Apple made the decision to allow emulators onto the iOS App Store once again earlier this year. Things immediately kicked off with the Delta emulator returning to the App Store, a well-known and popular Nintendo console emulator for iPhones. Now, iOS users can also easily play games designed for the original PlayStation while on the go.
Gamma is a new PS1 emulator designed for iPhones and iPads. The app has already risen to the top of the App Store charts. While the app itself does not contain any copyright infringing material, it does make it possible for users to run ROMs of classic games, which are easy to find across the web.
While the Delta emulator has been highly rated by users, the Gamma emulator does seem to have some issues in its current form, with the app garnering 3.2 stars out of 5 based on user reviews. Some of the app's top reviews mention issues with certain titles crashing, as well as problems getting wireless controllers to work in the app. With that in mind, it may be worth holding off for some updates, or perhaps even a competing emulator.
Delta, the Nintendo NES, SNES, N64, GameBoy and DS emulator for iPhone, is still number seven on the App Store chart several weeks on from its launch. Console emulation has been pretty easy for Android device owners for over a decade. On the iOS side of things though, users had to jump through hoops to get an emulator running on their iPhone. Now, both sides are on an even playing field when it comes to emulation, with emulators being listed on both the Google Play and iOS App Stores. The iPhone also has its own downloads manager and accessible file system, so users can easily set up libraries of games to import, without any jailbreaking or extra tinkering required, just as you would on Android.
So far, Nintendo and Sony have not commented on the recent rise of emulators on iOS. Nintendo itself is particularly known for its stance against emulators. In recent years, Nintendo’s legal team has successfully shut down several sites supplying ROMs for classic games, and it even managed to shut down Yuzu, the popular Nintendo Switch emulator.
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KitGuru Says: This will no doubt ruffle some feathers amongst Sony and Nintendo executives. On the Sony side in particular, the company has been making more of an effort to cash in on its ‘classic' games in recent years by offering services like PS+ Premium, which includes access to a library of classic PS1 and PS2 titles for subscribers.