The new Delta retro game emulator is now on the iPhone App Store. Not only can it handle ROMs originally for the classic Game Boy handheld console, but it also emulates NES, SNES, Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS.
It’s a launch that fans of classic games have long awaited.
Delta is the retro game emulator for iPhone you’re hoped for
For many years, Apple prohibited developers from listing retro game emulators for download on the iPhone App Store. It actively took down any such that slipped through its review process. But in early April, the company updated the App Store guidelines to allow this type of software.
Which means Delta finally got Apple’s approval. The developer, Riley Testut, says of his creation:
“Delta is an all-in-one emulator for iOS. Delta builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, GBA4iOS, while expanding to include support for more game systems such as NES, SNES, N64, and DS.”
For those not up on all those acronyms, the full list of supported classic consoles is:
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Nintendo 64
- Game Boy (Color)
- Game Boy Advance
- Nintendo DS
Start playing today
Delta is ready to download on the App Store now. It runs on iPhone and iPad, is free, contains no advertising and does not track users in any way. It even supports external game controllers so virtual on-screen ones aren’t required.
The software includes a system to access ROMs stored on the iPhone or iCloud. And Testut built in options to save the game state so players don’t lose their progress when they flip away from the app. It even supports cheats designed for the original game ROMS.
Another Game Boy emulator, called iGBA: GBA & GBC Retro Emulator, appeared briefly on the App Store over the weekend. However, Apple apparently pulled it after Testut called it a rip-off of GBA4iOS, the predecessor to Delta that he coded in high school
Software piracy alert
Probably one of the reasons Apple previously blocked retro game emulators from the iPhone App Store is they’re primarily used with the many classic game ROMS easily available on the internet via software piracy.
Concern about being sued by Nintendo apparently caused the developer of Bimmy, an NES emulator for the iPhone, to pull his own product off the App Store just hours after it debuted on Tuesday.
