Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

[contacos]

What tracking does the app have? I downloaded it knowing this would likely happen, but I don't see it in the tracking list in settings on my iPhone. I also haven't gotten any ads.

Should those of us who downloaded it delete it due to the tracking risk?

I downloaded the App and it is actually using a "best practice" solution of letting you deactivate each tracking / marketing service provider individually (of course you have to take the time and deactivate them all and not just press the "accept all" button). Other App developers should actually see this as a good example on how to ask people for their consent. The App is not even showing me ads since I did not agree to any of the tracking within the initial pop up asking you for tracking consents of all these providers.

 

[JosephAW]

That’s because Apple will be releasing their own emulator tomorrow using their open source code on GitHub.

 

[rogerbanana]

I downloaded the App and it is actually using a "best practice" solution of letting you deactivate each tracking / marketing service provider individually (of course you have to take the time and deactivate them all and not just press the "accept all" button). Other App developers should actually see this as a good example on how to ask people for their consent. The App is not even showing me Apps since I did not agree to any of the tracking within the initial pop up asking you for tracking consents of all these providers.

So I have it set to automatically deny all tracking - I'm assuming this means I'm fine to carry on (I hope).

 

[mrochester]

Open source does not mean "do whatever you want with it."
Any software comes with licenses that dictate what you can and cannot do with this software. This one specifically states you can do whatever you want with it under GPLv3, however if you want to submit it to Apple's AppStore you need written consent from the developer.
Therefore, when this app was submitted and the owner of this open source software didn't give written consent, this software was submitted in violation of the license and thus should have been taken down. The original owner of this software is in the right that Apple even allowed this software to pass by and get submitted, because this indicates that Apple doesn't check if the submitted App is owned by nor falls under the proper licensing in its approval process.

I don’t think it’s Apple’s responsibility to check if the app developer has all the correct licenses and permissions; that’s up to the app developer themselves.

Remember we want Apple to be less draconian, not more.

 

[Jago]

Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details.

iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app, which has long been distributed outside the App Store. The emulator rose towards the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend, but users on social media complained that the app was a blatant ripoff overlaid with ads.

"So apparently Apple approved a knock-off of GBA4iOS," said Testut, in a Threads post on Saturday. "I did not give anyone permission to do this, yet it's now sitting at the top of the charts (despite being filled with ads + tracking)." He quipped that he was "so glad App Review exists to protect consumers from scams and rip-offs like this."

It is unclear if Apple removed iGBA because it felt the app ripped off GBA4iOS. We have asked Apple for clarification about the app's removal, and we will update this article if we receive any additional information about the decision.

iGBA lets iPhone users play Game Boy games by loading free ROMs downloaded from the web. ROMs can be found online for a wide variety of games, including those from the popular Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda franchises. The emulator can still be used by those who installed it on their iPhones before it was removed from the App Store.

On its customer support website in the U.S., Nintendo says downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal. It is unclear if Nintendo sent a complaint to Apple about iGBA, and whether that may have been a factor in the app's removal.

An excerpt from section 5.2 of the App Review Guidelines, related to intellectual property:iGBA appeared in the App Store just over a week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit "retro game console emulators," but it is inevitably not yet certain what Apple will allow exactly following the app's prompt removal.

As for Testut, he went on to create another Nintendo game emulator called Delta, which is distributed outside of the App Store. Delta will also be available through Testut's alternative app marketplace AltStore on iPhones in the EU. It is not clear if he plans to make Delta available in the App Store following the rule change.

Article Link: Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

Testut is full of himself. His permission is not needed by anyone. The original application is licensed under GPL3, don’t pick a GPL license if you don’t understand or like how it works.

 

[dominiongamma]

My hate for Apple grows every day.

So you are okay will illegal activities ? Got it

 

[TheOldChevy]

(1) we need emulators of legacy hardware/systems
(2) we need legal versions of older ROMs to upload on the above mentioned emulators

Old games can be a lot of fun. And they do not even scratch the revenue stream from newer games. Still copyright should be respected.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

This incident does not bode well for Apple's "we closely examine all app submissions, trust us." mantra #forshame

And, it bodes even worse for the third party stores to come in the EU, ran by companies that have nowhere near the experience or money as Apple to throw at the problem. The question of, “How many threats does Apple block?” is going to have real world answers!

 

[kevcube]

yup. Companies like Nintendo do not f around.

I would bet my life savings that Nintendo sent its army of Lawyers after apple and the developer. (And they have every right to defend their IP).

Their IP is not being violated, the gameboy BIOS/firmware has been reverse engineered and rebuilt from scratch.

Whatever you load in the emulator is up to the customer. People have published home brew Gameboy games, so it isn’t necessarily all piracy that this app would enable.

 

[CarAnalogy]

As for legality, emulators are not illegal so long as they don’t include original encryption methods and BIOS files as these are proprietary software. There is a reason the GBA and PSP tend to be the most emulated consoles!

Copyright law is massively outdated when it comes to software. If you clone a digital file the original is still with the owner so you haven’t actually ‘stolen’ any property, merely prevented a sale which are not the same thing in the world of digital goods. This gets murkier still with abandonware, software that is no longer available for purchase from the original vendor. How can you prevent the sale of something that isn’t on sale to begin with? In other words if a company like Nintendo no longer provides a storefront for a title then playing it with an emulator isn’t piracy because nobody has lost any property or any money.

For the record playing ROMs of titles that are still available for sale is massively illegal. Games developers should always be compensated for their work where possible.

Copyright law for software should be changed to give the end user fair use rights when it comes to abandonware. This helps with game preservation, lets public archives put titles on show and lets newer generations of people enjoy older titles.

Of course if Nintendo released an official GBA emulator for iOS with an internal catalogue available for purchase or via sub they can shut up and take my money.

This will never be fixed because the people who make the laws don’t understand. They just do what the lobbyists tell them. It’s how we got garbage like software patents and DMCA in the first place.

 

[contacos]

So I have it set to automatically deny all tracking - I'm assuming this means I'm fine to carry on (I hope).

There was a customized pop up (like a cookie banner) the first time I launched the app and it asked me what I want to have disabled or if I accept all and another smaller button for „businesses“ and there I had to deactivate a long list of 3rd party tracking vendors one by one.

 

[apocalyarts]

The thing is- it's not the emulator that is allowing you to pirate games. If you have to find a wrongdoer in your chain of events, it would be the website you downloaded the ROM from. It is not the emulator's job to find out if your ROM is pirated (how would it even know?) and it surely doesn't make it illegal to use one with legal ROMs.

Sure, but it get's more complex with, for example, PSX emulation where you need an additional BIOS that's not included in the Emulators. Or there's people saying "Downloading the ROMs is legal, if you own the physical game". So in that case the website isn't in the wrong. But we are running in circles here. Nintendo just succesfully shut down the Yuzu emulator. It's going to be a piece of cake to settle this matter for them as well, especially with a company like Apple on the other site. They certainly have an interest in a healthy business relationship with Nintendo.

If that was the case, there wouldn’t be a single emulator on android.

Well it's because Android is an open system. Everyone can install any apk, if they want to. But with iOS there is Apple managing the app store. So there is one specific handle the Nintendo lawyers could pull and they are definitely gonna try.

 

[ltsurge]

Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details.

iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app, which has long been distributed outside the App Store. The emulator rose towards the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend, but users on social media complained that the app was a blatant ripoff overlaid with ads.

"So apparently Apple approved a knock-off of GBA4iOS," said Testut, in a Threads post on Saturday. "I did not give anyone permission to do this, yet it's now sitting at the top of the charts (despite being filled with ads + tracking)." He quipped that he was "so glad App Review exists to protect consumers from scams and rip-offs like this."

It is unclear if Apple removed iGBA because it felt the app ripped off GBA4iOS. We have asked Apple for clarification about the app's removal, and we will update this article if we receive any additional information about the decision.

iGBA lets iPhone users play Game Boy games by loading free ROMs downloaded from the web. ROMs can be found online for a wide variety of games, including those from the popular Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda franchises. The emulator can still be used by those who installed it on their iPhones before it was removed from the App Store.

On its customer support website in the U.S., Nintendo says downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal. It is unclear if Nintendo sent a complaint to Apple about iGBA, and whether that may have been a factor in the app's removal.

An excerpt from section 5.2 of the App Review Guidelines, related to intellectual property:iGBA appeared in the App Store just over a week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit "retro game console emulators," but it is inevitably not yet certain what Apple will allow exactly following the app's prompt removal.

As for Testut, he went on to create another Nintendo game emulator called Delta, which is distributed outside of the App Store. Delta will also be available through Testut's alternative app marketplace AltStore on iPhones in the EU. It is not clear if he plans to make Delta available in the App Store following the rule change.

Article Link: Apple Removes Game Boy Emulator iGBA From App Store Due to Spam and Copyright Violations

hope you apple chumps enjoyed your 1 single day of almost knowing what it’s like to own an android device

 

[zilchfox]

I’m glad I got it downloaded on both my iPhone as well as my Apple Vision Pro. Dang.

 

[Ctrlos]

In the music world there are separate copyrights for “composition”, “performance”, and “recording”.

Doesn’t software have something similar?

Because in the instance you’ve suggested above, understandably the “recording” copyright is not applicable, but the “composition” right surely should still be?

This is where it gets weird. Its perfectly legal for me to watch a video feed of somebody else playing a game they have purchased and in the case of a livestream even interact with their gameplay. I suppose this would be 'recording'. Its also perfectly acceptable for me to sell tickets to a competition where multiple people can play the game I own and not give any money to the creators. That would be 'performance'. The 'composition' would the original software build.

But if a band ceases to exist and the rights to their catalogue evaporate with defunct record label, does this not make their music fair game? I can photograph the Mona Lisa and hang that JPEG in my bathroom.

Century-long copyright laws are gatekeeping of art which is wrong. Once the original creators no longer exist or a title has been off-sale for over a decade then fair use should kick-in. We should not be allowed to resell digital files but we shouldn't be stopped enjoying them, games movies or music.

 

[SanderEvers]

Actually, the boot logo itself acted as copy protection, with each legitimate cartridge having the Nintendo logo, and if the logo was altered or mismatched compared to the Nintendo logo in the Gameboy's internal memory, it locks up.

It wasn't foolproof, but it did hinder things quite a bit back then.

You could even get missing or broken logo's from cartridges with dirty pins. But really the protection here was a very basic boot protection. Most emulators don't "boot" the games using the official bios skipping this issue. (no copy protection to break here) From DS onward Nintendo started encrypting the cartridges, and this is where you actually can't run them without breaking the copy protection.

Which means, according to the legislation, the GB/C/A protection really doesn't count.

 

[Ctrlos]

The lawyers of Nintendo seem to think so as they are filing lawsuits against emulators claiming the only use case of emulators is for piracy.

And if you want to play SNES games, again, buy a Nintendo Switch which can play them legally.

Nintendo have only gone after the makers of Switch emulators though. The creators of Snes9x and ZSnes sleep soundly knowing Nintendo doesn't care if people are playing games they dont sell anymore. If Nintendo cared, they'd be selling them. They're nearly as money-grabbing as Apple!

 

[emmab2006]

thank god i downloaded it. i suspected they would remove it. been playing pokemon yellow and Fire Red for a day, so useful.

 

[jlc1978]

I would bet my life savings that Nintendo sent its army of Lawyers after apple and the developer. (And they have every right to defend their IP).

Maybe, but since the open source version is still available and has been for some time I think it's more likely Apple killed it for their own reasons.

If you clone a digital file the original is still with the owner so you haven’t actually ‘stolen’ any property, merely prevented a sale which are not the same thing in the world of digital goods.

You have still approriated someone else's property for your own gain without their permission, which is theft.

And the other, well... just read Nintendo v. Yuzu.

Yuzu appparently used Nintendo's copyrighted material to be able to work, even so the actually legality was never decided in court as Yuzu settled. Not surprising given the costs of defending themselves vs Nintendo.

Suyu is still up because Nintendo hasn't taken it down yet. They will.

Suyu appears to not use nay copyrighted code but requires you to get it from your own Switch; although no doubt their are copies avaiable for d/l that enable you to get them without owning a switch.

It's an open source app and another dev forked it why the whining and complaining

Maybe because it violated the GPL and people didn't like the ads? I suspect a non-advert version that didn't track you would have been met with positive results.

why didn't he put the original app on the app store.

Who knows, but that's the developer's choice.

 

[Ctrlos]

You have still approriated someone else's property for your own gain without their permission, which is theft.

Duplicating something isn't theft. The original still belongs to the owner. I have not removed their property. If I photograph the Mona Lisa and hang it in my bathroom the Leouvre don't lose any visitors.

The theft comes from denying them a sale of said duplicate. If the item was not for sale and there was no legal way of providing recompense to the original creators then no sale has been lost. The Leouvre lost out on a reprint sale in the gift shop but if they don't provide any for sale then they can't make any money.

 

[jlc1978]

It even detects official cartridges and doesn't work with flashcards.

However, it appears to write to flashcards and then you can use the card to play the game. While that would be good to preserve the original cartridge, it also makes it easier to clone them. They do point out not all flashed cartridges may work.

 

[klasma]

So you are okay will illegal activities ? Got it

Emulators are not illegal. The original app is GPL code, so creating this “copy-cat” app is also not illegal. If you bought an original game, you’re allowed to make a copy and play it on an emulator. At least that’s how software usage rights work in Europe.

 

[contacos]

Maybe, but since the open source version is still available and has been for some time I think it's more likely Apple killed it for their own reasons.



You have still approriated someone else's property for your own gain without their permission, which is theft.



Yuzu appparently used Nintendo's copyrighted material to be able to work, even so the actually legality was never decided in court as Yuzu settled. Not surprising given the costs of defending themselves vs Nintendo.



Suyu appears to not use nay copyrighted code but requires you to get it from your own Switch; although no doubt their are copies avaiable for d/l that enable you to get them without owning a switch.



Maybe because it violated the GPL and people didn't like the ads? I suspect a non-advert version that didn't track you would have been met with positive results.



Who knows, but that's the developer's choice.

it actually has a pretty straight forward pop up where you can deactivate the tracking of every single 3rd party vendor it is using. I went through the lists and don’t get ads anymore. Most apps do the same and they simply don’t even give u the option. It’s either u accept or you cannot use the app.

 

[NagasakiGG]

So you are okay will illegal activities ? Got it

Tell me one decent reason why 15yrs+ old games, you don't even the possibility to purchase anymore, should be forbidden. That just helps some scalpers and blackmarket.

@apocalyarts Wanting to have emulators forbidden is the same as to forbid knives as someone could you outside and do illegal stuff (vandalism, stabbing people etc) with that.

 

[wirefire]

And there are many things you can do legally with illegal things as well. Not my point.

Actually. This is impossible. If the thing is illegal anything you do with it is inherently illegal because of the possession of the illegal item. using an emulator is legal at its core, using an emulator to play a illegally sourced rom is illegal. I guess you could say that is doing a legal thing with an illegal item but it really isn’t.