App Store video game emulators: all the news on retro console ports for iOS – The Verge

AltStore PAL drops its annual subscription thanks to a grant from Epic

2024-08-14T18:33:24-04:00

AltStore PAL, a third-party iOS app store that's available in the EU, is dropping its annual €1.50 (plus tax) subscription after receiving a "MegaGrant" from Fortnite developer Epic Games. AltStore originally charged the subscription to help cover Apple's Core Technology Fee (CTF), which is a fee third-party app marketplaces have to pay for each annual app install.

Epic uses MegaGrants as a way to "sponsor the development of exciting projects that may not otherwise have enough funding to fully realize," the company says. The grants are typically meant for smaller teams using Epic's technologies to "bring bold, challenging, and insanely crea …

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Apple approves iDOS 3 following emulator rule change

2024-08-12T14:07:29-04:00

Apple recently rejected DOS emulator iDOS 3 from the App Store, but following App Store rule changes that look to have cleared the way for PC emulator apps, iDOS 3 is now available for download, developer Chaoji Li announced.

In June, Li said that Apple had rejected iDOS 3 because it violated App Store guideline 4.7. At the time, that rule was what allowed retro game console emulator apps to appear on the store, but Apple was only allowing retro game console emulators under the rule - not PC emulators; UTM SE, another PC emulator app, had also said it was rejected for violating the rule.

But in July, Apple reversed course and approved UTM …

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This Vision Pro Virtual Boy emulator isn’t fancy, but it gets the job done

2024-08-10T20:20:55-04:00

The Vision Pro got its first Virtual Boy emulator in an app called VirtualFriend, finally giving me, a person with an irrational love for Nintendo's most short-lived console, a chance to play it in immersive 3D once more. The app is also available for iOS and iPadOS, where it's a virtually identical experience, minus the 3D effect.

The first games I played after downloading VirtualFriend were those I owned as a kid: Red Alarm, Wario Land, and Mario's Tennis. I'm pleased to say that apart from some minor audio glitches in Red Alarm, the games run well - it's all just as I remember it.

VirtualFriend supports Bluetooth controllers and keyboar …

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My iPad runs Windows XP now, and it’s all I ever wanted

2024-07-22T12:44:09-04:00

Yep, still bad at Minesweeper. | Photo: Wes Davis / The Verge

Apple recently approved a new emulator app called UTM SE that enables your iPhone or iPad (or Vision Pro!) to masquerade as PC hardware and run honest-to-goodness computer desktop operating systems. Some of you asked in the comments section of my last story how it runs - a fair question that I couldn't answer at the time. But now that I've tried it a little, I have answers, and I can say this much: it's better than I expected, but I wouldn't count on it for too much.

That's because it doesn't use a just-in-time (JIT) compiler, which translates software into code that your device understands before it's executed. JIT compilers go against App …

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The Gamma PS1 emulator for iOS gets Multitap support and better audio

2024-07-20T17:35:49-04:00

Gamma supports Dual Shock controls now. | Screenshot: Gamma

The Gamma PS1 emulator has gained a number of significant updates since it launched as one of the first console emulators for iPhones in May. Recent updates added a new "Enhance Audio" feature and better multiplayer support, joining other key updates over the last few weeks.

Developer Benjamin Stark (aka ZodTTD) told The Verge in an email that the Enhance Audio feature in his most recent update improves audio "using reverb and interpolation effects." He also "added Multitap emulation" for games that used Sony's adapter that expanded the PS1's controller port count from two to four. (That was used for games like Crash Team Racing, NBA Jam: …

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After initially rejecting it, Apple has approved the first PC emulator for iOS

2024-07-13T21:24:57-04:00

Images of UTM SE from its App Store listing. | Screenshots: UTM SE

Apple has approved UTM SE, an app for emulating a computer to run classic software and games, weeks after the company rejected it and barred it from being notarized for third-party app stores in the European Union. The app is now available for free for iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS.

After Apple rejected the app in June, the developer said it wasn't going to keep trying because the app was "a subpar experience." Today, UTM thanked the AltStore team for helping it and credited another developer "whose QEMU TCTI implementation was pivotal for this JIT-less build."

UTM SE doesn't include any virtual machines, but does help you find them. | Screenshot: UTM SE" data-portal-copyright="Screenshot: UTM SE">

As with other emulators on the App Store, you can't do much with UTM SE out of the …

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Delta’s latest update lets iPad users emulate multiple games at once

2024-07-10T16:25:36-04:00

The Delta emulator app now provides native iPadOS support. | Image: Riley Testut

The Delta iOS app has released a new update that introduces the retro gaming emulator's redesigned logo, alongside native iPad support that allows users to play multiple games simultaneously. Users in the EU can download the update immediately via AltStore PAL. Apple initially rejected the version for the App Store, according to a Wednesday screenshot shared by Delta developer Riley Testut, but the AltStore Threads account shared Friday that the app had been approved.

The app was had technically been available on iPad, but the lack of full support forced it to run as a letterboxed iPhone app, which impacted the emulator's touch controls and …

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Apple says no to PC emulators on iOS

2024-06-24T16:58:04-04:00

Apple might finally allow retro video game emulators on the App Store, but this month, the company rejected submissions of iDOS 3, a new version of the popular DOS emulator, and UTM SE, an app that lets you emulate operating systems like Windows on iOS. In both instances, Apple said the new releases violate guideline 4.7 of the App Review Guidelines, which is the one that allows for retro game emulators.

Chaoji Li, the developer of iDOS 3, shared some of Apple's reasoning for the rejection with The Verge. "The app provides emulator functionality but is not emulating a retro game console specifically," according to Apple's notice. "Only emul …

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The first iPhone game streaming service brings hundreds of licensed retro games

2024-06-21T11:03:09-04:00

Antstream Arcade makes retro gaming on the iPhone easier with access to a library of licensed games. | Image: Antstream

Apple opened the door for game streaming services in its App Store following the implementation of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) last year, but the first such service that will arrive on iOS and iPadOS next week will cater to hardcore retro gamers, as pointed out by Cult of Mac.

Antstream, which is already available on several platforms like Xbox, Windows, Android, and Amazon devices, boasts a catalog of over 1,300 retro games that can be played on demand, including Missile Command, Sam & Max Hit the Road, Asteroids, and Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

There are now several excellent retro gaming emulators available f …

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The Delta Emulator is changing its logo after Adobe threatened it

2024-05-17T17:02:48-04:00

There’s no denying the similarities to Adobe’s Experience Cloud logo (left), but Adobe typically uses a negative space logo that’s harder to mistake. | Juxtaposition by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Delta Emulator is abandoning its current logo for a different, yet-to-be-revealed mark - because Adobe thinks Delta's stylized letter "D" is a bit too close to its stylized letter "A" for comfort.

It's not every day you see an app changelog that includes news of a legal threat, but get a load of this:

The situation unfolded quickly, according to emails Delta creator Riley Testut shared with The Verge:

On May 7th, Adobe's lawyers reached out to Delta with a firm but kindly written request to go find a different icon, an email that didn't contain an explicit threat or even use the word infringement - it merely suggested that Delta might "no …

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