Apple has sold more than 500 million iPad tablets since its launch in 2010. Needless to say, the COVID-19 pandemic also boosted the sale and use of tablets, and it was reported that Apple shipped over 14 million during the main lockdown period in Q2 2020.
If you are both an iPad user and a retro game enthusiast, then surely you are wondering what emulation options are out there for you. We are here to share the good news that there are in fact some pretty awesome programs available for the iPad to play some of your favorite retro consoles.
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1. Delta
Fans of Pokemon looking for a stellar emulator for the iPad should definitely check out Delta. It also boasts some incredible skins to turn your iPad into your favourite consoles… temporarily!
Delta is known for emulating some of Nintendo’s best consoles. We’re talking all three original Gameboys, the SNES and the N64. Think of all the Pokemon games you can play on there! Make save states and add cheats into the mix too. And, you don’t need to jailbreak your iPad either as Delta is officially available to download on the App Store!
2. Eclipse
Eclipse emulator is a great program for the iPad because it is a totally web-based program that you play right on your web browser. That means you can play your favorite retro games on nearly any modern device with a web browsing application.
With console support focused on NES, GB, GBC, and GBA games… the Eclipse emulator is going to be perfect for people like me who are obsessed with Nintendo. It’s perfect for people who want a no-nonsense emulator that works straight away without any messing around, and you can us it offline while playing local files saved to your device!
3. PPSSPP
PPSSPP is an amazing emulation program developed specifically for the Sony Playstation Portable. And with its many features for HD gameplay, there has never been a better time to jump back into some of your favorite PSP games.
And of course, if you play on your iPad, you are going to get absolutely beautiful upscaling at twice the original resolution. We’ve had news that PPSSPP is heading to the App Store, meaning you won’t need to use a third-party App Store like Alt Store to get your hands on it.
4. RetroArch
With an absolutely giant list of supported retro consoles including NES, SNES, GB, GBA, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Atari 2600, Nintendo DS, Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation just to name a few, RetroArch has always and will always be a great emulation choice on every device.
And yes, it has a port for the iOS that you can acquire through BuildStore! RetroArch is pretty much the best multi-emulator program out there, and we highly recommend it for anybody who wants a single solution for all of their retro game emulation.
5. DolphiniOS
Fancy playing GameCube and Wii titles on your iPad? DolphiniOS has you covered!
This is a pretty hefty task for any iOS device, so make sure that you’re rocking a newer iPad that has at least an A9 processor. Otherwise, the games are going to be so laggy you’ll be throwing your table through the window!
Dolphin has always served us well in the past, and the iPad offering has impressed us so far. Let’s hope it keeps receiving regular updates and goes from strength to strength!
