Apple may not beat Android in the emulation game after all

Abstract

Apple’s new App Store guidelines may allow retro game emulators on iOS, but access to ROMs is still unclear.
Developers behind emulators like PPSSPP and Mikage are concerned about files that can be downloaded within an app on iOS.
Until we get clarification, Android remains the main platform for mobile emulation.

Like it or not, it’s no secret that iOS and Android are closer than ever — even more so if you live in the EU. Last week, another Android-specific perk appeared to have dropped, as Apple updated its App Store guidelines to allow retro game emulators around the world. It’s a big change, but as with so many elements of iOS, nothing is as simple as it seems. And if one emulator developer is to be believed, some of the wording might be specific enough that Android remains the only destination for retro gaming fans on mobile.

Henrik Rydgård, creator of the popular PSP emulator PPSSPP, issued a statement over the weekend directly addressing Apple’s announcement (via Mishaal Rahman). In short, while these new App Store guidelines seem to guarantee that some of our favorite emulators are tied to iOS, the language used in the update makes things a lot less clear. As Rydgård points out, Apple’s terminology might allow emulators, but the ability to actually play your ROM collection does not. It says:

Apple just added a few lines to its iOS App Store review guidelines, including this:

“Additionally, retro game console emulator apps can offer game downloads,”

This seems to imply that retro game console emulators (the PSP is almost 20 years old, that must count as “retro”) will be allowed in the iOS App Store – however, it later also mentions that “links must be provided to all software that can be downloaded,” making it unclear whether emulators will be allowed to allow the user to choose from their own files rather than just in-app downloads.

Rydgård goes on to say that PPSSPP apparently lacks the rights to these games, meaning they can only be loaded from the user’s own collection of discarded UMDs (however they are located), not via in-app download. An emulator is only as good as the software it can run, and if iOS emulation apps can’t actually access their ROMs, they won’t come to the platform. Rydgård says that if that’s not the case — if Apple’s language is, instead, unnecessarily confusing — PPSSPP will eventually be on the App Store.

These emulation guidelines may be for platform owners only

He’s not the only emulator developer echoing these thoughts. The Twitter account for Mikage, a 3DS emulation in the works for Android and PC with a focus on recreating as authentic an experience as possible, shared their own concerns over the weekend, highlighting the same concerns regarding in-app downloads. In their eyes, these rules exist for companies like Sega to bring officially licensed Genesis collections to the App Store, now with the ability to “dynamically download licensed games on demand.”

In a way, that’s good news for Android users — it leaves Google’s platform as the first destination for mobile ROMs outside of dedicated handhelds like the Steam Deck. But if you were excited to see your iPhone-owning friends check out some games from your shared childhood this summer, prepare for everyone involved to be disappointed. Or, you know, tell them to buy an Android phone. However.