Just seven days after Apple relaxed the rules regarding game emulation apps in various app stores, the first pieces of software have appeared that take full advantage.
As spotted by Apple Insider, the first two apps are Emu64 XL for Commodore 64 games and iGBA for Gameboy Advance and GameboyColor titles.
When Apple tweaked its rules last week, it was abundantly clear that while emulators are now allowed, copyright still very much applies. “You are responsible for all such software offered in your application, including ensuring that such software complies with these guidelines and all applicable laws,” it says. “Software that does not conform to one or more guidelines will result in your application being rejected.”
As such, none of the emulators come with games, with Emu64 XL allowing players to “load .T64 files and .D64 files as old floppy disks”, and iGBA requiring games to be native through the Files app.
This means that the apps comply with the rules as written: games are not supplied, and it is up to individual users to supply their own. It’s ROMs that can contain copyrighted software, not emulators, and that’s a legal gray area that emulators have occupied on other platforms for years.
Additionally, since the App Store is a closed store where enforcement of the rules is down to Apple alone, it’s still unclear whether the company will still decide to block such apps without having to explain how they work.
One theory was that the rule change would only allow copyright holders to make their own emulation apps (think Sega, Sony, or Nintendo making a retro arcade of their classic games), but the appearance of these two third-party apps shows that Apple intends to take an approach that no more hands – at least to begin with.
In other words, at least for now, emulators on iPhone will work pretty much the same way they do on Android, Windows, or Mac. But with nearly half of Americans using an iPhone, copyright holders could take an active interest in trying to get Apple to change its stance in the coming months.