Includes nine public-domain games

An app that uses Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator (MAME) technology has appeared on the App Store for iOS devices. Called iMAME, the free emulator includes nine generic games and features a touch-based bottom half that offers both joystick and an ABXY button configuration. The port, which was previous available only for jailbroken iOS devices through unofficial distribution channels, is not officially endorsed.

MAME was originally created in 1997 by Nicola Salmoria and now emulates over 1,000 different original arcade system boards and presently supports as many as 10,000 unique ROM files, mostly games from the late 70s and throughout the 80s. It was originally developed as a porting tool to allow developers to test and reverse-engineer ROM code to various platforms, but became a mainstream application when players found that with the help of a "front end" program it could be used as an arcade emulator. As a development tool, MAME has enjoyed widespread legitimate acceptance, but its most popular use is to play illegally-copied ROM files from copyrighted (but often otherwise unavailable) games.

The developers who have worked on MAME itself have had some success in recent years with "legitimizing" MAME-based programs, convincing companies such as Atari and Taito to create legal copies of the retro games for purchase either as apps (Atari's Greatest Hits), or as part of complementary products such as the iCade shell for iPad. The desire for retro-gaming has become a genuine fad in gaming circles, with new "retro-styled" games appearing alongside re-worked and ported versions of the original classics.

Apple is normally prone to pull unauthorized game emulators, however, casting some doubt about whether iMAME will remain available for long. The current MAME team itself might request than the unauthorized app be pulled, or Apple may decide that the app fosters illegal activity. While MAME itself is not illegal, it is generally used by players who have obtained unlicensed and illegal ROM files based on the original arcade games of the late 70s and 80s.

Some emulators do exist legally on the App Store, including a Commodore 64 emulator and a handful of single-game emulators such as the highly-praised Sonic CD revamp or the Galaga Remix app. The ability of iMAME to accept new ROMs beyond the ones it comes with (via a "documents" folder-supporting apps like PhoneView or GoodReader) may put the app on shaky legal ground.

by MacNN Staff