Another one slips

Dec 22, 2009 14:45 GMT  ·  By

“Kick it old school with games for the original Nintendo Entertainment System,” the description of Nescaline, an old-school NES game emulator for iPhone and iPod touch, reads. “Nescaline allows you to play games made for NES, including home brew games, five of which are included,” Jonathan Zdziarski, the app’s developer, says. Well Jonathan, not anymore it doesn’t.

Upon seeing his app approved in the US App Store, Zdziarski also wrote in the app’s description that gamers could use Nescaline's download feature to add titles (NES roms) to their library from any remote URL. Although many games had been launched as freeware, some manufacturers had since released copyright for their titles, the developer noted. That’s pretty much why his app didn’t stand a chance out there in the App Store. Those copyrighted NES games have long been pirated, with the roms being available as free downloads on various warez sites. However, Nescaline is surely available via repositories for jailbroken users.

A lengthy list of features was also posted with the description. All the documentation is still available online, although the $6.99 application has been pulled from the iTunes App Store, in a scenario similar to that of the Commodore 64 emulator. The latter, however, has been re-approved in the App Store after its developers performed a few tweaks. Nescaline may not have that second chance granted by Apple, with its main function depending on downloading NES roms off the Internet. The key features actually include a warning for gamers, saying, “Do not pirate commercial games.” The rest of the strong points are listed as such:

- Multitouch: Use the directional pad + A + B, or other combinations; - Light Gun “Tap:” Tap objects on the screen to shoot them; - Full Screen: Enlarge your NES picture to the max possible; - Save State: Save an instant snapshot of your game and come back to it later; - Game Genie: Use Game Genie cheat codes; - Landscape and Portrait Modes: Just tilt the iPhone.

Zdziarski added that, “Nescaline works well with many games, but is not guaranteed to work with all of them. Author does not condone the piracy of commercial games. For optimal performance, an iPhone 3Gs is recommended, but not required.” Lastly, he noted that, “Nescaline is in no way affiliated with Nintendo of America or its affiliates. Nescaline does not contain any intellectual property or copyrighted material owned by Nintendo of America or its affiliates.”