Apple iOS Store Now Has a PSP Emulator

There's a PSP emulator in the iOS App Store.

By Hannah Adkins

Apple changed the App Store guidelines last month, allowing game emulators to be listed on the platform for the first time and as such, emulators have begun to pop up in the iOS App Store. Earlier this week ComicBook reported on a new PlayStation 1 emulator, Gamma, which available in the App Store now, but the new emulators haven't stopped there. Another new addition to the App Store includes PPSSPP, an emulator for PSP games...as you may have guessed based on the name alone. Considering the app has been around for a while to utilize on jailbroken devices, developer Henrik Rydgård was notably excited to make the announcement that his app can now be used in official capacity.

"After nearly 12 years, PPSSPP has finally been approved for the iOS App Store! Thanks to Apple for relaxing their policies, allowing retro games console emulators on the store." The new app's description includes the following points:

Related:

  • Play your PSP games on your iOS device, in HD! PPSSPP is the original and only PSP emulator for mobile devices.
  • No games are included with this download.
  • Play PSP games on your iOS device, in high definition with extra features!
  • PPSSPP is the original and only PSP emulator for mobile devices. It can run nearly all PSP games with great performance on iOS. 
  • No games are included with this download. Use your own real PSP games and turn them into .ISO or .CSO files (see the homepage for instructions), or simply play free homemade games, which are available in the built-in "Homebrew Store".

Rydgård's announcement also mentions the limitations releasing the app in the App Store has created, noting:

  • Vulkan support through MoltenVK is not yet enabled
  • Magic Keyboard (iPad Keyboard) is not supported
  • The JIT recompiler is not supported
  • RetroAchievements is temporarily disabled

"In future updates, MoltenVK will be re-enabled (and I might even write a native Metal backend), and the Magic Keyboard will be supported through another method (the old method was using an undocumented API, so not usable in the App Store). RetroAchievements will be back as well, with a better login UI," the announcement further clarifies on the limitations. "However, the JIT compiler cannot be restored without a change in Apple's rules. The loss of the JIT is unfortunate since without it, our CPU emulation performance is reduced. Fortunately, iOS devices are generally fast enough to run nearly all PSP games at full speed anyway, as the PSP CPU is not that expensive to emulate, thanks to our efficient IR-based caching interpreter, which also has further room for improvement."

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