Play Pokémon Yellow On Apple Watch 2 Now! Upcoming Smartwatch CustomOS Challenging iWatch, Android Wear
By"Pokémon Yellow" can now be played on your wrist. An iOS software developer created a Game Boy emulator for the Apple Watch 2.
Gabriel O'Flaherty-Chan emulated "Pokémon Yellow" on the Apple Watch 2 by porting the original 1998 game to the wearable device. The emulator was called Giovanni, which is also the name of Team Rocket's leader in the game, Polygon reported.
O'Flaherty-Chan's efforts weren't easy. Even though he found the correct balance between "framerate and performance," the prototype is still "a bit sluggish and unresponsive." However, he thinks that his creation raises the possibility of porting old games to modern gadgets.
You can check out GIFs and photos showcasing how the port works over on Polygon. The prototype's files can be found here.
Nintendo published "Pokémon Yellow" solely for the Game Boy. The game isn't the first one to be brought to the Apple Watch. In 2015, Facebook developers brought "Doom" to the wearable.
O'Flaherty-Chan took note of that "Doom" breakthrough and admitted that he copied that procedure for the "Pokémon Yellow" port, though he also added his own tweaks and style specifically to the graphics and color correction.
The controls were also challenging to work on, given that the Apple Watch wasn't really made for games especially one that necessitates multiple inputs. O'Flaherty-Chan, however, stepped over this hurdle by using screen pans for directions, Digital Crown rotations for up and down, and screen taps for A. The remaining options -- Select, Start and B -- are the only ones that can be tapped on the screen.
The Apple Watch supports "Pokémon GO." Trainers can hatch Eggs, visit PokéStops and earn Candy with their Buddy Pokémon without accessing their phone. "Pokémon GO" for Apple Watch also helps users track their walking distances while playing the game.
Apple Watch and Android Wear are the tightest competitors in the smartwatch department. But Swatch is throwing their towel in the ring with a new custom operating system.
Swatch has partnered with the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology for smartwatches with lower power consumption and tighter data privacy, Apple Insider reported. Apple may be the most popular smartwatch manufacturer right now, but its wearable device doesn't really last long (only a day or less than that) even on a full charge.
Swatch is targeting that weakness and they plan to unveil their own, special take to the wearable in late 2018. Aside from integrating the custom OS to their own products, Swatch could also lend their software to U.S. startups that want other open-source options aside from Android Wear.