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The best Nintendo emulator on iOS just hit the App Store, and it's blowing our minds
Bust out those DS games.
Apple has opened the door for emulators on the App Store, but the road to actually getting an emulator to stick on it hasn't been so successful. We saw iGBA arrive, but it turned out that the app was someone else's emulator with ads slapped on it. Then we saw the Bimmy emulator appear, but the developer took it down a day later "out of fear." Now, Delta has made its debut on the App Store, and we hope it'll last a bit longer than what came before it.
How to use EmuDeck on the Asus ROG Ally
If you want to emulate titles on the go, then EmuDeck on the Asus ROG Ally is one of the best ways to do that.
The Asus ROG Ally is one of the most popular gaming handhelds out there, and it's also one of the most powerful. Packing the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, it's in line with other gaming handhelds that are powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 7840U. Because of that, it's capable of emulation too, supporting consoles and handhelds as recent as the PlayStation 3. EmuDeck is the best way to experience those older consoles and handhelds on the go.
Retroid Pocket 4 Pro review: The Nintendo Switch-style retro Android handheld to get
Retroid's Pocket 4 Pro is a tiny but capable Android handheld that is perfect for mobile gaming and retro emulation
The term "gaming handheld" now covers a wide variety of devices, from PC gaming handhelds with laptop-class processing power, to tiny retro game consoles taking design cues from a past era. For example, the OneXPlayer X1 is a gigantic and beastly gaming device that can barely be considered a handheld, while the Miyoo Mini+ is the size of a deck of cards. The Retroid Pocket 4 Pro, by comparison, falls directly in the middle of those two extremes. It isn't a large and powerful computer like the best PC gaming handhelds, and it isn't a strictly-retro device powered by a single-board computer. With a MediaTek Dimensity 1100 processor and Android 13, the Pocket 4 Pro is like a mix of a budget Android phone's internals with the form factor of a Nintendo Switch Lite.
Apple now allows retro game emulators on the App Store worldwide
Unlike the recent changes to iOS and the App Store, which are limited to the EU, Apple will let users download game emulators globally.
In a surprise move, Apple announced changes to its App Review Guidelines that will allow retro game emulators to be distributed through the App Store. Historically, Apple did not permit game emulators on the App Store, but the company has reversed this stance on the type of app. Starting today, retro game emulators are able to pass Apple's app review process and offer downloadable games on the latest iPhones and other Apple devices. Though Apple may have made the decision due to pressure from the European Union and its Digital Markets Act (DMA), the company has decided to make game emulation apps available to users worldwide.
Miyoo Mini+ review: One of the best retro handhelds you can buy today
If you want an affordable retro gaming handheld, then the Miyoo Mini+ is up there as one of the best.
When it comes to gaming handhelds, some of the heavy hitters of the last year have come from the likes of Valve, Lenovo, and Asus. There are some other handhelds like the Nintendo Switch that are obviously more geared towards casual gamers too, but outside of that, there are even more popular handhelds in a niche dubbed single-board computers, or SBCs. The Miyoo Mini+ is one such device, and it's capable of emulating a ton of consoles of old.
I'm worried about the future of emulation
Yuzu's shutdown has sent the emulation community into disarray, and it's hard to say what the future holds
Emulators have largely been regarded as more or less legal, although the acquisition of ROMs and BIOS files needed to operate them may not always be. It's generally been accepted that individuals can legally dump their own games and BIOS files for archival purposes, and emulators distributed are typically provided "as-is," meaning they do not function unless these specific files are supplied by the user. Emulators also offer quality of life improvements, including upscaling, better performance, and mods.
EmuDeck hands-on: The best emulation suite for the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, and more
If you want to emulate on the go using a PC gaming handheld, then EmuDeck is by far the best way.
EmuDeck is the best emulation suite that you can get on the likes of the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and so much more. It gets its name from the Steam Deck where it originated, but there are now builds for Windows and even Android. It downloads and configures a ton of different emulators, integrating with Steam ROM Manager so that you can add those games to your Steam library, too.
How to install OnionOS on the Miyoo Mini
We recently picked up the Miyoo Mini, and one of the first things you should do with it is install OnionOS.
The Miyoo Mini is a popular retro gaming handheld that can emulate a ton of older consoles. Those consoles include the NES, GameBoy, SNES, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, and so much more. However, while the software out of the box is excellent and can play quite a few games, there's a way to get even more out of your Miyoo Mini with OnionOS.
EmuDeck just got a big update with more emulators
If you have a Steam Deck, you'll love this new EmuDeck update.
EmuDeck is one of the best ways to experience emulators on your Steam Deck. While the emulation community has taken somewhat of a hit recently, EmuDeck is still full steam ahead with its update to EmuDeck 2.2, complete with some new emulators, too. While it does remove Citra and Yuzu, the developers have confirmed on their Discord that both Citra and Yuzu won't be removed if you already have it installed.
Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu ceases development following Nintendo lawsuit
Yuzu has been taken down, and Citra, a 3DS emulator, is also being pulled.
Yuzu, a popular Nintendo Switch emulator, is ceasing development following a lawsuit submitted by Nintendo against its developer. Yuzu has since settled the case for $2.4 million with its Patreon, websites, and all official distribution channels for the emulator set to be taken down. The group also revealed that Citra, a 3DS emulator made by the same developers, will also cease development.
How I turned a mini PC into a gaming console
I recently reviewed the Ayaneo AM02 mini PC, and I turned it into a home gaming console.
I recently reviewed the Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM02 here at XDA, and given that it looks like a NES, I wondered if I could turn it into one. Turns out I could, very easily in fact, and I turned it into a gaming console that I can use for anything up to and including the Nintendo Wii U. That includes the NES, the PlayStation 2, the Game Boy Advance, and practically any other console up until that point.
How to emulate games on your Raspberry Pi
Here's everything you need to know to emulate older gaming systems on the Raspberry Pi.
Although the Raspberry Pi boards can fit within the palm of your hands, these tiny SBCs pack enough horsepower to run a plethora of games. While you shouldn't expect an ARM-based Raspberry Pi to run graphically demanding games that can tax even the most cutting-edge PCs, they're quite capable when it comes to emulating games.
4 reasons why I love game emulation, and you should too
As an avid fan of emulation, here are four reasons why I rip my physical games and play them on emulators instead of running them on consoles
Modern games may feature jaw-dropping visuals and solid gameplay mechanics, but old games have their own charm. Although remakes, remasters, and ports have gained popularity recently, most older titles remain locked behind outdated consoles. This is where emulation comes in.
Best emulators for Android in 2023
One of the best ways to play retro video games isn't with a used console but with an Android emulator. Here are some of our favorites.
If you have an Android smartphone and are reading XDA, then you're likely familiar with the litany of apps and other modifications you can make to any of the best Android phones. Emulators are one such perk of the Android ecosystem (while they exist on iOS, they're a lot harder to set up). These are some of the best emulators you can get on Android, covering devices from the PlayStation 2, the Nintendo Wii, and more.
Nintendo Switch Emulator Skyline ceases development, citing potential legal issues
Skyline was the go-to Nintendo Switch emulator on Android.
On Android, there are a few emulators that pretty much everyone knows for major systems. For the Nintendo Wii and Gamecube, it's Dolphin Emulator; for the PlayStation 2, it's AetherSX2; and for the Nintendo Switch, it's Skyline Emulator. While the emulator had been progressing phenomenally well, it has officially ceased development following DMCA action from Nintendo against an adjacent project.
Citra teases Vulkan support for better performance on MediaTek and Exynos
Citra is getting some pretty big upgrades that will improve performance for everyone, but especially MediaTek and Exynos users.
When it comes to 3DS emulation on Android, there's only really one emulator that works, and that's Citra. It's a port of the popular emulator from PC, and if you have a flagship Android smartphone with a Qualcomm chipset, the performance makes it one of the best emulators on Android. However, after a long period of silence from the developers, there are a bunch of huge changes just around the corner that will improve performance for everyone, especially MediaTek and Exynos users with the added support of the Vulkan API.
What are FPGAs?
Field Programmable Gate Arrays sound complicated, but they open up a whole new world for developers.
If you've ever read into retro-gaming emulation, you may have come across a semiconductor type called a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). These are special integrated circuits that can reconfigure themselves after being manufactured thanks to configurable logic blocks (CLB). In other words, you can basically reprogram the chipset to act as any other type of digital circuit, which has multiple applications in AI, chipset design, and other fields.
How to get a PlayStation 1 or PlayStation 2 BIOS without a console
If you want to emulate PS2 or PS1 games, you'll need a BIOS. Here's a quick and easy way to get one legally.
The PlayStation 2 is a nostalgic console to many people, but emulating it can be difficult. If you don't mod your console and dump the BIOS, you won't be able to emulate games through the likes of AetherSX2. Now, it turns out that it's possible to download and extract a BIOS from the official PS3 firmware with just a little bit of work.
We often read of programmers finding ways to get old game titles running on modern smartphones by emulating the original platform. Thanks to the abundance of console emulators for Android, it's truly a wonderful mean to relive some of our best childhood gaming memories. Moreover, emulation is the key to preserve the history of video games, which is why we always find it exciting to see new emulators making their way to Android. This time, Vita3K, a popular PlayStation Vita emulator which has been available on desktop operating systems for years, has received an official Android port.
AetherSX2 developer calls it quits following continued harassment and death threats
For now, it seems that AetherSX2 is dead.
PlayStation 2 emulation on Android was in a pretty poor place for years, with there being very few options for people who wanted to play some of their favorite older titles. The only real option was a closed-source app that was for-profit, with allegations of stolen code shrouding any semblance of credibility that it had. That's why AetherSX2 was a big deal when it was first announced, as it was free, open source, and had the blessings of the PCSX2 developers. However, now it seems that the developer of AetherSX2 has called it quits, citing "neverending impersonating, complaints, demands, and now death threats."