PC Emulator for Mobile Games

[maxi25]

I want to know if anyone has any suggestions or input on emulators that can run mobile games on a desktop or laptop. Basically I can't always have access to my phone but I do have my laptop and I've heard of programs like Nox and Bluestacks but would like a second opinion before committing to anything. If anyone has any advice or info I would appreciate it.

 

[Grayfox]

This forum does have a rule against the talking of emulators.

Mobile games are normally free, So hard to say if this rule will apply here.

 

[Robin]

Personally I would wait till both Windows and MacOS natively run mobile apps and games which is around the corner very very soon.

 

[Dave A]

I want to know if anyone has any suggestions or input on emulators that can run mobile games on a desktop or laptop. Basically I can't always have access to my phone but I do have my laptop and I've heard of programs like Nox and Bluestacks but would like a second opinion before committing to anything. If anyone has any advice or info I would appreciate it.

Bluestacks works fine for me, it accesses your play store/iTunes account so all of the apps you have purchased can be downloaded into it and any apps you purchase from the store via Bluestacks will be availalbe on your phone etc.

@Grayfox I beleive the rule is specifically connected to piracy, a number of emulators (specifically for consoles) require you to obtain the game/promote obtaining the game illegally. AFAIK apps like Bluestacks connect you to your accounts via the emulator so it's essentially like using your phone albeit on a PC/Laptop with the same apps you own and stores you have access to etc. and although you can pirate android apps I don't think these Android/Phone emulators require or promote this in any way.

 

[Tornado]

This forum does have a rule against the talking of emulators.

That applies as much to this discussion as it would in this thread frequently discussing how to get Windows programs working in Linux.

 

[Lain]

This forum does have a rule against the talking of emulators.

Mobile games are normally free, So hard to say if this rule will apply here.

I think this is a letter of the law vs intent of the law situation... this being a Gran Turismo forum, the rule against emulators is predominantly there to stifle discussion of emulating Gran Turismo since they'll invariably lead to people inquiring on where to illegally obtain Gran Turismo ISOs, or at the very least might strain potential relationships with Sony/Polyphony over fears that people here might be encouraging piracy of Gran Turismo games.

I personally think the rule should just be against discussing piracy, especially since there's a lot of official emulation being done these days (surely it shouldn't be against the rules to discuss Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which relies on emulation under the hood)... and not all unofficial emulators advocate or require piracy, particularly PlayStation emulators which can typically run games straight off the disc without even needing to rip a backup copy... but I can understand why they'd want to preemptively dissuade talk of piracy. I imagine that, so long as you don't fall afoul of the spirit of the law, certain emulation discussion is within the bounds of acceptability... at least I haven't seen the rule against emulation discussion be heavily enforced lately.


As to the OP's inquiry... I don't really have any experience with emulating smartphone environments. Bluestacks is the only emulator I've heard of, but I haven't used it so I can't really weigh in on whether it's the best option.

 

[maxi25]

Well I only said emulators because that's what everyone else was referring to them. Basically I just want to know if there is a way to play games on my laptop either by program or some other means. Like I mentioned above, having a family means you don't always have access to your phone.

 

[BigShamrock]

Does this include android games?

 

[G.T.Ace]

NoxPlayer: https://www.bignox.com/
Easy to use, also supports gamepads. Completely legal since you simply download apps through the Play Store.
I use it daily for all sorts of stuff.