C64 Emulator Approved by Apple and Now Available
Manomio's Commodore 64 emulator [$4.99] has finally been approved by Apple. We first reported on the project back in June, after Manomio had received their first rejection from Apple. The rejection was particularly disappointing considering …
Context & Ripple Effects
Emulation on the iPhone is not new — Engadget reported back in January 2008 that the iPhone and iPod touch could already run SNES emulation — but that wave lived outside Apple's official channels. What changed with Manomio is that a Commodore 64 emulator has now cleared App Store review itself, after Apple rejected the submission in June.
That reversal matters because Apple had given no published reason either time; the approve-after-reject pattern means the App Store's boundaries for emulators are being drawn case by case rather than stated upfront. For a $4.99 paid app betting on retro nostalgia, review outcome was the whole business plan.
First-order effects
- Manomio can finally sell its $4.99 Commodore 64 emulator through the App Store, converting months of development and a June rejection into actual revenue on iPhone and iPod touch.
Second-order effects
- Other developers holding rejected or shelved emulator submissions now have an approved precedent to point to when resubmitting, putting pressure on Apple to explain what distinguishes the apps it lets through.
Third-order effects
- If approval-by-precedent becomes the norm, Apple effectively sets App Store category policy through individual review decisions rather than written guidelines — a structure that invites developer and press scrutiny every time a borderline category like emulation flips status.
The trend: Mobile app stores are becoming the gatekeepers of which legacy-computing experiences reach handhelds, with each high-profile approval or rejection standing in for policy Apple has not committed to paper.