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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] 


Continue: More Super Nintendo stories





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28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

Butmac's Avatar
Butmac at 02/25/2008 22:22
Great - how nice - give me another reason to BE ADDICTED TO MY IPHONE
taumpytears's Avatar
taumpytears at 02/25/2008 22:23
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
Neonie at 02/25/2008 22:27
Looks good. But worth an Ipohne?
Kryptinite's Avatar
Kryptinite at 02/25/2008 22:30
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
MissHinasaki at 02/25/2008 22:30
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
emotaku at 02/25/2008 22:32
what is this heavenly chorus of chiptunes i hear?
Dan CiTi's Avatar
Dan CiTi at 02/25/2008 22:55
When a GBA one comes out, call me.
RJT's Avatar
RJT at 02/25/2008 23:00
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).

:)
David Quinn Carder's Avatar
David Quinn Carder at 02/25/2008 23:46
I'm not at all into emulators that can't run games at their full frame-rate or that botch the sounds (et cetera). I run BSNES on my Mac with that interpolation shit turned off, and I get perfect emulation of games like Chrono Trigger or Super Mario All-Stars. Anything less is a crime (but damn, I wish BSNES ran Super Mario RPG!).

Unfortunately, when I tried to run the PC version of BSNES on my friend's tricked-out, top-of-the-line game machine, there were problems. The guy who ported the software to the Mac must have worked out those kinks, bless him.

The touch screen thing is a huge problem for me too, because wouldn't you have to keep your thumb off the buttons until you were ready to press them? Not only is that not how I'm used to playing those games, but it must make things like running while intermittently throwing Power Flower fireballs and jumping all the while a real pain in the ass. I can't even play the GBA ports of the Super Mario series on my DS, because the A and B buttons are switched.

@emotaku
I want to know where that first chiptune came from as well. It's honestly the only reason I watched so far into the video! If you find anything out, let me know.
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 02/26/2008 00:04
Just how is one supposed to press more than one direction and button at once?
HijackedFlavor's Avatar
HijackedFlavor at 02/26/2008 00:12
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.
David Quinn Carder's Avatar
David Quinn Carder at 02/26/2008 00:21
@emotaku
I followed the YouTube link and someone posted the names and artists of the chiptunes:

josss - extra life
radix - 1000 bright stars
crome - crm save my soul

@HijackedFlavor
ScummVM would be cool, actually. But you know, I guess I'm just not into little screens. I like my pixels as big squares. :D
savagesaladin's Avatar
savagesaladin at 02/26/2008 00:31
Got one on my psp. Is promising.
BlackSunEmpire's Avatar
BlackSunEmpire at 02/26/2008 01:06
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
BahamutZero at 02/26/2008 02:31
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.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 02/26/2008 02:54
Here here, Dave! I always feel so alone as a gamer who doesn't pirate old games.
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 02/26/2008 02:54
Dave = Dale. I'm too tired.
LostCrichton's Avatar
LostCrichton at 02/26/2008 04:09
@ HijackedFlavor: ScummVM is already working on iPhone and iPod Touch.

http://wiki.scummvm.org/index.php/IPhone
wonky360's Avatar
wonky360 at 02/26/2008 07:44
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
AgentMOO at 02/26/2008 08:42
sounds promising for RPGs... Would be great to finally play chrono trigger
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 02/26/2008 09:31
@BlackSunEmpire:
Not since the last time I used one.
RJT's Avatar
RJT at 02/26/2008 09:34
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
KCMasterpiece25 at 02/26/2008 09:39
Wow, i need an iphone
akathatoneguy's Avatar
akathatoneguy at 02/26/2008 11:14
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
BlackSunEmpire at 02/26/2008 14:00
My bad, does it just average out the distance between the two points??
LarkOhiya's Avatar
LarkOhiya at 02/26/2008 16:05
I could do this...or just use my wii or computer!
catsithx's Avatar
catsithx at 02/26/2008 20:30
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
RXBanditO at 03/05/2008 01:06
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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