Bought ArcEmu before 3.0? All consoles stay unlocked. If you see padlocks, tap the gear icon on the home screen, then "Restore Purchases".
Turn your Apple Watch into a retro game console.
Play Game Boy, NES, SNES, Genesis, and more on your wrist, with multi-touch controls and the Digital Crown. ArcEmu also runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
▸ SUPPORTED CONSOLES
Included for free:
- Game Boy
- Game Boy Color
- Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Available through in-app purchases:
- Game Boy Advance
- Pokémon Mini
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Atari 2600
- Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
- Sega Master System
- Sega Game Gear
- Sega SG-1000
▸ MULTIPLAYER AND LINK CABLE
Play home-console games online and locally with friends, or link Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games over the internet. Game Link Cable supports up to four players in compatible games.
Online play requires a Game Center account.
▸ SHARE ROMs WITH A CODE
Import your ROMs on iPhone, keep them in iCloud, and download them directly to Apple Watch or Apple TV.
Share them through iCloud using a code, including with an Apple Watch configured with Family Setup.
▸ SCREEN AND CONTROLS
Move and resize the game screen, choose an LCD or CRT filter, and set up the controls the way you like them.
On Apple Watch, use multi-touch controls, customize the control layout, and assign actions to the Digital Crown. On iPhone and iPad, adjust button positions and transparency, and play in any orientation.
Connect a controller and customize its button mappings, or use a second controller on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. ArcEmu also supports iPhone Duo.
▸ MORE FEATURES
- Accurate, high-performance emulation
- Fast-forward at 2×, 4×, or maximum speed
- Slow motion at 0.5× speed
- Cheat codes with a built-in database of popular codes
- Touch-based light gun controls for NES and SNES
- Custom Game Boy color palettes
- Button hold/sustain
- Accelerometer support
- Gyroscope support on iPhone and iPad, with Digital Crown input on Apple Watch
- Haptic feedback on iPhone
▸ YOUR ROMs AND SAVES
Keep your collection organized with per-console folders, sorting, and search. Import ROMs from ZIP and 7-Zip archives, use automatic saving, and share save states between devices. Both ROMs and save states can be stored in iCloud.
▸ APPLE WATCH COMPATIBILITY
- Apple Watch Series 4 or later
- Apple Watch SE or later
- Apple Watch Ultra or later
ArcEmu does not include any games or ROMs.
▸ GAMES FEATURED IN THE SCREENSHOTS
- Acorn Grove: https://gibbongl.itch.io/acorn-grove
- Big2Small: https://mdsteele.itch.io/big2small
- Hauntsfield: https://alliemackie.itch.io/hauntsfield
- µCity Advance: https://skylyrac.itch.io/ucity-advance
Cheat codes may cause unexpected behavior or affect game stability and save data.
ArcEmu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Nintendo, Sega, or Atari. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
This is an insanely cool concept to be able to play game boy and game boy advance games on your watch. But to be usable, it needs a few improvements. I'd love it if you could swipe to hit two buttons, like pressing right for Mario and swiping up onto A to jump. Right now, a new tap is required for any distinct action. In addition, volume controls would be great. Edit: thanks for the reply! My suggestion with swiping is more so just to allow rollover between the right and A buttons, like how it is between the up and down dpad buttons now.Edit 2: Yes, overall I think it's intuitive to allow swiping button presses on any button. More freedom that way. The buttons are quite large so accidental swipes should be a minimum. That allows games like Mario to be played (the new crown button remap option works well there too).
Developer Response
Yes, unfortunately, multitouch is a limitation of the Apple Watch, and there's not much we can do about it. Your idea of using swipe gestures is interesting; I'll have to investigate how to implement that.The volume is already adjustable from the Settings menu on the Home screen, where the ROM list is locatedEdit: Actually, it is a design choice to make only the arrows activate with a swipe. So, in your opinion, would it make more sense if they were all clickable?
Instantly turns your Apple Watch into a gaming powerhouse
Enderplayer88
I’m incredibly impressed with how well I’m able to emulate gameboy and gameboy advanced games on my Apple Watch. It’s amazingly simple with this app to add roms from your phone and they play impressively well on such a small screen. You would be surprised how well you can view these games on such a small screen and fit in the controls as well. Some games that require a lot of quick button pressing and reaction time might not be best on the watch app but I highly suggest giving games which allow for more reaction time such as turn based strategy, and rpgs a try on this. For instance any of the Pokémon games would be great on this. The price is unbeatable for the ability to add vastly better games on your Apple Watch than any that exist on the App Store.
Arc emu is great. But read the following:
Niaziy
ArcEmu works great and the controller support is effective. The link cable works, however, read the following which was also sent in an email to the ArcEmu support:ArcEmu doesn’t seem to function properly if you are under 13. The multiplayer link cable doesn’t function, saying “multiplayer unavailable” I am almost sure this is the issue because on one device which has age 14 it started working again after I signed out and back in to Game Center. However, on the other device there are no restrictions but it doesn’t work, most likely because it is under 13. Because of this, please add a “sign in as guest” or an ArcEmu account feature, or even better (if you do this this might be the best app ever) allow it to work by usb c cable, so you don’t even need internet like in the game boy days.Please fix this issue soon.
Developer Response
Hi,Make sure you don’t have any Game Center restrictions enabled.If you do, enable multiplayer.Search for “Restrictions” in the Settings app
Perfect
JDM 7010
It’s amazing. The ability to play GBA games on my AWU is surreal and a dream come true. Being able to access the same save file from my phone and watch is really what makes this app incredible. Outside of that, it’s an emulator that works very well on my phone (and watch) and if you’re looking for one that’s reliable and easy to use, this is it. Customizable button locations for the phone (not watch but it’s fine since it’s so small anyway), speed modification, save states, independent audio controls, and link cable feature - it’s perfect.
ArcEmu is now free to download, with Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and NES included. Unlock additional consoles through in-app purchases in the new Store.
If you purchased ArcEmu before this update, you get every console, including those added in future updates, at no extra cost.
- Sega Genesis, Master System, Game Gear and SG‑1000 support
- Online multiplayer (Netplay) for home consoles and improved Link Cable for GB/GBA.
- Second controller support on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV
- LCD and CRT filters
- Movable, resizable game screen
- iPhone Duo support
- Apple Watch: custom Digital Crown actions and controls layout
- Hide on‑screen buttons you don't use
- 7‑Zip archive support
- ROMs and saves sorted into per‑console folders
- Correct aspect ratio for home consoles
- Bug fixes and stability improvements
Version 3.0.1
The developer, Raffaele D'Amato, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Raffaele D'Amato
Size
245.7 MB
Category
Games
Compatibility
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
