I bet openemu will drop in a month. Then it is game over for everyone else.
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iPhone Emulators on the App Store: Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP, and More
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I bet openemu will drop in a month. Then it is game over for everyone else.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I agree with others referencing OpenEMU. However, it is NOT on AppleTV (yet).
I still think best option for games is pick up a little gaming PC with Nvidia card and install Moonlight on AppleTV to basically share the PC screen through AppleTV to TV. Besides classic emulation of EVERYTHING instead of select things, a good PC will also deliver the AAA games to that TV screen too... TODAY... not someday.
This will also be the ultimate replacement for Bootcamp in Silicon adoption: REAL, complete Windows/PC vs. ARM emulated (and no annual subscriptions to keep it going), meaning it will run ANYTHING instead of only some things.
Big Box on AppleTV by this method is a delight.
I still think best option for games is pick up a little gaming PC with Nvidia card and install Moonlight on AppleTV to basically share the PC screen through AppleTV to TV. Besides classic emulation of EVERYTHING instead of select things, a good PC will also deliver the AAA games to that TV screen too... TODAY... not someday.
This will also be the ultimate replacement for Bootcamp in Silicon adoption: REAL, complete Windows/PC vs. ARM emulated (and no annual subscriptions to keep it going), meaning it will run ANYTHING instead of only some things.
Big Box on AppleTV by this method is a delight.
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Of course, the UI and performance vary greatly. The UI of RetroArch, for instance, leaves a lot to be desired.
The UI for Retroarch can be customized, fyi
I am very curious how Dreamcast will run in Provenance
I am very curious how Dreamcast will run in Provenance
MacRumors forgot this amazing emulator, the perfect alternative to Delta for EU users.
AD Boy
AD Boy: All-in-One-Emulator 4+ - App Store - AppleApplehttps://apps.apple.com › app › ad-boy-all-in-one-emulator
AD Boy
AD Boy: All-in-One-Emulator 4+ - App Store - AppleApplehttps://apps.apple.com › app › ad-boy-all-in-one-emulator
Now, here’s the bigger question. In three years when Apple’s changed some important part of their OS yet again such that all applications have to be updated and at least tested to make sure that Apple’s changes haven’t added any new fun errors, would you expect that Nintendo would do that work for the .99 that you’ve already paid? And for every time that Apple releases new systems with new screen resolutions based on different technology?
The ONLY reason why those cart games still play on pretty much any NES you slot it into today is because those NES’s have not been upgraded. With how much today’s systems have to receive updates just to stay ahead of exploits, the apps for those systems also have to be continually updated. I don’t think there’s any model outside of subscription that would mean customers could maintain their investment. Just look at what happened with the 32-bit cutoff!
Ya know, if game companies would just make their roms purchasable for a minimum cost (i.e. $0.99 each) I would literally probably buy 200 games across multiple systems, just for the f*ck of it. Nostalgia 100%. Hell, I probably would never even get around to playing all of them.... just to see the artwork on a loading screen is enough to make me sigh hahah. DO THIS ON APPLE TV? Oh mannnnnn.
In April, Apple updated its guidelines to allow retro game emulators on the App Store, and several popular emulators have already been released.
The emulators released so far allow iPhone users to play games released for older consoles from Nintendo, Sony, SEGA, Atari, and others.
A list of some popular emulators available on the App Store so far follows.
Released
Delta
Delta is a well-polished emulator for several Nintendo consoles, with beautiful on-screen controller skins, support for a wide range of physical controllers, and more. Developed by Riley Testut, Delta is the successor to the GBA4iOS emulator.
Supported Devices:
iPad support is coming soon.
- iPhone
Supported Consoles:
- Game Boy (all models)
- Nintendo DS
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Nintendo 64 (N64)
RetroArch
RetroArch is a frontend that provides all-in-one access to many different emulators for consoles from Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, SEGA, Sony, and others. The app offers RetroAchievements, which are essentially custom challenges added on top of classic games, such as "find and collect a Fire Flower" in Super Mario Bros. for NES.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
- Apple TV
Supported Consoles:
RetroArch's full list of supported consoles is in the app's description on the App Store.
- Atari 2600
- Commodore 64
- PlayStation (PS1)
- PlayStation Portable (PSP)
- SEGA Genesis
- SEGA Saturn
- Game Boy (all models)
- Nintendo DS
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Nintendo 64 (N64)
PPSSPP
PlayStation Portable emulator PPSSPP is built into RetroArch, but it is also available as a standalone app for those who want a more distilled experience.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
Supported Consoles:
- PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Gamma
Gamma is an emulator for the original PlayStation. It is developed by ZodTTD, who has been creating emulators for jailbroken iPhones for around 15 years.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
Supported Consoles:
- PlayStation (PS1)
Coming Soon
Provenance
Provenance is another frontend with all-in-one access to emulators for consoles from Atari, Nintendo, SEGA, Sony, and others. The app is currently available in beta via TestFlight, and it will be launching on the App Store soon. Provenance has been in development since 2016, and it could already be sideloaded on the iPhone.
Supported Devices:
- iPhone
- iPad
- Apple TV
Supported Consoles:
A full list of supported consoles is available on Provenance's website.
- Atari 2600
- ColecoVision
- PlayStation (PS1)
- PlayStation Portable (PSP)
- SEGA Genesis
- SEGA Saturn
- SEGA Dreamcast
- Game Boy (all models)
- Nintendo DS
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Nintendo 64 (N64)
Not Coming
Dolphin
The popular GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin will not be available in the App Store, as its developers said Apple will not allow the emulator to use just-in-time (JIT) compilation, and PowerPC-based games are "basically unplayable" without it:
Article Link: iPhone Emulators on the App Store: Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP, and More
You’re right. Super Mario Bros and Super Mario 64 and Pokemon games would sell horribly in the app store
Unrelated, wasn’t there a fake Pokemon Yellow app which shot up to #1 of the paid apps 12 years ago?
Yup, thieves gonna thief.
Emulators shouldn't be allowed unless they only play legally obtainable games/roms.
It amuses me that the same people that talk about poor devs that cannot afford the "Apple tax" are some of the ones that want to play emulator games from hacked roms. Shouldn't the current owners get paid?
Edit: LOL at the reds, mad about illegal roms or current owners getting paid?
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Apple does not allow apps to download code (other than the retro games themselves), so it likely won’t be possible for an iOS version of OpenEMU to download new cores; they would have to already be integrated into the app.
lmaoooo your avatar checks out
Maybe it’s just me but the construction of the headline is bad:
There are no iPhone emulators on the App Store as the title literally says. Instead the headline should read:
Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP emulators and more now on the iPhone App Store.
iPhone Emulators on the App Store: Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP, and More
There are no iPhone emulators on the App Store as the title literally says. Instead the headline should read:
Game Boy, N64, PS1, PSP emulators and more now on the iPhone App Store.
Oh man, I'm really looking forward to Provenance coming out for Apple TV so I can play Dreamcast.
I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who loved that console. I even subscribed to the magazine as a kid. It has some really fun games on there, like the groundbreaking open world game Shenmue, to being an early pioneer of online console gaming with Phantasy Star Online. Even Samba de Amigo was a pioneer of the later music based games with music controllers like Rockband and Guitar Hero. Then there were the frankly bizarre games like Seaman where you could use the microphone to speak with your pet fish which has the face of a man, and the less weird but still weird and innovative Space Channel 5 and Jet Set Radio. Then there were the classics like Sonic Adventure, House of the Dead 2, Powerstone, and Chu Chu Rocket. It also had some great arcade games like Hydro Thunder and Crazy Taxi. And the fighting games were amazing, namely a little game some of you might've heard of called Soulcalibur. Hell, even Virtua Tennis was great!
I love the hell out of that console, it's just a tragedy that its life was cut so short. IDK why it didn't have a larger market, maybe because the price was kinda high when it came out? I think it was $199, and by 9.9.99, the N64 was around $99. The graphics blew the n64 out of the water, though. And I guess the PS2 and Xbox later came out to eat its lunch. It's my only original retro console that I still have today, along with my Game Boy Color. Unfortunately some of those old discs aren't in the best condition, and I try to not run the console too much since it's so old and uses mechanical parts. I also still have a bunch of demo discs that came with the magazine. I'm looking forward to setting that up with my Apple TV! I haven't introduced my kids to many of these games yet except for Crazy Taxi on the iPad, and Hydro Thunder and Sonic Adventure ports on Xbox, that I think I got for dirt cheap on sale or with Gold.
I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who loved that console. I even subscribed to the magazine as a kid. It has some really fun games on there, like the groundbreaking open world game Shenmue, to being an early pioneer of online console gaming with Phantasy Star Online. Even Samba de Amigo was a pioneer of the later music based games with music controllers like Rockband and Guitar Hero. Then there were the frankly bizarre games like Seaman where you could use the microphone to speak with your pet fish which has the face of a man, and the less weird but still weird and innovative Space Channel 5 and Jet Set Radio. Then there were the classics like Sonic Adventure, House of the Dead 2, Powerstone, and Chu Chu Rocket. It also had some great arcade games like Hydro Thunder and Crazy Taxi. And the fighting games were amazing, namely a little game some of you might've heard of called Soulcalibur. Hell, even Virtua Tennis was great!
I love the hell out of that console, it's just a tragedy that its life was cut so short. IDK why it didn't have a larger market, maybe because the price was kinda high when it came out? I think it was $199, and by 9.9.99, the N64 was around $99. The graphics blew the n64 out of the water, though. And I guess the PS2 and Xbox later came out to eat its lunch. It's my only original retro console that I still have today, along with my Game Boy Color. Unfortunately some of those old discs aren't in the best condition, and I try to not run the console too much since it's so old and uses mechanical parts. I also still have a bunch of demo discs that came with the magazine. I'm looking forward to setting that up with my Apple TV! I haven't introduced my kids to many of these games yet except for Crazy Taxi on the iPad, and Hydro Thunder and Sonic Adventure ports on Xbox, that I think I got for dirt cheap on sale or with Gold.
I wish Delta added Mac support. The iPhone app runs well on Mac but the full screen is letterboxed.
Some people absolutely would, but if the rise of iTunes Music and streaming afterwards, both on the music and movie/TV side, offers any lessons, it's that people are very much prepared to pay, and actively prefer legal means to get their stuff, provided it's easy, convenient and the price is fair.
Piracy usually becomes a problem when companies want to milk profits. We're probably about to see this again for movies and TV now that everyone wants their own streaming service and prices keep going up.
Long story short, if Nintendo released reasonably-priced copies of their old games at decent prices I'm pretty sure people would buy them.
Or, and just hear me out on this, Apple could make sure to just not constantly break everything?
Apple of course has absolutely no incentive to ensure software doesn't have to constantly be updated just to keep running. Constant change requires constant support, which requires constant revenue which pushes subscriptions which means a constant percentage of said subscriptions.
Where's the fun in 30% of 99c, or even 30% of $5-10, if you can have 30% of something in perpetuity.
For a particular small subset of professionals, maybe. Not all pros are the same or have the same needs.
I would not compare iTunes music listening to retro gaming emulators.
The former has musicians with very wide fan bases. The audience is big enough so that there are plenty of consumers willing to pay.
The retro gaming community is much smaller and unwilling to pay. Even when there are options to play old games on Play, Games Pass and Switch they ignore it and play new games.
We must also be humble and honest here. Many people who download roms don’t play them much. They just like the buzz of downloading it and seeing it. They are tinkerers. After a few moments of play they say ok enough of that and then they play the new games.
I was very excited to discover this, however, my experience hasn't been very good so far. Every game I’ve tried on an iPad Pro M1 has run way too fast (regardless of which CPU I select, even with cycle accurate) and the audio is super glitchy.
It’s cool that RetroArch supports so many platforms, but I’m hoping a more dedicated Amiga emulator comes to iOS.
This is going to sell more iPads.
This is one of the best things to ever happen to iPad, it may even be the single best thing.
This is one of the best things to ever happen to iPad, it may even be the single best thing.
Well it's a chicken/egg problem because the retro gaming community is limited by the fact that there are very few legal means to buy old games.
I'd say let's meet in the middle. I agree that not all retro games would likely see a massive paying audience, but some of the old Nintendo classics would certainly play very well on a Smartphone and I could see people pay for their copy of classic Mario.
It's of course entirely possible that I misread the situation, but I do think there'd be a market for at least some of it.
Need to go to settings > frame throttle and enable "sync to exact content framerate" or it will run too fast.