Bimmy, the first Apple-approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad, hit the App Store earlier today, but it was very quickly pulled.
According to MacRumors, Tom Salvo, Bimmy’s developer, removed the app from the App Store on their own accord. “No one reached out to me pressuring me to remove it,” said Tom Salvo in a recent MacRumors forum post. “But I’d rather not have the risk.”
It’s unclear if the “risk” Salvo mentions is tied to Apple or potential legal action from Nintendo. The Japanese gaming giant has a history of being very litigious when it comes to emulation.
In its description, Bimmy said that it’s a tool for testing and playing public domain/homebrew games, but of course, the emulator is also capable of playing NES ROMs like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden and more. You just need to hunt those titles down in the shadier corners of the internet, which, if you know where to look, isn’t difficult.
Bimmy’s release follows iGBA being approved and then also rapidly pulled from the App Store due to a copyright issue tied to it being very similar to GBA4iOS.
Apple recently updated its App Store guidelines to allow retro game console/handheld emulators, emphasizing that they must comply with “all applicable laws.” However, at least so far, we haven’t seen an Apple-approved emulator last very long in the App Store.
Image credit: Wikipedia
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