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Nintendo 3DS Emulator for iPhone Released in App Store With Caveats

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Folium has become the first Nintendo 3DS emulator for the iPhone available in the App Store, although there are some caveats to be aware of.

Folium-Alpha-Sapphire-Feature.jpg

Foremost, this is the first Nintendo emulator on the App Store that costs money. Folium developer Jarrod Norwell is charging $4.99 for the app, which is a bold choice given that Nintendo recently sued the developers of Yuzu, a Nintendo Switch emulator that made a profit off a subscription-based "early access" tier. Yuzu reached a $2.4 million settlement with Nintendo and discontinued its emulator earlier this year. It is unclear if Nintendo will take any action against Folium, but it might risk more scrutiny as a paid app.

Second, Apple does not allow emulators to use "just-in-time" (JIT) compilation. This limitation can result in Nintendo 3DS games having reduced performance, especially on older iPhone models, but your mileage may vary. We recommend reading user reviews on Reddit and elsewhere before deciding whether to purchase Folium.

Third, it is possible that another all-in-one emulator on the App Store like RetroArch could add Nintendo 3DS support for free in the future.

With all of that in mind, Folium gives you the opportunity to relive classic Nintendo 3DS games on your iPhone right now, provided that you supply the ROMs. However, be aware that downloading copyrighted games is illegal in many countries.

Folium also offers Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS emulation, but we recommend using the free Delta app for those consoles. Folium is compatible with many hardware controllers, including the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con, Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, Backbone One, and the latest PlayStation and Xbox controllers.

Article Link: Nintendo 3DS Emulator for iPhone Released in App Store With Caveats
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/06/04/nintendo-3ds-emulator-for-iphone-on-app-store/
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I'm honestly surprised they figured it out how to make it work without JIT.

Either way, not paying money for open-source work! Bold of them to charge for it. Talk about walking on thin ice.
 
I was happy to spend $5 on this to support, even if it’s unusable at this point for most games.

What I’m really hoping for is a version for visionOS which enables real 3D, like CitraVR for Quest.
 
For myself personally, having an actual 3DS w/homebrew is the best way to actually emulate 3DS games. Those dual screens had a purpose and its best to experience it on the original hardware.

Still exciting for the world of iOS emulation. Feels like we're getting into the peak of its ability until Apple enables JIT (big if)
 
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Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
I don't see Nintendo letting this one slide, as they are openly making money through the App Store. I just hope Delta doesn't get hit with collateral damage.
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I believe the Google Play app also costs money. This is new territory for the App Store but not necessarily for smart phone apps.

The big thing is that the game themselves are not being charged, also that the games are not available anymore in digital stores or physical stores. If it was a Switch emulator, different story.
 
Sir_Macs_A_Lot said:
I don't see Nintendo letting this one slide, as they are openly making money through the App Store. I just hope Delta doesn't get hit with collateral damage.
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They only just shut down the online services for the 3DS. If they're not losing any money it won't be flagged by lawyers.

As for Folium itself its....ok. The only game I have managed to get to work is Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It runs really well on an iPhone 13 although it does get warm during gameplay. The other few files I have tried to use (MK7, Xenoblade) won't even register. I've tried putting them everywhere to no avail.

Be aware that it still needs some work. You can't for example display the screens side-by-side in landscape and the analog sticks are in the centres of the d-pad and buttons.
 
Ctrlos said:
They only just shut down the online services for the 3DS. If they're not losing any money it won't be flagged by lawyers.

As for Folium itself its....ok. The only game I have managed to get to work is Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It runs really well on an iPhone 13 although it does get warm during gameplay. The other few files I have tried to use (MK7, Xenoblade) won't even register. I've tried putting them everywhere to no avail.

Be aware that it still needs some work. You can't for example display the screens side-by-side in landscape and the analog sticks are in the centres of the d-pad and buttons.
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Not surprised with Xenoblade - that game can only run on the New 3DS models
 
I’ve just grabbed this just in case. Wouldn’t mind a decent 3DS emulator. And holding the phone upright is a half decent way to emulate the dual screen games. Got a Paper Mario on my Switch too.
 
I’ll stick to Ghost of Tsushima.

If I want to play retro there’s open emu and planet emu fr. But it is boring except for a few minutes of nostalgia.
 
It’s funny how the first update is to add support for 3DS games… then what did the app do before the version 1.1?

I’m not buying it mainly because it doesn’t have an iPad version, and seeing how some people complain about lag, I’m afraid I won’t be using it on my iPhone SE3
 
thewill586 said:
there is the other detail that emulators enable infringing on the copyrighted ROMs
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The user is responsible for getting their own ROMs, not the emulator devs. So if the devs aren't supplying the ROMs, then they shouldn't be getting in trouble.

There's also the matter of how a user even gets their own ROMs. Piracy is obviously illegal. Dumping your own games privately technically shouldn't be a problem if you're not distributing them publically. But as above, that's not the emulator devs' responsibility either.
 
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thewill586 said:
nintendo should just release their own emulator and profit off old games
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They had a great one in the form of the Wii/Wii U Virtual Console, until they gimped it when they turned it into that Online thing

There's also a lot of IP trademark red-tape nonsense with third-party games...
 
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