āFirst Approved NES Emulator āBimmyā Launched on App Store, Quickly Removed By Developerā
After Apple updated its program review guidelines, the first approved NES (Famicom) emulator āBimmyā was launched on the App Store yesterday and could be used on iPhone and iPad. According to the description on the App Store, āBimmyā is a tool for testing and playing public domain or homemade NES games, as well as allowing users to load any NES game file downloaded online.
These NES game files available online include classics like āSuper Mario Bros.ā and āDonkey Kongā, games that were originally launched by Nintendo for the NES console back in 1985, making some of the games nearly 40 years old. Nintendo has been quick to emphasize on its official website that downloading any pirated games is illegal.
āBimmyā is the second Nintendo console emulator to be launched on the App Store recently. The previous emulator, āiGBAā, was removed after Apple discovered it was a counterfeit that copied another Game Boy emulator āGBA4iOSā.
Despite the successful launch of āBimmyā, its developer Tom Salvo decided to remove it just one day after its release. In a discussion forum on the website MacRumors, Salvo explained that while no one pressured him to remove it, he chose to do so to avoid potential risks.
The quick removal of āBimmyā raises questions about the future of Nintendo emulators on the App Store and the boundaries set by Appleās program review guidelines. It remains to be seen if more official emulator apps will be approved in the future or if developers will continue to tread carefully in this space.