Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

[Timpetus]

Just use AltStore to sideload the original Delta. No ads, no BS, it works great. You just have to be on the same network with the computer you have AltStore on every 7 days so it can refresh the app, but that's not difficult for most of us.

 

[aloysiusfreeman]

I know the convenience of an iPhone carrying emulators is the main selling pitch, but the Miyoo Mini+ is just an absolute delight of a device that handles all retro emulating needs. Even if there were emulators for everything up to PSX, doubt I'd put in the time to replace my MM+.

Now, what I would absolutely love (and am not expecting due to complications with JIT) is DolphiniOS in the app store. Since Nintendo isnt making Wind Waker available on anything, I'd love to play that on my iPhone/iPad.

 

[jlc1978]

Nintendo have sold, what, 150 million Switch systems? There are _billions_ of active Apple devices between phones, tablets, computers and the Apple TV. Even at the conservative end, an official Nintendo app that offers a selection of classic titles would do very well in the app store if it was priced reasonably. That's not even counting Android.

While I understand your POV, I think there are a few things that don't make it attractive enough:

• While there are a number of emulation systems available, the market might be more fragmented and may of the purchasers of existing ones may not buy Nintendos since they already have what they want
• For the casual gamer who wants retro games, an all in one solution such as the recently released Atari VCS is probably more attractive since it is a game system that is easily setup and played with friends or family; playing games on an iPhone or PC just isn't the same
• Nintendo wants to sell hardware, and making games available on other systems could cut into that; so releasing Switch only versions makes business sense

I just think Nintendo doesn't see enough ROI for such a move to make sense; but we can disagree on that point.

A ROM isn't illegally sourced if there is no legal way to obtain it though.

Sure it is - just because something isn't available legally doesn't mean if you obtain it via other means that is somehow becomes legal.

 

[Madisoda]

Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details.

iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend, but some people complained that the app was a blatant ripoff overlaid with ads.

"So apparently Apple approved a knock-off of GBA4iOS," said Testut, in a Threads post on Saturday. "I did not give anyone permission to do this, yet it's now sitting at the top of the charts (despite being filled with ads + tracking)." He quipped that he was "so glad App Review exists to protect consumers from scams and rip-offs like this."

An excerpt from section 5.2 of the App Review Guidelines, related to intellectual property:It is unclear if Apple removed iGBA because it felt the app ripped off GBA4iOS, or for other reasons. We have asked Apple for clarification about the app's removal, and we will update this article if we receive any additional information.

Notably, iGBA allows iPhone users to load any Game Boy game ROMs downloaded from the web, but the app's removal makes it unclear if Apple will allow ROM-loading apps on the App Store. On its customer support website in the U.S., Nintendo says downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal. It is unclear if Nintendo contacted Apple.

iGBA appeared in the App Store just over a week after Apple allowed "retro game console emulators" on the App Store, but the guidelines are somewhat vague, so hopefully Apple will clarify exactly what is and is not permitted. iGBA can continue to be used by anyone who installed it on their iPhone before it was removed from the App Store.

Testut has not said whether he will make his newer Nintendo game emulator Delta available on the App Store, should it be permitted, but he does plan to distribute it through his alternative app marketplace AltStore on iPhones in the EU.

Update: Apple says that while iGBA's functionality was approved, it removed the app from the App Store after learning that it was a knockoff app that copied another developer's submission, which presumably refers to GBA4iOS.

Article Link: Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

I believe many here are missing the point of the removal, and the actual importance of this...

The removal has nothing to do with whether or not emulators are legal/illegal, or whether or not emulators are allowed to be on Apple's App Store (they are).

The point with THIS emulator, is that the source code for the emulator was legally downloaded and then used to create an iOS compatible emulator. The license (or, I have heard license-less) did not allow for this to happen. There are many licenses that DO allow this, with other provisions, but in this case it is that the source code that is freely provided was used to do something improper.

The importance of this, is really, all about eveything else that Apple has been enduring recently with the EU and even the lawsuits within the US. This removal is more about "see what happens when we give up control". This could simply be a marketing ploy by Apple, but, there is truth to it as well. These kind of issues are precisely what a locked-down App Store prevents (or, certainly attempts to prevent), and frankly the kind of issues that Apple really doesn't want to spend time addressing, as there is nothing Apple can do about it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Nintendo should just sell an app that costs what a Gameboy used to cost and then sell the ROMs in the app. It’d make a lot of sense and likely a lot of people would buy it. Clearly these apps have shown people want such a product so I don’t get why they won’t just give people what they want. It’s good for their revenue and Apple customers.

To be honest, I'm not sure even Nintendo can do that with a huge chunk of the back catalog

The licensing deals can be all over the place in terms of what it allows, for which exact platform, on which exact device, for how long, etc, etc

For the vast majority of really old games, "source it yourself" emulation playing is likely to be the only way to play -- forever

 

[turbineseaplane]

Just use AltStore to sideload the original Delta. No ads, no BS, it works great. You just have to be on the same network with the computer you have AltStore on every 7 days so it can refresh the app, but that's not difficult for most of us.

It's a pain to deal with the 7 day limit
I did it for a while

Riley needs to bring Delta to the Apple App Store or it will fade into irrelevance

Many other options will come to the Apple App Store, so he's going to nuke himself if he doesn't follow suit.

 

[melonbread5]

People act like Nintendo is extremely draconian and sent all their lawyers after Apple, but they don't really care about 15+ yr old games they aren't selling anymore thus not earning anything from.

They went after the switch emulator because that's obviously what they are currently marketing/selling.

If they really wanted to capitalize on retro games they would have rereleased classic titles on the app store themselves, but they never did. Don't like easy money I guess

 

[HouseLannister]

I live in North Carolina. Electric kickscooters are considered a moped by state law and need to be registered with the DMV and you need to have an insurance policy to operate one. Insurance companies do not offer policies for scooters. The DMV will not give you a plate for a scooter. This means every electric scooter is illegal in this state(?) But they are quite popular nonetheless. There are even rental ones downtown. It's just a law that is ignored. If you are speeding or endagering others, there are better, clearer laws that you can charge people with.

Emulation exists in the same legally gray area as my scooter. Can I dump my own ROM? Probably. Not a lot of case law to cite about it. A court will always consider the effect of emulation on the potential market, and for games considered abandonware, is there market harm? But it's really just not efficient for companies to target individuals and their personal collections, whether they obtained them legally or not. So IP owners go after bigger fish using better laws. People get sued for operating piracy websites and companies get sued for selling emulators (or at least running a Patreon to get around the sale). But everything else just gets kind of swept under the rug. You might get a copyright strike from your ISP if you torrent it, but you will largely be ignored. That does not make it legal.

I own a scooter, but I also understand the law may shift at any time and I might not get to ride it anymore.

My confusion is why Apple allowed these types of apps into their store. Since every news article, forum post, and thread becomes a legal argument, why bother? Is there legal pressure in the EU or elsewhere for them to add emulators to their store? Do they just hope by allowing emulation they can stop AltStore from becoming popular? Aren't most of these apps going to be free anyway? How is Apple incentivized from having them in the store?

If a publisher of a retro game wants to re-release their game on iOS with an open-source emulator wrapper, that's fine. But everything else is just creating a lot of headaches for the App Store and legal teams at Apple.

 

[bgillander]

This. That Nintendo online subscription would see a lot more signups if those apps were available on mobile platforms, not just the Switch, and as it's old games, they're not cannibalising hardware sales.

While I agree that it would be nice if Nintendo did this, arguing that porting the software that the Switch uses to run old games doesn’t potentially cannibalize hardware sales seems strange, as the Switch is hardware and Nintendo certainly hopes that said software is a selling point for that hardware.

 

[-narcan-]

Which very easily places it in the 100% illegal section.

100% wrong