Apple updated its app review guidelines this month to allow “retro game console emulator apps” in the App Store for devices such as the iPhone. Below we outline everything you need to know about these emulators and the options available so far.
This information is current as of April 2024, but Apple’s policies may change over time.
what is allowed
Apple said that emulators that can load games (ROMs) will be allowed on the App Store as long as the app emulates a “retro console game.”
Apple hasn’t said which consoles it classifies as retro, but developer Riley Testut’s popular emulator Delta is now available on the App Store and will be available for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). You can emulate games. ), Super Nintendo (SNES), Nintendo 64, and Nintendo DS.
The App Store also has a Commodore 64 emulator called Emu64 XL.
We haven’t found any other fully functional emulators on the App Store released after the rule change, but more may become available in the future. Apple recently removed an emulator called iGBA from the App Store for plagiarizing code from Delta and its predecessor, Testut for GBA4iOS, but the developer of NES emulator Bimmy is risking legal action from Nintendo. To avoid this, we have decided to remove the app from the App Store.
legality
Although US courts have ruled that emulators are legal, downloading copyrighted ROMs is usually against the law in this country. Nintendo states on its US customer support website that downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal:
Pirated copies of game files are often referred to as “ROMs.”
Uploading and downloading pirated versions of Nintendo games is illegal.
Nintendo recently sued the developer of the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu for “facilitating massive copyright infringement,” resulting in a reported $2.4 million settlement. Nintendo has not yet commented on the emulator’s availability on the App Store, but Delta and its predecessor, GBA4iOS, have been available on the iPhone for over a decade without being shut down outside of the App Store. Nintendo issued him a DMCA takedown notice against his GBA4iOS website in 2014, but the emulator remained available.
For those who want to abide by the letter of the law, it is usually legal to download and play “homebrew” games that are available in the public domain.
