The more things change…
The first time I played Pokémon wasn’t on a Game Boy. It was through an emulator fittingly called NO$GMB, which I used to blast through Pokémon Yellow one summer on our family PC. I remember playing from dawn to dusk one probably sunny day; when I went to bed that night, I dreamt of throwing Pokéballs and battling, and woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept at all. It was awesome!
Now I’m older, have a disposable income, and have played many of those old Nintendo games the legal way rather than through emulation. I don’t mind paying for old ROMs, but there’s nothing stopping Nintendo from making their old games available on any device, be that an iPhone or even a PlayStation, the way that Nintendo Switch Online makes a selection of ROMs available on your Switch. Why not? It’s free money!
Nintendo see their IP as similar to the old Disney Vault strategy: their games are precious gems to be re-released in an arbitrary and restricted way, like the Super Mario 3D All Stars collection, to keep the price artificially high through scarce availability. Where Disney have at least served their archives through Disney+, Nintendo prefer to dribble out a selection of 20 year old Game Boy Advance games on their service, 1-2 per month if you’re lucky.
Now there will be no more money for old ROMs, because Apple have opened up the App Store to retro game emulators. Apple’s past policy felt equally arbitrary and restricted: emulators have been available on Android for years through the Play Store, and PCs since forever. Emulation is not illegal, and most game publishers use the technology to release their classic games on modern consoles. While downloading games when you don’t own the originals is technically illegal, it’s perhaps morally defensible for 20 year old games, especially if you can’t pay for them by other means. To be clear: pirating Switch games as seen with the Yuzu emulator saga, or torrenting PC games you can buy off Steam, is wrong on every level. But if you want to play Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast — and you should! — I don’t think you should deny yourself because Sega never renegotiated their Ferrari license.
The hottest ticket in iOS emulation is Delta, which has rocketed to the top of the App Store in several countries. Half of Australia must be playing Pokémon on their iPhone while I write this, the other half scouring Reddit to learn what ROM files are and where they can acquire them. Nothing has really changed here: it’s just another platform to play retro games, something you can do in a web browser these days. What has changed is awareness of emulation: I was talking to my wife’s cousin about old games, he asked if I remembered Mortal Kombat, and I loaded it on Delta on my phone right there in the pub. If you’re not familiar with the concept of emulation, seeing it in action is magic.
I’m not sure if Nintendo Switch Online sales were boosted by the classic game selection, but they certainly won’t be now that those games are freely available on ubiquitous smartphones. Where Microsoft and Sony opened up their software to streaming subscriptions and other consoles, and Sega cleverly released old games like Sonic and Crazy Taxi for free on iOS, supported by ads1, now the only reason someone will pay for Nintendo ROMs is if you can’t be bothered to pair a Bluetooth controller to your Switch. Even if you own a Switch, pairing the Joycons with your iPhone is an arguably better experience: larger game selection, fan translations and ROM hacks, longer battery life, superior screen (and a massive screen on iPad), wireless streaming to AirPlay, cheat codes and more.
I’m excited to explore some classic RPGs and strategy games from the comfort of my phone with Delta. Sure, you need a controller for the best experience, but of all the things Apple has changed on the platform over the years, this is the one that makes me say “finally”.
- I say “cleverly” but I think ads are grim and would obviously never play Sonic this way – I’ve got 6 copies of Sonic the Hedgehog at home (2 x Mega Drive, Sonic Jam, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Xbox 360, 3DS), I won’t be paying for another! ↩
