Microsoft pulls game emulators from the Windows Store

[Jos]

Microsoft has updated its Windows Store policies to ban developers from submitting game system emulators to any of its platforms. While the policies were initially published at the end of last month, the company began taking action this week, delisting the popular Universal Emulator from the store.

The latter was one of the more popular emulators on the Windows Store, with support for NES, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and GameBoy Color/Advanced games using an Xbox One controller.

The app had been previously banned from Xbox One consoles just a few days after receiving approval. Back then Microsoft said that third party apps that are targeted to Xbox One and are primarily gaming experiences must be approved through the ID@Xbox program. However, with the policy update, submitting console emulators through the ID@Xbox program is now out of the question.

While console emulators can no longer be downloaded from the Windows Store, you can still run them on Windows if they’re available to download elsewhere. Universal Emulator in particular is also available in a browser based version that’s independent from app stores and even works on the Xbox One.

With this Microsoft joint Apple in clocking console emulators from their respective app stores, leaving Google as the only mobile app store still supporting game emulator apps.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68834-microsoft-pulls-game-emulators-windows-store.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Microsoft shoots itself in the foot again! And this is news????

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Microsoft has a Windows store???
I'll bet it's pretty devoid of customers.

 

[Kenrick]

As if someone cares and using the windows store.

 

[gusticles41]

I'll be honest, I had no idea emulators existed in the Windows Store. Probably because I never open it. I would have been all over these...Good job, MS!

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This will be a true annoyance to the 3 or 4 windows phone users out there. Any desktop users already had superior win32 emulators.

 

[alabama man]

"The latter was one of the more popular emulators on the Windows Store"

Was thinking about joking it having one user but that got me thinking, is there any benefit from being most popular on windows store? With couple of friends you could probably get anything on the list, with internet community easily on the top 10 I would assume. Hope someone abuses the system and gets huniepop or something to top1 (not that religious company like microsoft would sell anything with sexual content from non AAA developer(no problem with murder or guns)).

 

[m4a4]

Removing them from the App store means nothing when you're running Windows on desktop. Literally emulators everywhere on the internet if you really cared to find one (and easier to use ones at that).

I'm betting that these people don't own the system or games that they are emulating, so I can't feel disappointed that another official store is pulling their apps too

 

[OutlawCecil]

Skidmarksdeluxe beat me to it so I'll go with...

Microsoft's store is still relevant?!

 

[treeski]

I don't understand why it's so popular to trash the store. Of course a lot of people use it, and of course there are plenty of great apps on it. If you don't like it, no problem. That doesn't mean others can't.

 

[J spot]

About Android, which is the platform that I'm mostly familiar with. On Windows, Linux, etc, 99% of emulators are free, developed by a community, open source. But on Android you have people charging for ports of those open source emulators, which goes against the licensing rules for such emulators.

I definitely would not mind a ban on those emulators.

 

[Teko03]

I don't understand why it's so popular to trash the store. Of course a lot of people use it, and of course there are plenty of great apps on it. If you don't like it, no problem. That doesn't mean others can't.

It's cool & trendy to trash Microsoft....

 

[bmw95]

I don't understand why it's so popular to trash the store. Of course a lot of people use it, and of course there are plenty of great apps on it. If you don't like it, no problem. That doesn't mean others can't.

It's cool & trendy to trash Microsoft....

No . . . there's a legitimate reason why people are trashing MS. They're fed up with the company, but hate Apple more so they have nowhere else to go. Eventually Microsoft is going to lock down installing apps outside of their store so this is a big deal.

 

[treeski]

No . . . there's a legitimate reason why people are trashing MS. They're fed up with the company, but hate Apple more so they have nowhere else to go. Eventually Microsoft is going to lock down installing apps outside of their store so this is a big deal.

No they won't, not completely anyway. The EU especially would fine Microsoft like craaaazy.

 

[turismozilla]

Pffffffffff like it matters, fail!

 

[MarkHughes]

Heh, This is like that time Facebook closed their email system and everyone was "They had email ???"

I have never and probably will never open the store, I get everything I want without it including emulators.