iPhone 3GS PlayStation, Game Boy Advance emulators demoed on video
By Nilay Patel 
posted June 25th 2009 10:46AM
posted June 25th 2009 10:46AM
Read - Emulator videos
Read - ZodTTD blog post with more info
posted June 25th 2009 10:46AM
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Nintendo Game Boy Advance
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Show me a DS emulator and i'll be impressed.
Nice, thats pretty cool.
MGS4 on IPhone tiem naow?
If they get FF8 running, touchscreen is going to suck for boosting GFs. lol
There is so much more you can do with a GF that you should be worried about.
Those shoulder buttons look like the biggest pain in the ass to press.
That's badass.. and it could be even better. Imagine a small stand for the iPhone (which.. you don't need to imagine, they exist), and a small bluetooth controller (or ps3 pad even) connected wirelessly. Man that'd be bitchin. iPhone guys have done it with keyboards, could probably do it with a controller as well. Kudos, team, PS1 is no small feat at that sort of refresh rate.
Dream scenario:
BT capability to allow pairing of DS3 (possibly multiple)
+TV out cable
You've got cool dreams. I WANT IN!
Can you at least credit ZodTTD in the article, please?
http://www.zodttd.com/blog/
Both the psx4iphone and gpsPhone emulator videos and makers originate from there.
And the quick port of psx to the iphone 3gs is only possible because of his work on the pandora emulator.
A ~600 MHz ARM CPU running a 33 MHz PS1 fluidly? I'm just not that impressed.
I've tried some of the other emulators when I jailbroke my 1g Touch (~400 MHz), and wasn't impressed, even the NES emu had skipping sound issues. With this it is better, but apparently, it takes a 600+ MHz ARM CPU to run a PS1 emu well, whereas my PSP can do it, with one a little over 300 MHz, and I still complain about the lack of real L2 and R2 buttons.
Umm, the PS1 CPU was a 33mhz MIPS R3000. The PSP is a 333mhz MIPS R4000.
The iphone (original and 3g) has an ARM11 CPU clocked at 412mhz, the 3GS has a faster Cortex A9 CPU (still ARM11) at ~600mhz.
Can you spot the difference? Hint: It's a lot simpler to execute MIPS code on a MIPS cpu. Show me a non-MIPS cpu in the 300-400mhz range that can do full-speed PS1 emulation, and _I'll_ be impressed.
As far as the better performance on the 3GS, I'm guessing a lot of it is the 50% CPU speed increase, but also the signifcantly more advanced GPU pipeline that can take some of the heat off the CPU.
You also realize that Sony has insider knowledge on both the PS1 and PSP's architecture, ergo, allowing the PSP to run emulated PS1 code substantially more optimized?
Neah, couldn't be that either.
The emulators are not just emulating the 33 Mhz cpu. It has to emulate *all* of the hardware, which includes the "video card/processor" and that is what requires the most processing power (I believe, not really programmed an emulator before, those guys are awesome). Sound is another intensive task, as is keeping it in sync(?)
It has nothing to do with hardware, and everything to do with proper programming. Keep in mind that these emu's are not made by the game companies, they are made by indy devs. I assure you if someone like Sega wanted to make an emulator for the Genesis or even dreamcast, they could make it happen and work well.
Sony is not going to allow people to legally d/l any of PS1 games on the iphone. They sell PS1 games on the PSN, and they want people to buy either a PSP or a PS3 to play these games.
.
Would be a cool idea, but I think it would cut into their PSP sales.
Does Sony own the game though? Couldn't Square Enix port it to other platforms if they wanted? (I think emulation is out of the picture since Sony can block that legally).
Plus, Sony loses money on their hardware sales. Where they make the money is software. So adding another platform (digital, no less) would only help.
I think.
That screen doesn't look impressive at all. Having more than half the screen taken up by buttons...really?
Agreed. There are plenty of iPhone games that effectively incorporate the controls on the sides of the screen (in landscape mode), giving you most of the screen for the game action itself.
I really like the d-pad on Hero of Sparta, for example.
Right...I don't get why you would have a RPG (which relies on menus and land view) in a portrait mode.
That just didn't make too much sense. I hope they correct this. This would be nice for iPhone users (those who jailbreak at least)
Apple stated at the DEV conference that they're opening things up to hardware that can be linked with app's on the phone. Someone may well come up with an oversized controller with physical buttons that attaches to the iPhone, with the phone in the middle or on top. Maybe even a BlueTooth or dock cable connected controller. Personally I'd never buy it but others might and it would solve the button dilemma. Personally if you really want to do it have the iPhone and a Pandora or similar. Having an iPhone and a controller instead doesn't seem to make an much sense.
That would basically ruin the simplicity and usability of the iPhone.
I'm really not trying to be a "basher" here...but reality is the majority of iPhone users are brain dead when it comes to phone operation. =|
That is why the iPhone sales so beautifully. These people never knew what a smartphone was until Apple used the name. They never knew the big dealings of a phone until the iPhone put it out there. Even now...they are still kind of dumbfounded by the use of the iPhone.
I doubt having to carry around a big controller add-on would be very smart. But eh...what's the old saying.
A sucker born every minute =|
Correction: "sells" instead of "sales" Ugh...that's what I get for looking away from the screen
"the majority of iPhone users are brain dead when it comes to phone operation" - iDavey
Compared to users of *other* phones, who have complete mastery of their devices? Puh-lease.
The reason the iPhone sells is because Apple finally made the smartphone accessible to the masses. I gave my wife my old iPhone when I bought the 3GS. She had a handle on the basic functionality almost immediately. And she didn't have to read a manual to do it. Try that with other "smart" phones.
Which is why WinMo 7 will end up looking (shock!) like the iPhone.
This argument that the iPhone is made for idiots is lame and absurd. Just because your non-Apple smartphone choice is difficult to use doesn't mean it was designed for smart people.
Think Different.
It's funny...because your story still proved my point. I said it in a harsher tone, I admit. But it's still the point..
The iPhone was made for those who couldn't grasp the difficulties associated with prior smartphones.
Take it how you want it...good or bad. I don't see it as anything but good marketing tactics.
A company I always compare with Apple is today's Nintendo.
They chose the simple, less "tech" flaunting road...and look at them. Complete domination of the home and handheld console market.
I guess in "nicer" terms I'm saying...most iPhone users are those who would find a normal smartphone too "complicated" to use.
Which is the truth. If you notice also...a lot of statistics show that people come from Blackberrys or still have one (which Blackberry is the only "simple" smartphone next to iPhone and somewhat Android)
That's just what it is.
I mean...how much simpler can it get than screen+round button+eyesight
Compared to the multiple button layout of WinMo and the tedious layers of menus.
So...my point still stands...
I guess I should just say it "nicer" next time =|
@iDavey Im sorry but thats just not true. All of the hardcore geeks i know use an iPhone except 1 friend who uses a Pre. We like the iphone because it works and i don't have to restart it or pull the battery out every 15 seconds.
One of our employees where i work has a G1 and he has no effing clue how to use anything on it, im constantly having to show him how to do stuff and i don't blame him, id give you more anecdotal evidence but ive never met another person with a G1.
This is the same kind of FUD that goes around about apple computers, When if you really took a Poll id bet more professionals with serious computer skills go apple, due to being able to test or write software for ANY platform on the planet.
Not here to start a flamewar though, just try to calm down on calling all the apple users dumb, cause its just not true, obviously or you wouldn’t read this site that is probably posted to by 99% Apples and certainly runs on a UNIX server (unix is hard).
This post is very confusing. You're talking about two different emulators at the same time.
I'm going to have to assume that the GBA emulator is the one that's running at 150 fps because of this line from the read link, "I now have psx4iphone running very speedy on the 3GS. It’s at the point where Final Fantasy 7 is fullspeed at very least without sound"
So, FF7 runs at 30 fps when you don't have sound enabled. Nothing to get excited about yet.
I was lucky enough to be 1 of the 40 people who got this app through adhoc distribution.
I must say that psx is extremely impressive, but a little buggy. ZodTTD is working on stable builds as we speak, so it can only get better from here. By the way, psx renders at 30-40 fps not 150 and higher.
Technically impressive, but using onscreen controls; dear oh dear.
Real games need real buttons to mash.
Thats freaking cool.
nice!
The fact that I have to post a new comment in a not super popular comments thread just to figure out my user number is ridiculous! I just want a password I can remember... *end whine*
Regardless, I think that having an excellent emulator on my new iPhone 3GS would be fantastic... Unfortunately I'm quite nervous about Jailbreaking it once the information on how is available. :(
I think if Apple is serious about making further ground in the gaming market, it will need to produce an attachable joypad for the iPhone.
It would vastly increase the range of games that would be available. Imagine trying to play a game like Super Mario World on a touch screen. It would be very difficult, given the precise nature of timing for jumps, etc.
I just got hold of a Dingoo A320, which has a SNES emulator (fairly decent too) and it was an absolute joy replaying Mario World and Streets of Rage (also has a Mega Drive/Genesis emulator).
3.5" screen cut in half = kill your eyes.
sweet!
FF7 on iphone
me want
Hmm..time for some old school games for sure now...
How were they even able to install the software to test without the phone being jailbroken?
adhoc distribution
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10115674-233.html
This is quite an exciting time for iPhone 3GS owners!
More preview builds of emulators to come ( GBA and TG16 come to mind ;) )
Thanks everyone and hope to see you at my site!
Apple should just throw a nice joystick in, re-brand it "iPlayStation"
and put in a tag line on the side "now you can make some calls, too."
and BAM. another product on the line.
Hell no. You're better off buying a PSP. It would be cheaper.
But will it run iCrysis?
zodttd got a bunch of people excited by the PSX emulator for the zaurus, and lots of people helped test it and give feedback, some putting in a *lot* of time to help. Not long before the promised release, the devs abandoned the zaurus community without a word of explanation or apology - perhaps they'd tapped everybody sufficiently for free consultancy and went off to do their own thing.
therefore I'd be very careful contributing anything, time or money, to this project.