iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project
43/54 clickwheel games preserved for the moment and playable right now on your own pod !
Introduction and context
The virtual machine is based on a community-trusted very lite version of Windows 10 LTSC 2019, so it can boot as fast as possible and be generally reasonably fast even without hardware virtualization enabled (ARM64 macs have to emulate x64 code). That version of Windows 10 is still modern enough about SSL and other components to use the required iTunes version and to connect to Apple servers without unreliable workarounds so I can auth the games on it.
This virtual machine is a fully offline distribution center setup that you can setup at home on your own PC to distribute authed games yourself on your iPod ! This Virtual Machine can also be useful towards any security+archeologist researcher who want to understand how the DRM worked.
Games Compatibility
- iPod Classic 5G, 5.5G, 6G, 6.5G, and 7G. Any iPod Classic that it at least a 5G is basically compatible with this. You do NOT need to flash any kind of cracked firmware to use this !
- iPod Nano 3G or 4G
- iPod Nano 5G (with black borders because the screen is too large)
FAQ
Can I sync music/videos/etc with another computer after injecting the games ?
Yes. As long as you don't try to sync the clickwheel games using another iTunes library, those will remain on the iPod.
Can I still use the 20 cracked games on my iPod Video that has the cracked firmware ?
It is now completely useless, because now the same games are available and authed here and when possible with a more recent version of the same game (all games from the cracked 20 games archive are v1.0). I have noticed that Zuma v1.1 feels smoother on my iPod Video compared to the historical v1.0 cracked one.
The Virtual Machine is so slow and I am too lazy to keep it around
After doing the whole procedure, you may backup completely the hidden folder "iPod_Control" on your iPod so you will be able to restore your games on that specific pod only by copying the same folder again if you need to erase/restore your iPod in the future. Be aware that copying the iPod_Control folder to other iPods devices will not work because of the DRM tied directly with the serial number of your specific iPod.
Can I add the games on a Mac formatted iPod ?
Your iPod need to be Windows formatted because the Virtual Machine is a Windows one, thus cannot sync any Mac pod.
If you don't have any Windows machine to do it, I created a specific Virtual Machine so you can format (restore) your iPod from there without having to find a real Windows machine to do it, check this project and its instructions: https://github.com/Olsro/ipodmanagementonwindows
Can I transfer all games at once ?
Yes ! "vibvian" from the iPod Community found that he could play all games by swapping some files. I then did more investigation and documented properly the exploit here so anyone can understand it easily. It appears that iTunes is adding all the keys from one account when only one game of the account is transfered, but is too dumb to remove the keys of removed games so the exploit is just to sync one game from each account (in multiple syncs if necessary, 5 accounts per 5 accounts maximum) then transfer all the games manually, and all games are playable this way.
For some reason, all the games de-authed on my iPod over time or after a synchronization. What can I do to prevent this ?
You should backup and try to lock the file IC-Info.sidb located inside the hidden folder iPod_Control/iTunes. This unique file contains the auth data for the games that you've synced. If you remove or alter this file (or if it alters over time for example because of an hard drive corruption), the games won't launch anymore. Also, restoring your iPod changes its unique ID which require you to sync again the games using the virtual machine. The IC-Info.sidb file is unique to your iPod and its current installation. You can't copy it to another iPod to auth the games, it will not work.
My Mac is too old to run UTM
The simplest option for you if to create a Linux live CD/USB then boot on it to be able to use the simple Linux instructions that I provide in this documentation. You can get Ubuntu from here https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop and burn it into a USB stick by using Balena Etcher https://etcher.balena.io/, good luck !
Can I still sync my content on a Mac after using this Windows Virtual Machine to add games ?
A Mac is totally able to sync a Windows formatted iPod to add music and manage stuff. A Windows formatted (restored) iPod is compatible everywhere, compared to a Mac formatted iPod which cannot be synced on Windows until it is formatted. Formatting your iPod on Windows also allow you to install cool things like Rockbox in the future if you ever want to.
How to update the Virtual Machine to a newer version ?
Remove the .utm file and all the compressed .7z parts which were used to extract it. All .7z files must be downloaded again. Make sure your computer doesn't rename the downloaded files to something like "filename(1)" since the files were already downloaded before. Rename the downloaded files accordingly if necessary.
I also recommend to remove all of the games and re-sync everything back to avoid strange authing bugs with games. It's better to restart from scratch to choose again the games from the available games packs.
[Linux] The script "start_qemu.sh" does not start on my machine, what can I do ?
It looks like your computer is an ARM64 one or a very old Intel computer, so you should use slow_start_qemu.sh instead to start the virtual machine.
Changelog
Version 1 (2024-10-11)
- Added game: Phase
- Added game: Texas Hold'Em
Version 2 (2024-10-16)
- Added game: CRYSTAL DEFENDERS
- On UTM (Mac), the VM will now use 2 cores per default to run much faster.
Version 3 (2024-10-16)
- Added game: Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes
- Added game: Sonic the Hedgehog
- Added game: Spore Origins
Version 4 (2024-10-16)
- Added game: Asphalt 4: Elite Racing
- Added game: Chinese Checkers
- Added game: Monopoly
- Added game: Reversi
Version 5 (2024-10-17)
- Added game: Tetris
- Added game: The Sims DJ
- Added game: UNO
- Added game: Yahtzee
Version 6 (2024-10-18)
- Added game: Bomberman
- Added game: Peggle
- Changes to get a better distribution of games between all the authorized accounts
Version 7 (2024-10-20)
- Added tons of new games
Version 8 (2024-10-22)
- Added game: Mahjong (v1.1)
- Keep only one game per account on the virtual machine
- Document the way to circument the 5 account games limit to transfer all the games in your iPod
How to use
Requirements
- (Recommended) A Mac computer that can run UTM (https://mac.getutm.app/). Don't download the Mac App Store version because it has limitations. An Intel Mac is preferable for speed but all of this was developed and tested on an Apple Silicon Mac where it run slowly but just fine.
- (Recommended) A Linux Intel x64 computer. Ubuntu 24.04 is recommended. If you can't install Linux, it should also work in a LiveCD directly. You can get Ubuntu from here: https://www.ubuntu-fr.org/ and burn the ISO into an USB stick easily using Rufus (https://rufus.ie/, Windows Only !) or Balena Etcher (https://etcher.balena.io/, Multiplatform !). This setup works very well and seems to be very reliable. I tested that setup on one of my Intel PC and it worked wonderfully and was a very fast way to boot easily the Virtual Machine and get a very high level performance with it.
- (Not Recommended) Windows Intel x64. I could not make this run under Hyper-V so it was running very slowly on my tests. Also, I could not make USB passthrough to work on Windows (the iPod was recognized as a generic "iPod" device and was not appearing in iTunes). But maybe in the future someone else will figure out how to make all of this working correctly on Windows, feel free to open a pull request with updated documentation.
Please be aware that it is probably possible to run this in a much more exotic setup as long as it is Qemu + USB passthrough compatible, but you will need to build yourself the exact command to make this boot and work for you.
Don't forget also if you are a Linux user to download this repo as a zip: https://github.com/Olsro/ipodclickwheelgamespreservationproject/archive/refs/heads/main.zip or to clone it locally. It will be your workspace. On MacOS, you can go ahead and just download directly the .utm virtual machine file on the step just below.
1) Download the Virtual Machine and all of the games files
When we will reach the full set, it will be shared as a torrent so it will avoid getting lost over time.
You can download the latest version from the following locations:
GitHub Releases
https://github.com/Olsro/ipodclickwheelgamespreservationproject/releases
Be aware that you need around 10 GB of free space on your hard drive to extract the .utm file from the splitted archive !
Don't forget also to download the iPod Games Files.7z archive, we will need it later.
2) Unzip the Virtual Machine
Due to its large size, I had to split the VM into multiple compressed 7zips files.
- On MacOS, "The Unarchiver" is recommended to unpack 7zip archives: https://theunarchiver.com/
- On Linux, open a Terminal in the folder and enter this:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y p7zip-full && 7za x "iPod*Clickwheel*Games*Preservation*Project.utm.7z.001"
You need to extract "iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project.utm.7z.001" which will automatically find other parts (2, 3, 4, etc) to extract the full ".utm" Virtual Machine.
3) Booting up the Virtual Machine
- On MacOS
- 1) Download and install UTM: https://mac.getutm.app/ (avoid the Mac App Store version, because it has some limitations)
- 2) Just import the .utm virtual machine file into UTM
- 3) You should be able to launch it straight. Check the capture just below to know where to click to connect your iPod in the Virtual Machine.
- On Linux:
- 1) Copy the .utm file on this folder, because it will be needed by the script "start_qemu.sh".
- 2) Open a Terminal on the folder of this cloned repo where start_qemu.sh is located.
- 3) Install Qemu and dependencies:
chmod a+x ./install_qemu.sh && ./install_qemu.sh(Ubuntu-only script, if not using Ubuntu 24.04 you will need to adapt it to your needs) - 4) Run Qemu:
chmod a+x ./start_qemu.sh && ./start_qemu.shor if your arch is ARM64 (for example if you are using an Apple Silicon Mac on Asahi Linux) you can emulate the x64 arch (which will be much slower) with this scriptchmod a+x ./slow_start_qemu.sh && ./slow_start_qemu.sh. - 5) Now you can start Remmina to control it
- 6) Setup a new SPICE connection with the following address: 127.0.0.1:17474 and connect to it
- 7) You should now see the Virtual Machine booting and be able to interact with it
- 8) You can USB passthrough your iPod to the Virtual Machine by clicking on the "Adjustable wrench" icon that is located near the bottom of the left panel to redirect your iPod to the Virtual Machine.
4) Syncing using iTunes
To use this, connect your iPod to the virtual machine using USB passthrough then open iTunes and sync the games. If USB passthrough does not work for you, try to use another port and retry. On MacOS, I recommend to let the iPod connect to the host then eject it on the Finder before doing the passthrough, it seems more reliable this way.
On your real computer, never try to sync the games or those will be all erased. If you are bothered by the popup which asks you to transfer your purchases at each sync, you may import all of the .ipg also on your real library (without authorizing the games, it's not needed just to avoid the annoying popup). You can find all of the ipg files in a folder called "ipg" in this GitHub repo.
It is recommended to keep this virtual machine permanently disconnected from the Internet since the lite Windows 10 LTSC 2019 on it is not fully updated and also because iTunes may do probably some random checks with Internet that can potentially de-auth the games over time or for unknown reasons.
You need to transfer the games 5 per 5 at each sync (sync the first 5 during the first sync, then untick all, then tick the 5 next followings until the end). Don't worry if the amount of available games in the Virtual Machine is very small. We're just forcing iTunes to inject all the keys of the authed accounts for the next step, by transfering one single game from each account which is enough for iTunes to transfer all the keys from the related account.
5) Transfering all the games files manually
Now we are going to add all the game files from the archive iPod Games Files.7z.
Extract it and enter into it with your file browser. Now, you can disconnect your iPod from the Virtual Machine and let it reconnect to your host because we will need to copy the games files into it.
-
Some games are compatible only with the iPod Videos (5G/5.5G). If you have an iPod Video, you can copy the folder
iPod_Controlfrom the folder5G and 5.5G onlyto get more games. If your iPod is a Nano or a Classic, don't do it ! -
Most games are compatible with all iPods covered by this guide. Copy the folder
iPod_Controlfrom the folderAll iPodsto get the games.
On MacOS, it is very important to maintain the key "OPTION" on your keyboard while drag & dropping the folders iPod_Control into your iPod, then choose the option Merge. Don't do "Replace". If the option Merge does not appear beside the Replace button in the copy window, stop it then retry to do the copy while maintaining the "OPTION" key again until it does.
On Windows or Linux, the logic is the same. You need to merge/replace files in their destination. You should not replace the whole iPod_Control folder on your iPod or you will remove a lot of important/system files from your iPod which will force you to re-sync everything or restore your iPod (it will never brick it, but you will lose a lot of time).
This process may be tedious but it allows to bypass the Apple DRM which limited the amount of games that you could store on a single device. Apple did not want you to put games from more than 5 different accounts !
6) Disconnect your iPod and enjoy the games
Games should now all launch just fine. Congratulations, you did it !
Extra Step: Playing Phase with custom music
Phase is a guitar hero equivalent for the iPod that is better when played with your own music. But if you use any kind of modern iTunes version, it will not work out of the box.
On your real computer with the iTunes Library, import Phase.ipg to create the "Phase Music" playlist automatically (the playlist may be named differently depending on your language but it will work the same). You do not need to try to authorize the game on your real computer, just import it and it will be enough.
Any version of iTunes starting iTunes 11 had a regression that Apple never bothered fixing which caused iTunes to not create that very special playlist. So you need to sync your music using a version under 11. 10.7 or 9.2.1 are my recommended versions to use.
Don't ever attempt to create manually that playlist. It will not work, you will just lose your precious time. It should be created automatically (it looks like the auto-generated playlist has some kind of special attribute that will make it recognized by the game even if it visually look like any other normal playlist).
To download iTunes versions on old Mac versions (like Snow Leopard), use Pacifist and install with Pacifist the pkg inside the dmg. Pacifist is downloadable from here: https://www.charlessoft.com/ or here: https://www.charlessoft.com/pacifist_olderversions.html . Doing it like this is much easier compared to a manual install.
Old iTunes versions are downloadable from here: https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/ITunes
On recent MacOS versions, you can use Retroactive to use iTunes 10.7 alongside the "Music" app: https://github.com/cormiertyshawn895/Retroactive/releases/tag/2.1 but it's a bit more risky since those old versions of iTunes are not tested to run on modern MacOS versions.
Credits
Project started, documented and maintained by OlsroFR
https://github.com/Olsro/ipodclickwheelgamespreservationproject
https://old.reddit.com/r/ipod/comments/1fydso6/preservation_of_ipod_clickwheel_games_read_this/
This project could not be possible without all of the contributors who authed their owned games on this virtual machine !
Contact
https://www.reddit.com/user/OlsroFR/
Mail: olsroparadise@proton.me
Discord: Inurayama
Contact me especially if you own any clickwheel game so we can preserve it together for everyone ! It takes no more than around 15 minutes of your time to auth your .ipg files to this communitarian virtual machine together.
Preservation status for each game
| Game Name | Preservation Status | Internal Code* | Developer | Genre | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asphalt 4: Elite Racing | ✅ | 22020 | Gameloft | Sports | 2008-08-28 |
| Bejeweled | ✅ | 55555 (v1.1 is 12100) | PopCap Games | Puzzle & Trivia | 2008-04-15 |
| Block Breaker Deluxe | ✅ | 21004 | Gameloft | Action | 2008-01-15 |
| Bomberman | ✅ | 20000 | Hudson Software Company, Limited | Action | 2007-12-18 |
| Brain Challenge | ✅ | 21000 | Gameloft S.A. | Puzzle & Trivia | 2007-09-05 |
| Bubble Bash | ❌ | 21008 | Gameloft | Puzzle & Trivia | 2008-02-25 |
| Cake Mania 3 | ❌ | 25002 | Sandlot Games | Action | 2009-02-04 |
| Chalkboard Sports Baseball | ✅ | 23000 | D2C Games | Sports | 2008-08 |
| Chess & Backgammon Classics | ❌ | 21002 | Gameloft | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2008-02-04 |
| Chinese Checkers | ✅ | 11802 | Apple Inc. | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2008-12 |
| CRYSTAL DEFENDERS | ✅ | 24002 | Square Enix | Strategy | 2008-12 |
| CSI Miami | ✅ | 22014 | Gameloft | Simulation | 2008-09 |
| Cubis 2 | ✅ (v1.1) | 99999 (v1.1 is 13100) | FreshGames | Puzzle & Trivia | 2006-09-12 |
| iQuiz (NOT THE PRE-INSTALLED VERSION) | ✅ 📹 | 11002 | Apple Inc. | Puzzle & Trivia | 2007-04 |
| Lode Runner | ❌ | 20002 | Hudson Software Company, Limited | Action | 2008-12 |
| LOST | ✅ 📹 | 1B200 | Gameloft | Role-Playing | 2007-05 |
| Mahjong | ✅ (v1.0 📹 + v1.1) | 77777 (v1.1 is 77770) | Electronic Arts | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2008-04-22 |
| Mini Golf | ✅ (v1.1) | 88888 (v1.1 is 88908) | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2006-09-12 |
| Monopoly | ✅ | 15040 | Electronic Arts | Cards, Casino & Board | 2008-06-03 |
| Ms. PAC-MAN | 🟨 (v1.0 📹) | 14004 (v1.1 is 14024) | Namco | Action | 2007-02-27 |
| Ms. PAC-MAN Demo | ✅ 📹 | 14005 | Namco | Action | 2007-02-27 |
| musika | ✅ 📹 | 1C300 | NanaOn-Sha / Sony BMG | Rythm | 2007-08-07 |
| Mystery Mansion Pinball | ✅ | 22010 | Gameloft | Action | 2008-08 |
| Naval Battle | ❌ | 21006 | Gameloft | Strategy | 2008-02-04 |
| PAC-MAN | ✅ (v1.0 📹 + v1.1) | AAAAA (v1.1 is 14020) | Namco Networks America | Action | 2006-09-12 |
| Peggle | ✅ | 12104 | PopCap Games | Action | 2007-12-18 |
| Phase | ✅ | 1D000 | MTV Games - Harmonix | Rythm | 2007-11-06 |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: Aegir's Fire | ❌ | 22000 | Disney Online Studios | Action | 2008-02-20 |
| Pole Position Remix | ✅ | 14003 | Namco Networks America | Sports | 2008-01-21 |
| Real Soccer 2009 | ❌ | 22018 | Gameloft | Sports | 2008-12 |
| Reversi | ✅ | 11800 | Apple Inc. | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2008-12 |
| Royal Solitaire | ✅ 📹 | 50514 | Electronic Arts | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2006-12 |
| SAT Prep Mathematics - 2008 | ✅ (v1.1) | 11052 (v1.1 is 11072) | Kaplan | Education | 2007-06-22 |
| SAT Prep Reading - 2008 | ✅ (v1.1) | 11050 (v1.1 is 11070) | Kaplan | Education | 2007-06-22 |
| SAT Prep Writing - 2008 | ✅ (v1.1) | 11051 (v1.1 is 11071) | Kaplan | Education | 2007-06-22 |
| Scrabble | ❌ | 15012 | Electronic Arts | Cards, Casino & Board Games | 2008-03-03 |
| Slyder Adventures | ✅ | 25000 | Sandlot Games | Action | 2008-12 |
| Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes | ✅ | 24000 | Square Enix | Role-Playing | 2008-07-08 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | ✅ | 18000 | Sega of America | Action | 2007-12-18 |
| Spore Origins | ✅ | 15010 | Electronic Arts | Simulation | 2008-08-25 |
| Star Trigon | ❌ | 14006 | Namco Networks America | Action | 2008-09 |
| Sudoku | 🟨 (v1.0 📹) | 50513 (v1.1 is 50533) | Electronic Arts | Puzzle & Trivia | 2006-12-19 |
| Tamagotchi 'Round the World | ❌ | 14008 | NAMCO BANDAI Games America | Kids & Learning | 2008-11 |
| Tetris | ✅ (v1.0 📹 + v1.2) | 66666 (v1.2 is 66686) | Electronic Arts | Puzzle & Trivia | 2006-09-12 |
| Texas Hold'em | ✅ (v1.0 📹 + v1.1) | 33333 (v1.1 is 33353) | Apple Inc. | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2006-09-12 |
| The Sims Bowling | ✅ (v1.1) | 1500C (v1.1 is 15032) | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2007-07-17 |
| The Sims DJ | ✅ | 15036 | Electronic Arts | Simulation | 2008-06-09 |
| The Sims Pool | ✅ (v1.1) | 1500E (v1.1 is 15035) | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2007-07-31 |
| Tiger Woods PGA TOUR | ❌ | 15038 | Electronic Arts | Sports | 2008-12 |
| Trivial Pursuit | ❌ | 15042 | Electronic Arts | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2008-12 |
| UNO | ✅ | 22012 | Gameloft | Cards, Casino, & Board | 2008-07 |
| Vortex (NOT THE PRE-INSTALLED VERSION) | ✅ 📹 | 12345 | Apple Inc. | Action | 2006-09-12 |
| Vortex Demo | ✅ 📹 | 12346 | Apple Inc. | Action | 2006-09-12 |
| Wonder Blocks | ❌ | 22022 | Gameloft | Puzzle | 2008-12 |
| Yahtzee | ✅ | 15014 | Electronic Arts | Cards, Casino, & Board Games | 2008-02-11 |
| Zuma | ✅ (v1.0 📹 + v1.1) | 44444 (v1.1 is 12102) | PopCap Games | Action | 2006-09-12 |
- This is the name of the folder when you try to retrieve the games after you've synced those on the iPod, in the hidden folder called
iPod_Control/Games_RO.
Table legend
✅ = The most recent version of the game is preserved forever in the virtual machine
🟨 = An obsolete version of the game is preserved forever on the virtual machine. Better than nothing, but this means often that the game will install and work only on the iPod Videos.
❌ = The game is not (yet ?) available
📹 = This game (or this version of the game) is playable only on the iPod Video (5G or 5.5G)