Apple to Allow Retro Game Emulators on the App Store Soon
While a considerable number of Apple fans and brand loyalists are apprehensive about the many regulatory mandates being imposed upon the Cupertino tech giant (not to mention legal troubles involving the US government), it should be said that regulation can work towards a more positive outcome for users who want a bit more freedom in using their hardware.
With that in mind, recent policy changes on Apple’s developer website indicate that the company is slowly opening up its software ecosystem to allow video game emulators. Specifically, a section in Apple’s guidelines states:
Apps may offer certain software that is not embedded in the binary, specifically HTML5 mini apps and mini games, streaming games, chatbots, and plug-ins. Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer to download games.
Of course with emulators, developers don’t usually allow users to download specific games within the app, so users will have to find a different way to go about getting their game files. While it is currently possible to run emulators on iOS, they are not readily available on the appstore and require a bit of extra steps on the user’s part to run.
Retro emulation on mobile phones has been possible since the days of Symbian, gaining even more traction with the introduction of Android. In particular though, emulating Nintendo systems might be a tricky field to approach at the moment, following Nintendo’s legal onslaught against the likes of Yuzu, which has resulted in several other developers removing their emulation apps from Google Play.
Source: Kitguru