A year after starting a project to preserve Apple iPod click wheel games that are no longer purchasable, the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project has made all 54 titles available to download. Some of the titles that were once playable on various Apple iPod devices include ports of Sonic the Hedgehog and Tetris, alongside Apple's own versions of games like Reversi.
Originally released in November 2001, the first-generation iPod devices were marketed as Apple's response to the Sony Walkman and other popular portable music players available at the time. The iPod's signature click wheel first debuted in 2004 with fourth-generation devices, including the iPod Mini. The click wheel carried over into the iPod Nano lineup and future iPod Classic models. From 2006 to 2009, Apple released 54 iPod click wheel games that utilized the distinct control scheme, including a port of Sega's influential Genesis title, Sonic the Hedgehog, alongside mobile hits like Peggle and Bejeweled.
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While the iPod lineup was officially discontinued in 2022, that has not stopped enthusiasts from finding ways to preserve some games that had been lost to time. In an interview with Ars Technica, GitHub user Olsro of the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project stated that all 54 iPod click wheel titles are now available in a complete library. The last title needed to complete the project was Real Soccer 2009, originally released by Gameloft in December 2008. One of the major obstacles standing in the way of the click wheel game project was Apple's FairPlay DRM, which required users who still owned legitimate click wheel game copies to sync their accounts to a coordinated Virtual Machine. This machine, in turn, could act as a method to provide playable click wheel games to any iPod device that can connect to it. The repository is currently available on GitHub.
IPod Click Wheel Games List (2006 to 2009)
- Asphault 4: Elite Racing
- Bejeweled
- Block Breaker Deluxe
- Bomberman
- Brain Challenge
- Bubble Bash
- Cake Mania 3
- Chalkboard Sports Baseball
- Chess & Backgammon Classics
- Chinese Checkers
- Crystal Defenders
- CSI: Miami
- Cubis 2
- iQuiz
- Lode Runner
- Lost
- Mahjong
- Mini Golf
- Monopoly
- Ms. Pac-Man
- Ms. Pac-Man Demo
- Musika
- Mystery Mansion Pinball
- Naval Battle
- Pac-Man
- Peggle
- Phase
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Aegir's Fire
- Pole Position Remix
- Real Soccer 2009
- Reversi
- Royal Solitaire
- SAT Prep Mathematics - 2008
- SAT Prep Reating - 2008
- SAT Prep Writing - 2008
- Scrabble
- Slyder Adventures
- Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Spore Origins
- Star Trigon
- Sudoku
- Tamagotchi 'Round the World
- Tetris
- Texas Hold'em
- The Sims Bowling
- The Sims DJ
- The Sims Pool
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour
- Trivial Pursuit
- UNO
- Vortex
- Vortex Demo
- Wonder Blocks
- Yahtzee
- Zuma
The efforts of the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project run parallel to an ongoing effort that has had a global reach. The Stop Killing Games initiative, created following Ubisoft's shutdown of The Crew, was made to persuade game developers to allow users to preserve and keep the games they paid for accessible in some way. Some methods include allowing private or community servers to make some online-only titles playable. The petition has also drawn opinions from gaming industry figures, including Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.
Though Apple has long since shifted its focus to annual iPhone releases, the iPod's legacy still endures. With the iPod click wheel game project now finished, it remains to be seen how similar efforts will fare.
Apple began as a small tech company that evolved into one of the most innovative and well-known brands in all of computing and mobile phones. Their iPhone sees a massive following and they've since spread their umbrella to include streaming services and original productions.
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