Commodore 64 returns for iPhone

An edge of your seat software soap opera may, finally, be at an end on the App Store! Manomio's Commodore 64 (iTunes) is back following the removal of BASIC (presumably at Apple's request).

Along with up to a 30% performance improvement, Commodore 64 now includes onboard instructions for each of the included games and three new games: International Basketball, International Baseball, and International Tennis. That's an awesome retro bundle for £2.99.

The next update v1.2, scheduled for mid-December, will enable in-app purchases. This update will be free for everyone who has purchased the Commodore 64 emulator previously. Will this remain the case for future updates? I hope so. Bring on Impossible Mission, Paradroid, Uridium and Bruce Lee!

In view of the application's turbulent history. I'd suggest downloading Commodore 64 (iTunes) sooner rather than later!

Apple won't play with Commodore for iPhone

The Commodore 64 is my all-time favourite 8-bit home computer! Yes, Atari's XL range and Apple ][ outclassed the Commodore 64, and I owned a Sinclair ZX Spectrum first. But, my fondest childhood video gaming experiences were reserved for Jack Tramiel's 8-bit "breadbox"! What child of the '80s could ever forget playing Impossible Mission or The Way of the Exploding Fist?

When word reached me, via Twitter, that an officially licensed Commodore 64 emulator for iPhone had been rejected by Apple, I, like many others, am left feeling most disappointed.

This is a transcript of the rejection email sent to Manomio (developer of Commodore 64 for iPhone), which is freely available on the internet:

Thank you for submitting C64 1.0 to the App Store. We've reviewed C64 1.0 and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it violates the iPhone SDK Agreement; "3.3.2 An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple's Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s)."

Manomio has published a statement on its site that says, “We hope you'll support us by blogging, tweeting and simply talking about C64 for iPhone, in the hope Apple will change their mind.”

Hopefully Commodore 64 for iPhone will garner Apple's approval, however capricious that process may be. I'll post an update in due course. Read A Closer Look at C64's Rejection on Touch Arcade.

In the meantime, why not download Manomio's Flashback for iPhone.

Update: Manomio has been contacted by Apple and hopes to resolve the issue in the coming days. wOOt for social media. In retro we trust!

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