Apple Further Explains Why Game Boy Emulator iGBA Was Removed From App Store

[corbindav]

This entire situation is so bizarre. The original developer is mad because iGBA was supposedly a rip-off of GBA4iOS, but GBA4iOS was open source and he apparently has no interest in submitting it (or Delta) to the App Store. If he's not interested in filling that market himself, what's the issue with another developer doing it? His posts on Threads are talking about the AltStore as if that is accessible to the same market as the entire global App Store.

The iGBA app wasn't using his name or the original emulator name, though it might have been violating the GPLv2 license if there was no credit anywhere. I can't check because the listing is gone now.

 

[Fuzzball84]

The argument that something can be used to abuse copyrights keeps coming up, yet the argument keeps getting struck down.

Media companies tried to ban VCR's because they could be used to record TV programming. But luckily for users, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of consumers and fair use.

Supreme Court Rules 5 to 4

www.washingtonpost.com

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that it is legal to tape television programs for home viewing, rejecting the contention of the entertainment industry that viewers who tape TV programs are stealing copyright material.

The long-awaited 5-to-4 decision was a shocking and costly defeat for studios, producers, writers and distributors of television programming in one of the most bitterly contested Supreme Court cases in years.

Led by Walt Disney and Universal City Studios, the entertainment industry had persuaded an appeals court that the copying of programs and the sale of recorders was illegal.

It was an unequivocal triumph for the Sony Corp., the target in yesterday's case, and for other manufacturers and distributors of videocassete recorders




The courts have ruled many times over that copyright infringement is not theft.

But copyright infringement is a criminal offence... I should have been more clear and used infringement/unauthorised use over "stole"

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

Over the weekend, a Game Boy emulator named iGBA appeared in the iPhone's App Store, but Apple quickly removed the app due to violations of the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam and copyright. Apple has since shared additional details about why it removed iGBA from the App Store, and it also clarified its guidelines for emulators.

iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app, with the addition of ads on top. While it did not explicitly name GBA4iOS, Apple told us it removed iGBA from the App Store after learning that it was a knockoff app that copied another developer's work and attempted to pass it off as its own.

Notably, Apple confirmed to us that emulators on the App Store are permitted to load ROMs downloaded from the web, so long as the app is emulating retro console games only. Apple also said it had approved iGBA's functionality, before learning that it was a knockoff app, suggesting that Game Boy emulation is permitted on the App Store, but the company has yet to share any other examples of retro game consoles.

All in all, it appears that iGBA was removed from the App Store entirely because it was a ripoff of GBA4iOS, rather than due to piracy concerns resulting from users being able to load any ROM downloaded from the web. However, exactly which consoles Apple considers to be retro, and if there will be any other restrictions, remains to be seen.

It also remains to be seen how Nintendo reacts to Apple approving Game Boy emulators for distribution through the App Store on the iPhone. On its U.S. customer support website, Nintendo says downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal:We have reached out to Nintendo for comment.

Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators earlier this month. Apple says developers of emulators are "responsible for all such software" offered in the app, including compliance with "all applicable laws."

Article Link: Apple Further Explains Why Game Boy Emulator iGBA Was Removed From App Store

Nintendo was all over it like a fly on 💩

 

[tech_jared]

An actual question for people familiar with the issue:
What's the situation if I still own the CD-ROM or cartridge version of a game, and my console doesn't work anymore because the AV cables are not compatible with my TV screen? Could I download a ROM copy of my physical game to play within an emulator in my iPhone or MacBook? If we were talking about music, no way you could do that. You'd have to buy it again in the new format/media. Is it different with video games?

I believe the legal response is that you have to rip your own ROM from the media to be 100% on the up and up. Granted, that is often not possible. I think the letter of the rulings is that it should be directly from the owned media.

 

[Jupit3r]

Cases like this -- where something is approved, then not -- show the lack of competence and lack of communication in Apple's internal operations.

In this case, despite Apple's announcement about permitting emulators, even regular users immediately questioned if this one was approved in error or if Apple was going to pull it, because even regular users understood Apple's policies and other issues involved better than the one who approved it.

And something like this keeps happening. Here they made more noise than they would have wanted by approving the thing first and then pulling it. If they had rejected it from the start, there still would have been some noise, but less of a situation.

This is a short sighted comment. Remember that humans approve these apps. Some of these humans are not even big gamers or anything so they may not have realized that this app that was submitted was a complete rip off of something else located on GitHub.

Also humans can make mistakes sometimes, I’m sure you have made a few yourself.

What’s the most important aspect, is that they learn from this mistake and don’t do it again.

 

[Xavier]

Who's leading up the App review process, the two week novice intern?

I'm sure the app review process is thought out but it sure doesn't seem like it when stuff like this knock off app gets pushed through.

 

[Macalway]

just read

"Nintendo releases iOS Rom to be used with Gameboys"

 

[CarAnalogy]

Not really. They published something. They were notified it was a unauthorized copy. They removed it.

Your premise that Apple should have known it was unauthorized before they were notified doesn't seem reasonable to me.

I only question the fact that it took MacRumors readers very little time to rip it a new one on the forums. Why didn't App Review notice those same things? What is App Review supposed to be doing if not exactly that? Seems like they didn't inspect it very hard.

Which would also be understandable if I hadn't read story after story of developers having to negotiate with App Review for weeks over things that don't matter.

Just seems highly inconsistent what gets scrutinized and what doesn't.

 

[AlmightyKang]

FINALLY SOME CLARIFICATION from Apple on what specifically it allows of emulators!

Seems like emulators are now allowed and can load executables (ROMs) on iOS!!!!!

17 years later...

😭

Beautiful! Finally!

I didn't think this day would ever come. One of the biggest reasons to use Android has now been undercut.

Literally one of my most used apps on my iphone is an emulator that loads ROMs and it has been there forever

‎iHP48

‎Introducing iHP48 - Your Ultimate Calculator Companion iHP48 emerges from the necessity to revive the unparalleled calculator experience cherished by university students and engineers across various disciplines. Reviving the legacy of the original calculator, iHP48 delivers enhanced performance…

apps.apple.com

 

[Allwordzaremadeup]

Let's goo! At least this give the green light for emulators in the appstore!!! I'll still be using this emulator until a better one is out in the appstore and then I'll delete this one.

 

[Siliconguy]

even an approved Apple ][ emulator.

Yes! Port Virtual II to IOS. For that matter port GSOS too. Apple owns those ROMs after all.

 

[benedetti]

Notably, Apple confirmed to us that emulators on the App Store are permitted to load ROMs downloaded from the web, so long as the app is emulating retro console games only.

So, no iDOS then.

 

[Mousse]

You mean, like half of the app store? At least this app started with a screen that let you disable tracking. And the app store is full of ad-monetized apps making use of open-source libraries. That doesn’t seem to bother Apple all that much.

What this really shows is that Apple doesn’t have clear, predictable and consistently enforced app policies, but that they instead decide in an ad-hoc and publicity-driven manner.

Apple has AI doing the reviews. Judging by Siri...🤭

They could at least have a human past final judgement on whether an app is fit for their App Store or not. I trust Al [Bundy] more than AI.😉

 

[bsolar]

This is achieved by publishing the source code, or making it available upon request. Otherwise no GPL code could be used in apps.

You can find an old article as of why the GPL is incompatible with the Apple's App Store here:

That's the problem in a nutshell: Apple's Terms of Service impose restrictive limits on use and distribution for any software distributed through the App Store, and the GPL doesn't allow that.

 

[BaldiMac]

This is achieved by publishing the source code, or making it available upon request. Otherwise no GPL code could be used in apps.

Nope. The license differentiates between the Program and the Programs source code. It specifically says that when you distribute a copy of the Program, "You may not impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of the rights granted herein."

The author of the original app is not the author of the GPL code he based his app on. He therefore can’t distribute his derived work under an incompatible license.

He doesn't. I could have said that better in my previous post. He can distribute code that he wrote himself under other licenses, but not anything licensed under the GPL.

 

[CosmicTris392]

So why won’t Nintendo just launch a gameboy app that plays old gameboy games they could sell on the AppStore? Seems like free money for very little effort.

Nintendo hates free money

 

[BrownyQ]

I figured it would be taken down sooner rather than later.

But I do find it funny when companies try to scare the populace into not downloading files by claiming it piracy or illegal.

The act of downloading the file is not illegal. The distribution or sale of pirated material is what's illegal.

 

[BaldiMac]

I figured it would be taken down sooner rather than later.

But I do find it funny when companies try to scare the populace into not downloading files by claiming it piracy or illegal.

The act of downloading the file is not illegal. The distribution or sale of pirated material is what's illegal.

Downloading the file involves creating a copy. That is a exclusive right of the copyright holder assuming US law.

 

[qCzar]

GBA4ios is an open source project that integrates another open-source emulator as its “core”.

Riley didn’t make the code that emulates the gameboy. Why he’s able to exert this control over somebody else’s work (Emu-EX-plus in a wrapper as GBA4ios) yet the developer of iGBA somehow doesn’t — is curious at best.

I'd wager it comes down to the Licensing of the projects used in GBA4iOS. I won't pretend to know the terms of each license but I'd wager Riley is following and honoring the licensing agreements of the core, which is likely just attribution and releasing his project with the same license.

Nonetheless, it's pretty low to take an open source project (like GBA4iOS) and re-release it with ads and for-profit intentions.

 

[shadowboi]

With that much money Nintendo should have never said that. How can they even call piracy playing ancient game from childhood days that no one even remembers today? They should be thankful there are these few enthusiasts who still play their old games. If they want people to stop pirating they should port every each of their game on iOS and Android, or else people gonna just emulate and chill.

Why they are not calling pirates those people who sell their old used consoles and game cartridges for 10x the original price?

And some people yet call Apple “greedy”. At least they let you use any old software or hardware without legal repercussions and calling you “pirate”. Even this fake app! Those people who downloaded it will have it forever in purchases! Meanwhile Nintendo already killed 3 application stores and peoples accounts with purchased content🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

You can emulate lots of old Apple stuff and before M1 people even did Hackintosh, and Apple didn’t even bother making a press release saying smth like “oh you are violating our agreement, time to go to jail!”. And you know why Apple did this? People are more eager to buy smth if company does not gatekeep them. I remember people who bought iPhones and iPads after playing around with Hackintoshes

 

[macfacts]

So why won’t Nintendo just launch a gameboy app that plays old gameboy games they could sell on the AppStore? Seems like free money for very little effort.

Nintendo is trying to sell switch hardware, why would they help sell iOS devices?

 

[bsolar]

This entire situation is so bizarre. The original developer is mad because iGBA was supposedly a rip-off of GBA4iOS, but GBA4iOS was open source and he apparently has no interest in submitting it (or Delta) to the App Store. If he's not interested in filling that market himself, what's the issue with another developer doing it? His posts on Threads are talking about the AltStore as if that is accessible to the same market as the entire global App Store.

He likely simply cannot do that. He does not hold the copyright of the whole GBA4iOS codebase, only of his own contributions, so he cannot re-license GBA4iOS to make it compatible with Apple's App Store.

I assume AltStore does not have the same limitations as the Apple's App Store, making it compatible with GPL software distribution.

 

[cnnyy20p]

But isn’t GBA4iOS open-source? Maybe because of the naming issue? Or maybe the license the original app uses has some restriction?

edit: yeah just read the comments for the clarification.

 

[Dr. James]

So why won’t Nintendo just launch a gameboy app that plays old gameboy games they could sell on the AppStore? Seems like free money for very little effort.

Because Nintendo hates money.

 

[JosephAW]

Wonder if there’s a way to know how many downloads occurred before they nixed it?

Wondering if Apple will delete it off my iPhone or disable it?