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A few months back we came across a PlayStation emulator for the iPhone. It was a pretty nifty proof of concept, but as an actual gaming solution it looked to be pretty weak. There are too many buttons on the PlayStation controller to emulate on the iPhone's touchscreen, and the games put too much strain on the unit's processor. Recent video of a Super Nintendo emulator looks to be much more promising.

The SNES's six buttons and d-pad seem to fit fine on the bottom half of the iPhone's screen. The above video shows acceptable gameplay framerates for Diddys Kong Quest. What a tease: I thought he would boot up Chrono Trigger first -- at least he eventually gets to it.

Mobile Magazine says that the emulator works in both landscape and portrait modes, but the sound isn't functional yet. I suppose the best news is that this emulator, snes4iphone, went public earier this month. If you can follow instructions, you can deck out your iPhone or iPod Touch with your favorite *cough* legally owned ROM files and pack your multifunction devices with even more function. 

As cool as this is, there's still much better portable devices to get your emulation on with. You know, those ones with real buttons. [innocent grin] Of course, the fine, legal emulation abilities of Wii's Virtual Console are more than enough for me!

[Thanks, JR] 








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Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools. Meet the rest of the team



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26 comments | showing # 1 to 26
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Butmac's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:22
Butmac
Great - how nice - give me another reason to BE ADDICTED TO MY IPHONE
taumpytears's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:23
taumpytears
This gives me conflicted feelings, I have an iPhone and want games, but the snes can be emulated on at least 4 other devices I own.
Neonie's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:27
Neonie
Looks good. But worth an Ipohne?
Kryptinite's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:30
Kryptinite
If I wanted to jailbreak my phone..again, i'd be all over this. I had the NES one for awhile but it was shitty. Touch screen does not work when emulating a game pad...ever.
MissHinasaki's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:30
MissHinasaki
I dunno how I feel about this. I gotta tone it down a bit with the emulators. My initial reaction was fapping but then I just felt dirty...
emotaku's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:32
emotaku
what is this heavenly chorus of chiptunes i hear?
Dan CiTi's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 22:55
Dan CiTi
When a GBA one comes out, call me.
RJT's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/25/2008 23:00
RJT
Just because the games run doesn't mean they're fun to play ;)

Trying to play console games on a touch screen is like trying to fuck a brick - equal parts pointless and painful.

And Dan - there's already a GBA emulator for the iPhone/Touch, I figured letting you know here was easier than calling you (I don't have your number).

:)
Excel-2011's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 00:04
Excel-2011
Just how is one supposed to press more than one direction and button at once?
HijackedFlavor's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 00:12
HijackedFlavor
This is officially the first cool thing I've ever seen an iphone do...and it really doesn't seem all that comfortable to play. Now, if someone was to put ScummVM on one of those things, that would be pretty sweet.
savagesaladin's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 00:31
savagesaladin
Got one on my psp. Is promising.
BlackSunEmpire's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 01:06
BlackSunEmpire
I think the buttons would be horrible to use, there must be a better platform than this.

@The-Excel

Both ipod touch and iphone have multi-touch screens. Or is that not what you were asking??
BahamutZero's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 02:31
BahamutZero
I dont know if this is the one I played, but every emulator I tried with the touch was horrible. it's basically impossible to play anything that requires any kind of time-based input, ie, platforming/fighting/shooting etc. might be ok for rpgs. hate to break it to you guys.
Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 02:54
Bob Muir
Here here, Dave! I always feel so alone as a gamer who doesn't pirate old games.
Bob Muir's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 02:54
Bob Muir
Dave = Dale. I'm too tired.
LostCrichton's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 04:09
LostCrichton
@ HijackedFlavor: ScummVM is already working on iPhone and iPod Touch.

http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/IPhone
wonky360's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 07:44
wonky360
shows the potential for some ipod games though, ones that use the touchiness as the interface. A powerful little package for your pocket. There has to be a touchem up in the works somewhere.
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 08:42
AgentMOO
sounds promising for RPGs... Would be great to finally play chrono trigger
Excel-2011's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 09:31
Excel-2011
@BlackSunEmpire:
Not since the last time I used one.
RJT's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 09:34
RJT
ScummVM on the Touch/iPhone is absolutely terrific - that's the kind of stuff people should be programming.

Effectively all the concerns raised here (how do you push more than one direction on the d-pad, awkward to hold, button/timing issues, etc.) make up the bulk of why emulation on this device is absolutely wretched. It's even irritating for turn based RPG's, which really should just not be the case.
KCMasterpiece25's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 09:39
KCMasterpiece25
Wow, i need an iphone
akathatoneguy's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 11:14
akathatoneguy
iPhones are sweet. Emulators are also sweet. However, two great tastes don't always taste great together, as many have pointed out. I mean, it's a cool thing to see in action, but that's about it.
BlackSunEmpire's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 14:00
BlackSunEmpire
My bad, does it just average out the distance between the two points??
LarkOhiya's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 16:05
LarkOhiya
I could do this...or just use my wii or computer!
catsithx's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/26/2008 20:30
catsithx
it nice and my freind has a iphone and would do that but since I don't have a Iphone I'll stick with my hacked psp
RXBanditO's Avatar - Comment posted on 03/05/2008 01:06
RXBanditO
If you're looking to re-live some of your favorite old school RPGs or play them for the first time (FF6, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, etc.) it looks like it'd be sweet. But I don't think this will make me an iPhone owner any faster.
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