iPhone gets its first retro emulator
Chip-8 Emulator brings graphic calculators back to life
Retro gaming always goes down well on the handheld platforms, but it takes a nostalgic gamer with a head full of RAM to remember the CHIP-8 system.
It was originally designed in the late '70s to make game development easier on a few mid-range computers of the day, and although the interpreters were ported to most every system in use, there were very few games ever actually made.
It saw something of a resurgence in the late '80s when it was once again put to use for building simple games on the popular graphical calculators of the time, and it seems to be this stage in CHIP-8’s life that’s inspired the new iPhone emulator.
This is about the first of its kind on the App Store, as Apple generally doesn’t like to see applications accessing foreign executables (being the 30 bundled game ROMs), but it seems Chip-8 Emulator has made it through the submissions process unscathed.
It features some very basic racing games, Space Invaders clones and Pac-Man style maze exploring, and although it’s ultimately got more novelty value than practical use, it’s very interesting to see an emulator on a non-jailbroken iPhone.
