The era of iPod gaming, though vibrant, concluded relatively quickly within the two-decade lifespan of Apple`s iconic music players. Apple released 54 games designed for the iPod`s clickwheel, which faced the risk of being permanently lost to time were it not for the dedicated efforts of game preservation enthusiasts. Amassing all these titles required immense dedication, but now the complete collection of iPod clickwheel games has been successfully preserved.
As reported by Ars Technica, Olsro, the founder of the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project, recently finalized the collection by successfully locating a copy of Real Soccer 2009. The preservation process involved identifying individuals who still had these original games downloaded on their iPods and then synchronizing them with a central Virtual Machine library. This system now grants other iPod owners the ability to access and enjoy the games at their leisure. Olsro shared his relief, stating that the project`s completion “ensures this entire segment from the early 2000s will remain with us indefinitely.”
These Virtual Machine titles are compatible with various iPod models, including iPod Classic 5G, 5.5G, 6G, 6.5G, and 7G, as well as iPod Nano 3G, 4G, and 5G. Olsro has provided comprehensive instructions on how to access the Virtual Machine on GitHub. By following these steps, players can now experience these classic games on their personal iPod devices.
List of Preserved iPod Clickwheel Games
Below is the comprehensive list of the preserved iPod clickwheel games. The collection features versions of beloved classics such as Bomberman, Ms. PAC-MAN, and even Sonic the Hedgehog.
- Asphalt 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 (NOT THE PRE-INSTALLED VERSION)
- 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 Reading – 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
- Wonder Blocks
- Yahtzee
- Zuma