GBA4iOS Emulator Makes Triumphant Comeback After Nintendo Takedown

Last week, GBA4iOS was shut down by none other than Nintendo, which issued a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice to have the popular jailbreak-free Game Boy Advance (GBA) emulator for iOS taken offline. Well, guess what. GBA4iOS is back online. As tweeted by its developer, Riley Testut, GBA4iOS is "back from its DMCA death!"

GBA4iOS is back from its DMCA death! Go ahead and download GBA4iOS 2.0.4 from http://t.co/2egsx0sRNS :)

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut) May 23, 2014

Apparently, Nintendo's DMCA takedown notice was issued on account of the emulator's direct linking to a ROM downloading site. Referring to the GBA4iOS website, a most pertinent part of the notice reads:

This web site hosts a downloadable mobile application for iOS that provides users with access to unauthorized and illegal copies of Nintendo’s copyright-protected video games in violation of Nintendo’s exclusive rights.

The new version of GBA4iOS gets around this no-no by no longer pointing directly to a ROM downloading site and having Google instead for the landing page of its in-app browser. The new copyright-compliant version of GBA4iOS, designated as version 2.0.4, is available now to download from the official GBA4iOS website. According to Testut, the update also removes other copyright-infringing aspects of the app, such as the use of the GBA logo in some controller skins. GBA4iOS was updated to version 2.0 last February, thereby gaining support for iOS 7, a new design, and iPad optimization, among other improvements. Are you glad to see the return of GBA4iOS?

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