Classic iOS gaming fans, take note: As first reported by TouchArcade, a fully-functional MAME emulator has appeared in the App Store, disguised as a never-released arcade game called Gridlee. While the emulator does include the Gridlee game, it also allows users to load ROMS to play any MAME game!
As developer David Loureiro explains, Gridlee was developed for the Bally/Sente SAC I cartridge-based arcade machine. It has been brought to iOS devices by way of an emulation wrapper…namely MAME4iOS.
When word of this hit our forums, readers were quick to pull out iExplore and begin digging about the app’s directory structure looking for a ROM folder. Well, it’s in there, and sure enough, if one copies other MAME ROMs into that folder, theGridlee app starts up with the standard MAME4iOS ROM listing, allowing for a great many games beyond just Gridlee to be played on the iPhone or iPad in this Universal app.
Apple famously does NOT allow emulators into the App Store for copyright (and likely, monetary) reasons – but this wouldn’t be the first time such an app has appeared. Previously, a jailbreak-only MAME emulator called iMAME was availlable as well.
It’s not clear how this slipped through Apple’s approval system – but if you want it, grab it now before Apple yanks it! Gridlee is available now for free on the App Store.
