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

GBA4iOS Debuts 2.0 Update for Game Boy Emulator With iPad Support, Easy Installation

BaldiMac said:
It's a straightforward example of contributory infringement. The only real defense would be if they could establish that the emulator has "substantial non-infringing uses" as established in the Betamax case. I don't think there is a case for that here.
Click to expand...
The infringement is not running the game in the emulator, it's obtaining an illegal copy. The Betamax case you cite is about devices which have this capability: with a recorder you can obtain an illegal copy of a copyrighted work. That's not the case with an emulator: an emulator merely emulates a given piece of hardware and runs whatever software you load on it like the original hardware. It's not capable of providing illegal copies of copyrighted works by itself, the illegal copy has to be obtained in some other mean.

Basically, I don't see any particular feature of this emulator which contributes or facilitates getting illegal games, it merely allows you to run them if you already have them (which doesn't make it illegal). The only thing remotely comparable is providing the in-app web browser, but it's still the end user which has to decide whether it uses the browser to download ROMs illegally or read game guides on gamefaqs... let's say that I doubt it would be considered "without substantial non-infringing uses". A different thing would be the emulator providing some sort of direct "in-app download" of illegal ROMs. As far as I understand that's not the case.

The wikipedia page about console emulators says this:
According to all legal precedents, emulation is legal within the United States.
Click to expand...
Although I have no idea what these legal precedents say exactly.
 
I wonder how many of the people here who have installed this dodgy app signed by "ChinaVDI(Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd" are the same ones who bitch and moan that Touch ID and official Apple iOS apps are sending private information to the NSA. :D
 
This is a completely different program then GPSphone or on Cydia. Completely written from the ground up by Riley. Not a single line of code are the same.

You can download it and see the difference right away, has a iOS 7 feel to it. Very Nice app.

If you want to ditch GPSphone, it's all up to you. I've used both in the past and when Riley handed me the first beta in September, I ditched GPSphone. I still am jailbroken, just chose to use this app instead.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
XboxMySocks said:
It uses an Enterprise license which allows web apps to be installed from Safari.
Click to expand...

FWIW, the standard license allows this too- it's one way non devs can distribute betas of their app for testing (to a limited # of testers of course).
 
blackcrayon said:
FWIW, the standard license allows this too- it's one way non devs can distribute betas of their app for testing (to a limited # of testers of course).
Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, Enterprise License has some special permissions that this needs to run properly.
 
Just need to do the same with the SNES, Genesis and Gridlee(plus iOS 7 controller support), and everything will be great! :D
 
daijholt said:
I'm curious, how exactly does this get installed from the browser? Wouldn't that be a serious security issue?
Click to expand...

No, it's intended to work that way as it is an enterprise distribution certificate that facilitates the installation.
 
cdmoore74 said:
Please refer to the Samsung ad article. The screen is too small.
Click to expand...

No, the lack of controller attachments is the problem. There are like 2 for $100. You can only play Pokémon on these emulators, maybe a 2D platform Mario game if you're ambitious.

----------
Android-User said:
Just another android user here.. player Super Mario 64 on my galaxy. Maybe final fantasy 9 a little later? Yeah. Probably. Or maybe FF Disidea on my psp emulator. Who knows!
Click to expand...

How do you manage to play Super Mario 64 on a phone? I tried it, and I'd honestly much rather use the real N64 and its retarded controller than deal with that. It's nearly unplayable.

----------
slamchampion said:
Hmm, anyone else having trouble with the dropbox feature? I feel like that might be able to be of use for loading save states maybe?
Click to expand...

See one of the posts above yours; someone put in instructions for loading saves in iTunes. You could also use Diskaid.
 
Anser said:
How do you manage to play Super Mario 64 on a phone? I tried it, and I'd honestly much rather use the real N64 and its retarded controller than deal with that. It's nearly unplayable.
Click to expand...



He's using Android. He can really use any USB controller (PS3) or WiiMote wirelessly. If he's rooted he can use pretty much anything.

On rare occasions I'll still play all the old console games on an old android tablet I have connected to my HDTV via HDMI. Goldeneye is awesome on a 55" TV vs when I was a kid on a 20-35" TV. Lol
 
This app is seriously impressive for an emulator. It feels native and not like a jailbreak kludge. It makes use of iOS 7's API's nicely (tap menu during a game, then Return to Menu and the menu system is in purple translucency).

s8ml.png


Tap the plus button on the top right and using a certain "cool" site to download ROM's (with a disclaimer dialog) is wonderful as it just works and is ad minimal.

xx8j.png


I also appreciate the designers attention to detail with the button layout UI. It's clean and has large targets.The only real issue I have is it uses a standard plus directional pad which leads to some frustrating button misses as it's so rigid. A better alternative would have been to use a circle pad (90° per button) in portrait and a floating d-pad that allows a wide range of motion for each direction as is used in many App Store games.

3swv.png


So far the games I've tried have run flawlessly. It's easily the best emulator for iOS period. All other console emulators should strive to be this refined. Kudos to Riley Testut (dev), Paul Thorsen (graphic designer), and team.
 
I really enjoyed using the emulator. It seems to be very well designed for the iPhone and matches the iOS 7 theme.

Only problem is that when I am not using my iPad I shut it off at night (Crappy school wifi drains the battery severely) which makes me need to change the date every time I want to play and may mess up certain games that rely on dates.

If Dropbox support worked (I'm sure it will in the future) it would be amazing.
 
bsolar said:
The infringement is not running the game in the emulator, it's obtaining an illegal copy.
Click to expand...

Yep. Which is why I specified contributory infringement.

The Betamax case you cite is about devices which have this capability: with a recorder you can obtain an illegal copy of a copyrighted work. That's not the case with an emulator: an emulator merely emulates a given piece of hardware and runs whatever software you load on it like the original hardware. It's not capable of providing illegal copies of copyrighted works by itself, the illegal copy has to be obtained in some other mean.

Basically, I don't see any particular feature of this emulator which contributes or facilitates getting illegal games, it merely allows you to run them if you already have them (which doesn't make it illegal). The only thing remotely comparable is providing the in-app web browser, but it's still the end user which has to decide whether it uses the browser to download ROMs illegally or read game guides on gamefaqs... let's say that I doubt it would be considered "without substantial non-infringing uses". A different thing would be the emulator providing some sort of direct "in-app download" of illegal ROMs. As far as I understand that's not the case.
Click to expand...

You just created a distinction with no legal basis. Contributory infringement does not require that the technology facilitates "getting" illegal games. Tech that assists in using them does as well. Again, as long as it doesn't have "substantial non-infringing uses."

The wikipedia page about console emulators says this:

Although I have no idea what these legal precedents say exactly.
Click to expand...

Those cases said the same thing that I did. As long as the emulators have substantial non-infringing uses, they are legal. They involved creating emulators to play licensed copies of games.
 
A word of warning to anyone installing this: I had been playing mario for about 2 minutes when suddenly my entire phone blue-screened and then restarted. Doesn't seem like a safe app.
 
Owning Roms are legal if you own a copy of that game already for the platform you are getting the ROM for. For example, if I own GBA games since I have a GBA SP and some games kicking around somewhere, I can download those games legally. Golden Sun 2 was pretty addicting.
 
This is such a sticking point for me. Android makes for an amazing emulation experience while Apple has nothing.

Maybe if they allowed this, it would put some pressure on Nintendo....


Does anybody know if it's available on Cydia?
 
I don't understand how it's possible to download an app NOT through the App Store. I have never seen such a thing before.
 
Just installed this before, I was shocked and delighted how easy it was.

Just imagine a world where one can install all apps just through their browser. This might be a scary prospect because of scammers / piracy etc, but it suddenly made my iPhone feel like a much more useful device.

Is this what it feels like to run Andoid? I liked it.
 
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
Back