PlayStation emulator Gamma launches on iOS

A new emulator just launched on Apple's official App Store for iOS. Gamma can emulate games for the original PlayStation console.

The new emulator follows in the wake of the wildly successful Delta emulator, which officially launched on iOS last month. Unlike Delta, Gamma emulates only one console, the Sony PlayStation (also known as the PlayStation 1 or PSX), which is one of the most popular home consoles ever released.

The Gamma emulator has several quality-of-life features expected of a modern emulator, including save states, cloud backups for games and save states, cover art scraping, and controller skins to modify the look and feel of the user interface. 

Interestingly, Gamma does not require a PSX BIOS file, which is unique among PSX emulators. Most PSX emulators (including on PCs, macOS, and Android) require a BIOS file to launch games. This BIOS file must be provided by the end user, as distributing the file is considered to be piracy. Gamers can rip the BIOS file from their physical PSX console and drop that file into the required folder. It is curious that Gamma does not require this file or process, which raises the question of whether or not the emulator uses a BIOS to load games (or how it is providing that file if it is still needed). 

While a PSX emulator is a welcome addition to Apple's App Store, there seem to be quite a few bugs that are generating mixed reviews. In contrast to Delta (which holds a 4.9/5 star rating and currently sits at the #2 most downloaded app in the Entertainment category), Gamma currently has a 2.6/5 star rating.

The main criticisms levied against the app revolve around controller support. While Gamma claims to support all MFi controllers, reviews claim the app does not support popular options like the Backbone One (currently available on Amazon for $99.99) or 8BitDo SN30 Pro (currently available on Amazon for $44.99).

It should be noted that there are only seven ratings as of press time, so these bugs should be taken with a grain of salt. Considering Gamma is developed by ZodTTD, who has a storied history of coding emulators for iOS, issues will hopefully get fixed quickly.

If you want to download Gamma and give it a try, you can get it from the App Store here. It is available for iPhones and iPads in North America and the European Union.