Apple Vision Pro has a hefty price tag, yet some users have opted to put that expensive, futuristic tech to use by emulating a game from two decades ago.
As originally spotted by The Verge, developer Rilet Testut has pushed out an update to the GBA4iOS app, which emulates Nintendo Game Boy games on iPhone, calling it GBA4vOS. This allows those with Apple Vision Pro to run Game Boy games in the headset. As of right now, there are two distinct ways to use it.
The first is simply a huge GameBoy with palm-sized buttons that you can click by moving forward and pressing them. It looks cumbersome in the video but AltStore.io, who hosts the App, says “playing a literal life-size Game Boy with your palms is objectively hilarious” and I’m inclined to agree.
The second way to use GBA4vOS is a much more intuitive and intentional method that uses pinches to activate the gyro controls in WarioWare: Twisted. It’s a niche functionality but a sign of more thoughtful design in the future. This is not the only way that Riley is looking to improve the Game Boy experience on Apple Vision Pro.
Improvements to GBA4
Then there’s our personal favorite feature: playing WarioWare: Twisted by just rotating your hands! Words can’t do this feature justice — you’ll have to try it out yourself!Who knew the Vision Pro made such a good Kinect? pic.twitter.com/ZnpSmCX3glFebruary 19, 2024
As shown over on Threads, Riley has been testing a method to play Game Boy Advance, which uses back triggers — something that would be very difficult to achieve on the huge Game Boy spotted in the first clip. Instead, a Game Boy Advance floats in front of the user’s face, with buttons you can tap, much like Apple Vision Pro’s typing. It too looks unintuitive but much better than the huge Game Boy.
As well as this, GBA4iOS X will launch soon, which is a recompiled and updated version of the popular GBA4iOS app. This will make emulating Game Boy games much easier on iPhone. In the original X thread, announcing GBA4iOS X, AltStore.io states it is better than Delta, their other emulation app, as it allows for “Event Distribution” which accounts for unique new characters and events in some games. For instance, on Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, you get given a rare Pokemon by Riley and Paul, the app’s developers.
No matter if you have the best iPhone, an iPhone 15 Pro Max, or a slightly older one, you should be able to get something out of GBA4iOS X when it launches.
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