While we still don’t know exactly how emulators will work on the iPhone, Apple’s play here would put its App Store in a better position to compete with alternative EU app stores. Assuming this means you can actually play the games from the consoles they emulate, this could be a big deal for fans of retro gaming. As great as the Steam Deck and Switch are, the rise of portable gaming consoles comes at the key cost of portability (unless you have cargo pants and don’t mind them banging against your knees when you walk).
I’ve always considered the Game Boy Advance SP to be the ultimate handheld design, thanks to its clamshell form factor, and the Nintendo DS Lite wasn’t bad either. Andrew Webster said similar things while waxing nostalgic about the PlayStation Vita for The Verge this morning.
Of course, the iPhone doesn’t have face buttons, and the virtual buttons, while fine, are a poor substitute for anything that requires quick reflexes. Fortunately, you have many options on the iPhone.
But you may not need to buy a Backbone controller at all if you already have a Switch. Nintendo’s controllers also work with the iPhone, and there are adapters that allow you to physically connect the Joy-Con to your phone. I haven’t tried them, so your mileage may vary, but they do exist.
These are just a few of the many options available for iPhone controllers. There are plenty more, but despite the Apple phone’s status as a mobile gaming powerhouse, third-party controllers haven’t made much of a splash on their own. With emulators allowed in the App Store — a change perhaps prompted by regulatory pressure from the United States’ antitrust lawsuit against it and regulatory pressure in the European Union — we may be in for a future where the iPhone is actually the ideal handheld gaming platform.