C64 emulator pulled off App Store News • News • Eurogamer.net

News iPhone

BASIC hack to blame.

Manomio's C64 emulator has been pulled from the iPhone App Store, after brainy users discovered a way into the computer's operating system, allowing them to create and run BASIC programs.

Apple can't monitor those, so the stylish super-company quickly vanished the App, moments before Manomio could submit a new, fixed build.

The developer, speaking to Pocket Gamer, said it was hard at work setting up a meeting with Apple so it could get to the core of the issue before someone pips it to the post.

Manomio's C64 emulator raced into the top 20 paid-for Apps list after just two days on sale, and even breached the top 10 in some territories.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

Comments (35) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

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swede #1 2 years ago

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10 PRINT "APPLE IS SHIT"
20 GOTO 10
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cianchristopher #2 2 years ago

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Stylish Super Company? LOL...

That's Apple for ya!!!
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matrim83 #3 2 years ago

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LOL @ swede.
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MaxiSleep #4 2 years ago

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runstop/restore is hardly a hack. Anyway surely they can poke CBM80 into $8000

Ah those were the days....
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Stompy #5 2 years ago

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Because if you can make software for yourself rather than buying it from a bald guy with a rude last name... well.
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davisorle #6 2 years ago

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And if, for those that are NOT aware of what this simulator actually simulates, was said in this article it wouldnt be so pointless to way too many ppl and non understandable.

In other news, Apple did it again.
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space_ace #7 2 years ago

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they just never understood games
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el_pollo_diablo #8 2 years ago

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/presses play on tape.

/waits.
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Bazfrag #9 2 years ago

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Machine code ftw.
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GiarcYekrub #10 2 years ago

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Can't you get apps from third party vendors? Besides I thought the iPhone would run homebrew apps anyway
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Bazfrag #11 2 years ago

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"/presses play on tape.

/waits."

/dies on 1st level.

/loads lvl 2 anyway
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Retroid #12 2 years ago

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10 ?"OH FFS ";
20 GOTO 10
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Bazfrag #13 2 years ago

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Syntax error in line 10
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insincere_dave #14 2 years ago

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"pips it to the post"

I claim my free iPhone.
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KujiGhost #15 2 years ago

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Everyone beat me too it with their 20 GOTO 10 jokes...

Will Comet ever let me back into their stores?
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beastmaster #16 2 years ago

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V=54296
that's alll I can remember. I think that was the address of video chip. Can't remember the one for the sound. I can't remember much these days
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ILOVEU #17 2 years ago

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That's a shame GO ON C64 GO!
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gm_al #18 2 years ago

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Hmm lets see if I remember, I was a very young boy back then....

Poke 53280,1

wasnt it ?

I remember learning assembler and feeling my brain almost fall out swapping those registers all the way. Nifty little machine, I still look back in admiration, remembering Elite docking maneuvers and how I drew countless maps in The Bards Tale series (took me a whole summer vacation to finish part 2)

Geeez Im old.
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SeesThroughAll #19 2 years ago

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Hehehehe!

Yes, you should edit the BASIC loader by adding the POKE commands just before the RANDOMIZE USR xxxx (that launches the program starting at the specified memory address).

Good times, good times!
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ademkermad #20 2 years ago

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[insert nerd joke]

BASIC RANDOMISE SYNTAX 20 GOTO 10 POKE
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NinjaWilliams #21 2 years ago

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Load "Amiga Emulator is better"
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kendoji #22 2 years ago

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I hate Apple. I hate them oh so very much.
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dingo75 #23 2 years ago

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10 Print "Apple sucks"
20 Goto 10
30 End

I win in the category "cleanest code".

Would be fun to get some old crackto or demo running on that emulator melting the Ipod.

Oh yeah and they threw us out of some computer shops, too after we did it on every machine we could find.

Edited by 1 at 08/09/09 @ 21:45
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Retroid #24 2 years ago

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Bazfrag:"Syntax error in line 10"

Not in mine. ? was shorthand for PRINT, and ; would prevent a carriage return, so it'd fill the screen rather than just print a long column

dingo75:"I win in the category "cleanest code". "

You win in a pointless third line which would never be executed ;p

Edited by 1 at 08/09/09 @ 22:27
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septimus #25 2 years ago

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Glad I got my copy before they did this. Shit, I would never have been able to haxorz my iPh0n3z without C64 BASIC!

Oh wait....

Fuck you Apple, you are sometimes so stupid it is unbelievable.

Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 00:27
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Bazfrag #26 2 years ago

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Retroid. My mistake. Just wrote that for the lulz. (or not!) If only we had met in the 80's. You could have helped me through my Clive Sinclaire guide to Basic, and now i would be bringing Apple down with my homebrew apps!
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fiery_jackass #27 2 years ago

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>dingo75
re the clean code:
not only do you have a spurious 3rd line, as has already been swiftly pointed out, you could also add a line break or even a space to allow a bit more legibility in your output

There is, however, a pleasing mantra effect to "Apple sucksApple sucksApple sucks". If nothing else, it suggests that this most masturbatory of companies can also auto-fellate

Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 08:49
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Retroid #28 2 years ago

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THE RAW POWAH OF C64 BASIC COMPELS ME (to learn machine code, because C64 BASIC was really quite rubbish)
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MeBrains #29 2 years ago

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ur all wusses. this is how men write code:
*=$c000

sei
lda #irq
sta $0314
stx $0315
cli
lda #$00
tay
tax
jsr $1000
rts

irq lda $d012
cmp #100
bne irq
jsr $1003
jmp $ea31

apart from that: lame move by Apple. /me starts to dislike Apple as much as Ninty...

Edited by 1 at 09/09/09 @ 08:58
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SYS64738 #30 2 years ago

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/gets coat.
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Retroid #31 2 years ago

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erp #32 2 years ago

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What about the allegations that the App is ported from the GPL'd Frodo source code, yet does not comply with the GPL license?

Potentially making money off of the hard work others have done for free? Very very bad form. And illegal too.

Worth reporting, I reckon.
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Retroid #33 2 years ago

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If that's the case then definitely!

The author should at least get a cut.
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Vroom #34 2 years ago

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Knew I should have got when I had the chance
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erp #35 2 years ago

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Yes, agreed. Although Frodo being open-source means there's likely no one single "author", the situation's likely to be far more complicated.

And more than that, the App developer is I believe also required to release to the public all their modified source code.

I should note however that I've not done massive amounts of research into how valid the allegations are, although the discussions I've seen have been vociferous enough to make me think they probably are true.
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