iMAME arcade emulator pulled from App Store
updated 04:00 pm EST, Fri December 23, 2011
Made it possible to add illegal ROMs
As expected, Apple has now removed the MAME arcade emulator port iMAME from the App Store. The free app used MAME as a method to play ROMs taken directly from vintage 70s and 80s video arcade games. It came with legal demonstration games, but could also (through the use of third-party tools) be used to play copyrighted ROMs that are not licensed or legal. Though no reason for the removal has been offered, the app was in violation of Apple guidelines that forbid apps from running arbitrary emulated code.
MAME as a technology has help popularize the "retro game" and "8 bit" design movement which has proven popular in gaming circles, either with new iOS games that adopt the look and style of 80s arcade games (such as Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP), remakes (such as Galaga Remix) or legitimate licensed ports of classic games (such as Atari's Greatest Hits). MAME was originally created as a development tool to foster ports of arcade games, with the idea of putting a front-end on it and actually using it to play games being a secondary "happy side effect" according to the developers.
The iMAME app making it into the App Store in the first place is also unusual. It was a port or version of an already-existing Cydia app for jailbroken devices, was not sanctioned by the MAME development team, and existed primarily to foster copyright infringement of ROMs. Apple has a history of approving, and then pulling, emulation apps.
A handful of emulators are still available on the App Store, including a Commodore 64 emulator, but they are all locked out of the ability to run any third-party code.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2001
wohoo!
So glad I got this before it disappeared. Used to be huge into MAME years ago and played a (very) small role in the PPC Mac port. Have been digging up old ROMs and playing them using this on my iPad 2 all week.