Preservation of ios games (is this even possible!?!)

[Primoz]

Originally Posted by Bytebrain

There's loads of games that suddenly doesn't run properly, or even at all, every time iOS is updated.
That's why there's always a flurry of updates to apps after a major iOS release.

When I upgraded to iOS 6.0, the shmup Siberian Strike from Gameloft suddenly didn't have sound or music in game. Only the intro video had sound.
The game hasn't been fixed yet, and I doubt it will. Gameloft have other fish to fry I guess.

This happens more often than you might think, a developer don't have the time, resources or the will to update apps or games when they cease to work properly after an iOS update, mostly, I think, because the game or app hasn't made any money for them for a while.

They get abandoned.

And it happens to good games too. Siberian Strike is one of the better iOS Shmups out there.

Those updates usually come because of the new devices that come out. There are only a few games that don't run (properly) when on newer iOS. And I still don't see how that could have an impact on preserving or playing iOS games someday in the future. You'll just need different iOS emulator versions.