Apple Updates App Store Guidelines to Permit Game Emulators, Website Links in EU Music Apps

[one more]

From the original article:

“The rule change that allows for game emulators is worldwide, as is support for apps that offer mini apps and mini games.”

 

[Appleman3546]

Is this to deter Riley from launching his Altstore with the emulator? His speech last month about viral apps was answered by Apple last month after all

 

[falkon-engine]

Sensible changes. And with that, iOS is certainly not android.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Nice new port on the phone, game emulators. The EU showing Apple the way forward.

 

[Realityck]

Would this allow provenance for tvOS on the App Store?

Or even better, an open emu tvOS app?!?

Provenance is great but it can be a pain resigning every week

I don't believe the EU App Store guidelines involve anything outside iOS, so iPadOS, tvOS, would be not represented?

In the European Union, developers can also distribute notarized iOS apps from alternative app marketplaces. Learn more about alternative app marketplaces and Notarization for iOS apps. You can see which guidelines apply to Notarization for iOS apps by clicking on “Show Notarization Review Guidelines Only” in the menu to the left.

When Apple made the 17.4 publicly availably March 5th, I kept thinking its odd that they released iOS/IPadOS together yet the rules we are discussing only effect iOS.
Then you have this confusing statement after the above text.

For everything else there is always the open Internet. If the App Store model and guidelines or alternative app marketplaces and Notarization for iOS apps are not best for your app or business idea that’s okay, we provide Safari for a great web experience too.

Well iPadOS, tvOS are allowed to use the open Internet, thats news?

 

[MallardDuck]

Game emulator is cool - can't wait to see an Apple ][+ emulator running on my ipad. Choplifter here I come!

 

[Kevin Palser]

I’m still trying to digest this and understand the implications for my ZX81 and Jupiter ACE emulator apps that have been on the App Store for years but been unable to offer loading functionality and relied on tape files being embedded in the app for approval.

Bear in mind that Apple will still need to review the apps and the developer will be expected to have the IP usage rights to the firmware in the computers ROM code. Not talking about the program/game code.

 

[klasma]

but the assumption is that most game emulators still won’t be allowed due to copyright law, correct?

Hopefully they will, at least if they are decoupled from the actual game repositories. This should be similar to retro game music apps like Modizer.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Would this allow provenance for tvOS on the App Store?

Or even better, an open emu tvOS app?!?

Provenance is great but it can be a pain resigning every week

If not, best way to basically get there is buy yourself a nice little gaming PC with a Nvidia graphics card and install the incredible Moonlight app on AppleTV to stream the PC games to the TV screen through AppleTV. It works surprisingly great.

 

[MrGimper]

Hope this means that the Amiberry Amiga Emulator can finally make it's way onto iPad. Stuff of dreams

 

[MrGimper]

If not, best way to basically get there is buy yourself a nice little gaming PC with a Nvidia graphics card and install the incredible Moonlight app on AppleTV to stream the PC games to the TV screen through AppleTV. It works surprisingly great.

Just use Geforce Now

 

[matthew12]

Finally, game emulators! Pretty much the only reason why I'd sideload apps anyways. Can't wait to get old games working natively on my phone now instead of using something annoying like AltStore. There's already a bunch of iOS emulators out there, so I assume we'll see them pop up over the next few weeks.

 

[klasma]

Game emulators seem to go against the IP holders of the games since the ROMs are readily available with no way for the owners to be paid. They are created knowing the users will use ROMs they are not entitled to use. There is a reason emulators do not come with games, except manufacturers who have licensed the ROMs from the IP owner.

If you actually own the games, it's completely legal though. In addition, I'd buy the ROMs (again) if the IP holders actually made them available for purchase.

 

[pinchies]

has hell frozen over?

More like a glass of water in hell….

I wouldn’t have expected emulators to be allowed in a million years with apple. Let’s see if it actually transpires, and thank goodness for the EU, because this would never have happened without them forcing App Store competition.

CloudPilot Native here we gooooo 🤓

 

[beautyहमempty]

I’m so happy, as a EU citizen, to get all those additional benefits. And if I don’t, I can just ignore them. ^-^

 

[Doodah7]

But but what about the viruses and nasties that all the whiners and fanbois were afraid of last week??? Suddenly when game emulators are allowed, the EU are not the bad guys!!

 

[DoogH]

Ladies and gentlemen, do we now understand why increased competition from the DMA is good?

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Only music streaming apps. Leave it to Apple to try and satisfy regulators with the narrowest possible margin.

This is such a fantastically dumb move on Apple's part. They already know that it's going to cause the fine to jump 10x - why do it?

A $20B fine would be enough to wipe out most of Apple's profits for a quarter, or even possibly give them a quarterly loss.

Does Apple not have any lawyers or legal team that reviews this stuff? Does Tim Cook/Phil Schiller just totally ignore them? Why hasn't the BOD fired them for knowingly and repeatedly incurring billions in legal fines?

Apps may offer certain software that is not embedded in the binary, specifically HTML5 mini apps and mini games, streaming games, chatbots, and plug-ins. Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games. You are responsible for all such software offered in your app, including ensuring that such software complies with these Guidelines and all applicable laws.

Almost every part of this seems odd to me.

• Include HTML5 mini apps and mini games
  • What does the word "mini" mean?
  • These could already run on Safari, or any other browser...
• Chatbots
  • I don't understand why these are called out?
• Retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games
  • Why only "retro"? What does "retro" mean? Is the Wii "retro"? What about the Wii U and 3DS?
  • Why only game console emulators? What about something that emulates an old Amiga or something?
  • This seems legally dubious. How many ROM downloads are actually unambiguously legal? I don't mean the individuals who write original games as GBA ROMs and offer them for download for free - yeah, they exist, but I doubt more than 1% of all ROM downloads fit a description like that. One of the most generous developers I can think of would be John Carmack (of id, made Doom, Quake, and some others)... he open sources his game engines when they're 10-20 years old, but AFAIK he never freely shares the game data. So I don't think you could unambiously legally get a DOOM 64 ROM or something like that (and IDK if he/id could offer it alone? I imagine Nintendo has some kind of contract clause preventing them from doing that in exchange for being able to sell a game that worked on the Nintendo 64...)

 

[waltman]

Alternative title: Greedy Europeans Succeed in Collecting $2 Billion from Trillion Dollar American Industry, Apple

 

[Delarock]

Any informations about native app for geforce now?

 

[mrat93]

But but what about the viruses and nasties that all the whiners and fanbois were afraid of last week??? Suddenly when game emulators are allowed, the EU are not the bad guys!!

Oh man, I’m gonna be lmao’ing when you download a malicious .nes ROM file which corrupts your system and then Apple will refuse to help you!!!! Ha ha ha.

I’m kidding of course. But that sums up a lot of User’s viewpoint on sideloading and anything beyond yesterday’s App Store rules.

 

[cateye]

Alternative title: Greedy Europeans Succeed in Collecting $2 Billion from Trillion Dollar American Industry, Apple

Cry about it. Apple was welcome at any point to take a more balanced approach to their ecosystem and their various moats and drawbridges. Instead, they prioritized their own greed and singular focus on extracting as much money as possible. I'm sure they did the cost benefit analysis, a thousand times over, and found it more profitable to resist and suffer the fines and derision. They'll sleep just fine on their great big piles of money.

 

[jlc1978]

but the assumption is that most game emulators still won’t be allowed due to copyright law, correct?

Emulators aren't automatically copyright violations, although the use of commercial games may very well be. There are home-brew and 3rd party games that can be run without copyright issues.

It will be interesting to see how Apple controls access to the EU version of iOS. If I use my EU address for an Apple ID will I be able to upgrade to it and will apps work and update outside the EU? If that is the case, the EU's new requirements will be pretty much available globally.

Game emulator is cool - can't wait to see an Apple ][+ emulator running on my ipad. Choplifter here I come!

That was a great game and shows how gameplay doesn't need great graphics to make a great game.

One of the most generous developers I can think of would be John Carmack (of id, made Doom, Quake, and some others)... he open sources his game engines when they're 10-20 years old, but AFAIK he never freely shares the game data. So I don't think you could unambiously legally get a DOOM 64 ROM or something like that (and IDK if he/id could offer it alone? I imagine Nintendo has some kind of contract clause preventing them from doing that in exchange for being able to sell a game that worked on the Nintendo 64...)

You can run the various WAD files in many of the current emulators; and teh WAD files are easy to get from the CD Ross. Even some of the original games had the first episode as free/shareware and are readily available for d/l as well. Carmack certainly was supportive of his customer base over the years.

 

[Rogifan]

This is not going to be accepted by the European Commission, and the next fine will be much higher.

Apple is still dictating when, how and where developers are allowed to communicate and transact with customers, including by not allowing the use of buttons, and demanding that developers show a scare screen (all the other apps that use alternative payment systems to sell physical goods don't have to show a scare screen).

Yeah this is something I don’t get. If you sell physical goods, Apple and IAP aren’t involved at all and like you say there are no scary messages when you use the app to buy something. Why are digital goods different? Why is using Epic’s payment system of choice to buy something a risk but Uber’s is not?

 

[Ethosik]

Game emulators seem to go against the IP holders of the games since the ROMs are readily available with no way for the owners to be paid. They are created knowing the users will use ROMs they are not entitled to use. There is a reason emulators do not come with games, except manufacturers who have licensed the ROMs from the IP owner.

Yes. And unless you have explicit permission from the copyright holders to break encryption and safeguards to dump your own ROMs, it’s also a legal grey zone.