After Delta for Nintendo games, the Provenance emulator, which supports many platforms, is preparing its official arrival on the App Store. In addition to the iPhone, it is banking on Apple TV to expand its notoriety.
After spending 16 years fighting against emulators, Apple opened the door to them in April 2024. The Digital Markets Act, the new European regulation on digital markets, is probably at the origin of this change. Forced to authorize alternative stores in Europe, which rely heavily on emulators to attract people, Apple certainly says that offering them itself is a way of defending the current model.
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Compatible with Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games, the Delta emulator is a sensation. The first download on the App Store in the United States (you have to go through the AltStore in France), the emulator unlocks new possibilities for Apple, which can finally transform its iPhone or Apple TV into a game console. brand had certainly not anticipated such success, after having spent years fighting against this software.
According to the iMore website, another renowned emulator is preparing its arrival on the App Store. Provenance, which supports a very large number of old consoles, is targeting the iPhone and Apple TV to start its new life legally (you had to cheat to install it until now).
A very large number of consoles already compatible
On its site, Provenance claims to be compatible with a large number of consoles, including:
- Atari: 2600, 5200, 7800, Jaguar, Lynx
- Bandai: WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color
- NEC: PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine Super CD-ROM² System / TurboGrafx-CD, PC Engine SuperGrafx, PC-FX
- Nintendo: Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom Disk System, Game Boy, Super Famicom / Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Color, Virtual Boy, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, Pokemon mini
- Sega : SG-1000, Master System, Mega Drive / Genesis, Game Gear, Mega-CD / CD, 32X, Saturn
- SNK: Neo Geo Pocket, Neo Geo Pocket Color
- Sony: PlayStation 1
When it launches on the App Store, Provenance could go even further. His website notably lists Wii and Game Cube compatibility, as well as upcoming support for PS2 and PSP games.
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Important reminder: emulation is only legal if the player imports their own ROMs. Downloading games online, although very easy, is officially prohibited. Still, this possibility on an iPhone or an Apple TV gives a boost to the emulation sector.
Apple TV, finally a console?
In a way, Apple is the big winner from this media sequence. The emulators that land on its devices are not new, since their developers have been working on them clandestinely for several years. In a few days, the App Store has seen lots of very sophisticated emulators arrive, which exploit the capabilities of its devices, with a very limited number of bugs.
Emulation has become the trending topic of the moment, even though it has always existed on other platforms.
With Nintendo and PlayStation games, even from older generations, Apple devices gain several serious options. The brand dreams of becoming important in the video game sector, but struggles to attract developers. Emulation could help it gain credibility, without doing almost anything.