Users should be aware of this risk and aware that they are violating the law when downloading ROMS, except in rare exceptions such as open-source games that are not officially licensed. While it’s unlikely that a company will actively seek litigation against someone for emulating a game, there is always a chance. While downloading and using an emulator itself doesn’t violate any laws (and has legal precedent that shows it to be legal), emulators are useless without ROMs.ĭownloading a ROM is a violation of copyright law and is illegal. While other emulators do exist, most require earlier versions of iOS and will not work on the most recent version (14.3 at the time of writing.) A Word of WarningĮmulation, for all intents and purposes, is not legal. These three Nintendo DS emulators are the best options for iOS.

They’re available for less than $50, and then you can invest in a flash cart to store dozens of ROMS. With OpenEmu, it is extremely easy to add, browse, organize and with a compatible gamepad, play those favorite games (ROMs) you already own. For the first time, the It just works philosophy now extends to open source video game emulation on the Mac. In many cases, you’re better off purchasing a used DS from eBay. OpenEmu is about to change the world of video game emulation. If you are determined to emulate the Nintendo DS on iOS, it can be done, but it won’t be easy. Even applications that bypass the jailbreak requirements only work about half the time. While Android is a veritable paradise of emulation and retro gaming, iPhone is a much tougher environment.ĭevelopers have little motivation to create emulators for iOS when the majority require a jailbroken device in order to function. Why So Few DS Emulators on iOSĪpple is incredibly strict about the applications they allow on iOS, and the built-in security protocols are significantly more difficult to overcome than on Android. If you’re interested in trying it out, you can download it from the NDS4iOS website. iNDS has become more popular and has many of the same features, which has led many users to shift toward the newer emulator. Unfortunately, NDS4iOS may not be available for long.

Thanks to this feature, the emulator manages to overcome one of the major problems facing DS emulation. Users can even sync the emulator between their mobile device and the TV through AirPlay, which allows your iPhone or iPad to act as the Nintendo DS’s lower screen while the TV serves as the top screen.

Nintendo ds emulator mac games