#18
AppleSJ511606 macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2005	It seems as though the processor (after reading above posts) may be able to handle it but the only "bummeristic" thing as everyone says is the controls. Now when someone develops a mini-iPhone SNES controller that plugs right into the dock connector, we have success!!! But then everyone would have to buy from a private owner or ebay