Hands-On With the New App Store Delta Game Emulator

[MacRumors]

A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store.

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With official support available for emulators, Testut this morning released his latest emulator, Delta, on the App Store. Unlike the other two emulators that have been released in the last week, Delta is incredibly polished and provides an all-around pleasant gameplay experience.

Delta supports game systems that include the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. Skins for the different systems load automatically depending on what's being played, and the app does an excellent job making you feel like you're playing on a retro Nintendo device.

It is worth noting that Delta is such a great emulator because it is not, in fact, new. It has been able to be installed on iPhone using alternate installation means, but the App Store is a much more streamlined way to get it. Delta is the must have emulator, at least for NES content.

Delta's on-screen controls work flawlessly for games, but it is also compatible with a wide range of retro and modern game controllers. It supports save and load states, and content can be synced between devices. There are also advanced features like support for Game Genie and GameShark cheat codes, a hold button, and fast forward for speeding through slow parts of games.

When you import a game, Delta automatically detects the appropriate box art, and there is support for 3D Touch and app icon shortcuts for accessing recent and favorite games.

There are no games included with Delta when you install it, but it can open zipped files that are uploaded to iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Apple's App Store rules permit "retro game console emulator apps" and Apple says that developers are required to ensure that their software complies with "all applicable laws."

If you haven't downloaded Delta already, it's well worth going to pick it up. We're not expecting Delta to get pulled from the App Store, but there's always the possibility that Nintendo could protest now that it's more widely available, so download it sooner rather than later.

Article Link: Hands-On With the New App Store Delta Game Emulator

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Where do you get roms?

 

[Blackstick]

Productivity is going down today...

 

[kiensoy]

Delta Emulator alone is much better than the entire Apple Arcade library.

 

[anakinfan8]

Top marks to Riley!

 

[Blackstick]

Delta Emulator alone is much better than the entire Apple Arcade library.

My wife: "I'm a simple woman, just the OG GameBoy version of Tetris with no IAP crap, please."

 

[zorinlynx]

My wife: "I'm a simple woman, just the OG GameBoy version of Tetris with no IAP crap, please."

We are kindred spirits. Original Gameboy Tetris is the best version. End of discussion.

I already installed it, and now I finally have proper Tetris on my phone that I can play anywhere.

 

[DFZD]

Delta Emulator alone is much better than the entire Apple Arcade library.

*Shots Fired*

Jokes apart, let us have some fun dude, you give Apple any reason to call off the party.

 

[mukiex]

Real talk, in the mobile space, emulation is typically the closest you're gonna get to an engaging traditional game experience.

Apple's kind of burned traditional gaming down to the ground since day one, when they decided games shouldn't be more than a dollar and basically made it impossible to ever find a good game.

That 100% of their RE Framework games have been bought and paid for by Apple, and that Capcom has ported literally 0 other games on the same framework to iOS, really speaks volumes.

 

[wplynx]

Wow that worked flawlessly. Super Mario 3!

 

[Timo_Existencia]

So, right there in your video, illegal downloading of Mario Bros!

 

[GeneralChang]

Where do you get roms?

itch .io

Gonna rock me some Marzipan's Beef Reverser on my phone!

 

[GeneralChang]

Real talk, in the mobile space, emulation is typically the closest you're gonna get to an engaging traditional game experience.

Apple's kind of burned traditional gaming down to the ground since day one, when they decided games shouldn't be more than a dollar and basically made it impossible to ever find a good game.

That 100% of their RE Framework games have been bought and paid for by Apple, and that Capcom has ported literally 0 other games on the same framework to iOS, really speaks volumes.

This is honestly depressingly true. Even if you're on the "don't pull roms off your old cartridges" train Nintendo wants you on, there are actually still tons of devs making fun little indie games that run on these platforms. It's worth checking out.

 

[HyperFlow]

Strangely here in the UK the link works but I can’t find it when I search for it directly in the App Store

 

[contacos]

I actually have a Nintendo Switch with the Nintendo Online Subscription yet I am existed for this 😅

 

[HouseLannister]

Where do you get roms?

Why you make your own using dumps of cartridges you own, of course. I don't think there is any other way to do it.

Strangely here in the UK the link works but I can’t find it when I search for it directly in the App Store

Not easy to find here in the US either. It was buried under a billion apps for airlines since it has awful SEO. As it gains popularity, it will probably get easier to search for.


Serious question: the box art detection. Where does it get the artwork from? That's probably the only thing Nintendo could act on from a legal standpoint, right?

 

[menace3]

I'm new to this. All i know is that I played Donkey Kong at a bar a few weeks ago and missed it so much. Any instructions/ posts for newbies? Like how to get games etc.

 

[eilavid]

It is a real shame this is behind the paywalled "Alt store", and not on the EU app store,. I really don't like this future of having to install tens of different app stores.
Great app though. Apple should've allowed this earlier.

 

[MallardDuck]

How long until Nintendo sues apple to get a list of people who have downloaded certain files?

 

[MallardDuck]

I actually have a Nintendo Switch with the Nintendo Online Subscription yet I am existed for this 😅

I would love to have a switch app from Nintendo that I could run on the ipad. I'd pay for it, just to escape having a second device.

 

[spazzcat]

Where do you get roms?

Most likely, answering that question would be a violation of the terms of this site.

 

[spazzcat]

It is a real shame this is behind the paywalled "Alt store", and not on the EU app store,. I really don't like this future of having to install tens of different app stores.
Great app though. Apple should've allowed this earlier.

But you are so free ...

 

[Sevendaymelee]

I have all the real systems, all the real carts and an actual CRT to play them on, so this means absolutely nothing to me. Even if I didn't have the aforementioned, I still wouldn't care because playing them on a tiny smart phone with touch controls would be about as fun (for me) as trying to twist a screw into an un-drilled plank of solid ebony with a butter knife.

 

[contacos]

It is a real shame this is behind the paywalled "Alt store", and not on the EU app store,. I really don't like this future of having to install tens of different app stores.
Great app though. Apple should've allowed this earlier.

I have a separate ID for the purpose of installing apps only available in specific regions. Easy to do from the create an Apple ID page. I have a German one, a US one and an Australian one (they often get apps first as public beta „testers“ to test the waters)

 

[davepete]

Can someone provide a link to the app in the App Store? (It's always weird to me these articles don't include a link. It's the most useful piece of information, but missing.)