Game Boy emulators are coming to iPhone: how they are installed

He Walkthrough of iGBA through the App Store It was brief but intense. A few days ago we learned that Apple is going to change some of your rules in its official mobile app store and was going to allow publication console emulators. And the first candidate was iGBAemulator Game Boy, Game Boy Color And Gameboy Progress. That’s right, one of the best-selling consoles in video game history. And although Apple has deleted within a few hoursThe near future is coming, in which you will find in the App Store of your iPhone Game Boy emulators and other retro consoles.

Apple has always been reluctant to publish console emulators on its official store. Especially those related to Nintendo are very jealous of his intellectual property. Yes, sure There are such emulators and there are ways to install them outside of the App Store. But the changes that are happening with iOS in Europe, on the one hand, and legal disputes in the US between Apple and Epic Games, force Apple to make certain decisions. And this opens the door to installing console emulators. Inside or outside the App Store itself.

In just one day iGBA reached come out on top V Development Tools, a section where a complete Game Boy, GBA and GBC emulator was published. The token is no longer available. Neither in the App Store nor in search engines. All that was left was a trace of their hiding place. Designed for iPhone and iPad, it’s the first retro console emulator that Apple supports in its App Store. It’s a shame it didn’t last so long. It was uploaded on April 13th, published on April 14th, and is gone today. However, all indications are that this is the first of many. So if you want remember old games from childhoodsoon you will be able to do this.

What are emulators for?

Game Boy emulators and other retro consoles have decades between us. These are applications that use software to copy console equipment from games of old. Being relatively old, current devices can easily reproduce them. Although today we have witnessed the publication switch emulatorsa console that continues to sell and is currently Nintendo’s latest game.

Without going into too much detail, macOS has very complete emulators such as DOSBox that specialize in MS-DOS. Or the excellent OpenEMU, which allows you to emulate almost any console that has gone on sale in recent decades. And with many benefits: play on larger screens, adjust the brightness and tone of the image and, most importantly, save the game. But on more closed platforms, such as iOS And iPadOS, it’s more complicated. Apple has always discouraged its use. Although there are emulators like GBA4iOS that can be installed without going to the App Store.

Further this will change, since Apple will allow the use of emulators in its App Store. On the other hand, alternative app stores will appear in Europe. Stores that probably have emulators. We will have to wait until Apple finishes make a final decision on this issue.

This is how emulators like iGBA are installed

Using iGBA as an example, installing Game Boy and other retro-style game console emulators is very simple. While in the App Store, installation process It is identical to other applications and games. You go to the store, look for the application and click on the button Receive. After installation you can start. Although still half the work remains to be done.

Except the emulator itself like iGBA, you need ROMs which copy the game you want to play. And now we enter the swampy area. Companies like Nintendo consider ROMs illegal because infringe your intellectual property. Although proponents of retro emulation argue that most games are in ROM They are discontinued. Despite the fact that many of these games have been re-released on official Nintendo emulators for the Switch console. Many of these games were created by game developers that no longer exist.

So, if you are one of the lucky ones who were able to install iGBA, to use it you will need search the internet for ROMs games for Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. You can download them from your browser to the folder downloads from the application Files. And finally, from the emulator itself, open these ROMs. You don’t need anything else. Emulator + ROM.