A year after initiating a project aimed at preserving Apple iPod click wheel games that have become unavailable, the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project has successfully released all 54 titles for download. This includes familiar titles like Sonic the Hedgehog and Tetris, as well as Apple’s own adaptations such as Reversi.
Originally launched in November 2001, the first-generation iPod was a response to the demand for portable music players like the Sony Walkman. The iconic click wheel made its debut in 2004 with the fourth-generation iPod and continued in subsequent iPod models. Between 2006 and 2009, Apple released 54 click wheel games that took advantage of this unique control scheme.
Despite the official discontinuation of the iPod lineup in 2022, enthusiasts have worked tirelessly to preserve these games. According to an interview with Ars Technica, GitHub user Olsro from the iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project confirmed that all games are now compiled into a complete library, with the project concluding upon the recovery of Real Soccer 2009, which initially launched in December 2008.
Overcoming challenges posed by Apple’s FairPlay DRM has been one of the key obstacles in this preservation effort, which has allowed old game copies to be synchronized with necessary software. Users still want to play these classics, and the project is deemed a success.
iPod Click Wheel Games List (2006 to 2009)
- 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
- 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
- Vortex Demo
- Wonder Blocks
- Yahtzee
- Zuma
The iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project represents a significant contribution to gaming history, similar to ongoing efforts like the Stop Killing Games movement, aiming to maintain access to games that should not be lost to time.
