diff --git a/es-app/src/FileData.cpp b/es-app/src/FileData.cpp
index 5a9439481..4879536ba 100644
--- a/es-app/src/FileData.cpp
+++ b/es-app/src/FileData.cpp
@@ -466,7 +466,7 @@ void FileData::launchGame(Window* window)
     #endif
 
     Scripting::fireEvent("game-start", rom, basename);
-    int exitCode = 0;
+    int returnValue = 0;
 
     if (command.find("%EMUPATH%") != std::string::npos) {
         // Extract the emulator executable from the launch command string. This could either be
@@ -530,24 +530,28 @@ void FileData::launchGame(Window* window)
 
     #ifdef _WIN64
     LOG(LogInfo) << Utils::String::wideStringToString(commandWide);
-    exitCode = launchEmulatorWindows(commandWide);
+    returnValue = launchEmulatorWindows(commandWide);
     #else
     LOG(LogInfo) << command;
-    exitCode = launchEmulatorUnix(command);
+    returnValue = launchEmulatorUnix(command);
     #endif
 
     // Notify the user in case of a failed game launch using a popup window.
-    if (exitCode != 0) {
-        LOG(LogWarning) << "...launch terminated with nonzero exit code " << exitCode << "!";
+    if (returnValue != 0) {
+        LOG(LogWarning) << "...launch terminated with nonzero return value " << returnValue << "!";
 
         GuiInfoPopup* s = new GuiInfoPopup(window, "ERROR LAUNCHING GAME '" +
-                Utils::String::toUpper(metadata.get("name")) + "' (EXIT CODE " +
-                Utils::String::toUpper(std::to_string(exitCode) + ")"), 4000);
+                Utils::String::toUpper(metadata.get("name")) + "' (ERROR CODE " +
+                Utils::String::toUpper(std::to_string(returnValue) + ")"), 6000);
         window->setInfoPopup(s);
     }
+    // This code is only needed for Windows, where we need to keep ES running while
+    // the game/emulator is in use. It's basically used to pause any playing game video.
+    #ifdef _WIN64
     else {
         window->setLaunchedGame();
     }
+    #endif
 
     Scripting::fireEvent("game-end");
 
diff --git a/es-app/src/animations/LaunchAnimation.h b/es-app/src/animations/LaunchAnimation.h
index dc593a062..dbf5e6631 100644
--- a/es-app/src/animations/LaunchAnimation.h
+++ b/es-app/src/animations/LaunchAnimation.h
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ public:
 
     void apply(float t) override
     {
+        // TEMPORARY, disabled as it causes flicker when launching games.
+        return;
         cameraOut = Transform4x4f::Identity();
 
         float zoom = Math::lerp(1.0, 4.25f, t*t);
diff --git a/es-app/src/animations/MoveCameraAnimation.h b/es-app/src/animations/MoveCameraAnimation.h
index 939e3d9e9..9da0c6bba 100644
--- a/es-app/src/animations/MoveCameraAnimation.h
+++ b/es-app/src/animations/MoveCameraAnimation.h
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //
 //  MoveCameraAnimation.h
 //
-//  Animation to play when moving the camera.
+//  Animation to play when moving the camera, used by the slide transition style.
 //
 
 #pragma once
diff --git a/es-app/src/views/ViewController.cpp b/es-app/src/views/ViewController.cpp
index 71570e166..fa7115a59 100644
--- a/es-app/src/views/ViewController.cpp
+++ b/es-app/src/views/ViewController.cpp
@@ -408,12 +408,16 @@ bool ViewController::input(InputConfig* config, Input input)
     if (mLockInput)
         return true;
 
+    // This code is only needed for Windows, where we need to keep ES running while
+    // the game/emulator is in use. It's basically used to pause any playing game video.
+    #ifdef _WIN64
     // If we have previously launched a game and there is now input registered, it means
     // the user is back in ES, so unset the flag to indicate that a game has been launched
     // and update all the GUI components to reflect this.
     if (mWindow->getGameLaunchedState()) {
         mWindow->unsetLaunchedGame();
     }
+    #endif
 
     // Open menu.
     if (!(UIModeController::getInstance()->isUIModeKid() &&
@@ -539,9 +543,13 @@ void ViewController::reloadGameListView(IGameListView* view, bool reloadTheme)
         }
     }
 
+    // This code is only needed for Windows, where we need to keep ES running while
+    // the game/emulator is in use. It's basically used to pause any playing game video.
+    #ifdef _WIN64
     // If a game has been launched, then update all the GUI components to reflect this.
     if (mWindow->getGameLaunchedState())
         mWindow->setLaunchedGame();
+    #endif
 
     // Redisplay the current view.
     if (mCurrentView)
diff --git a/es-core/src/Platform.cpp b/es-core/src/Platform.cpp
index c95bf8e4a..e7215d4d5 100644
--- a/es-core/src/Platform.cpp
+++ b/es-core/src/Platform.cpp
@@ -68,10 +68,49 @@ int runSystemCommand(const std::wstring& cmd_utf16)
 
 int launchEmulatorUnix(const std::string& cmd_utf8)
 {
-    // TODO, replace with proper child process execution.
     #ifdef __unix__
-    return system(cmd_utf8.c_str());
-    #else
+    std::string command = std::string(cmd_utf8) + " 2>&1";
+
+    FILE* commandPipe;
+    std::array<char, 128> buffer;
+    std::string commandOutput;
+    int returnValue;
+
+    if (!(commandPipe = (FILE*)popen(command.c_str(), "r"))) {
+        LOG(LogError) << "Error - couldn't open pipe to command.";
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    while (fgets(buffer.data(), buffer.size(), commandPipe) != nullptr) {
+        commandOutput += buffer.data();
+    }
+
+    returnValue = pclose(commandPipe);
+    // We need to shift the return value as it contains some flags (which we don't need).
+    returnValue >>= 8;
+
+    // Remove any trailing newline from the command output.
+    if (commandOutput.size()) {
+        if (commandOutput.back() == '\n')
+           commandOutput.pop_back();
+    }
+
+    if (returnValue) {
+        LOG(LogError) << "Error - launchEmulatorUnix - return value " <<
+                std::to_string(returnValue) + ":";
+        if (commandOutput.size())
+            LOG(LogError) << commandOutput;
+        else
+            LOG(LogError) << "No error output provided by emulator.";
+    }
+    else if (commandOutput.size()) {
+        LOG(LogDebug) << "Platform::launchEmulatorUnix():";
+        LOG(LogDebug) << "Output from launched game:\n" << commandOutput;
+    }
+
+    return returnValue;
+
+    #else // __unix__
     return 0;
     #endif
 }
@@ -98,6 +137,15 @@ int launchEmulatorWindows(const std::wstring& cmd_utf16)
             &si,                            // Pointer to the STARTUPINFOW structure.
             &pi);                           // Pointer to the PROCESS_INFORMATION structure.
 
+    // Unfortunately suspending ES and resuming when the emulator process has exited
+    // doesn't work reliably on Windows, so we need to keep ES running. Maybe there is
+    // some workaround for this. Possibly it's just SDL that is glitchy or it's actually
+    // something OS-specific. Keeping the code here just in case it could be reactivated.
+    // For sure it would simplify things, like not having to pause playing videos.
+//    // Wait for the child process to exit.
+//    WaitForSingleObject(pi.hThread, INFINITE);
+//    WaitForSingleObject(pi.hProcess, INFINITE);
+
     // If the return value is false, then something failed.
     if (!processReturnValue) {
         LPWSTR pBuffer = nullptr;
@@ -110,10 +158,14 @@ int launchEmulatorWindows(const std::wstring& cmd_utf16)
 
         std::string errorMessage = Utils::String::wideStringToString(pBuffer);
         // Remove trailing newline from the error message.
-        if (errorMessage.back() == '\n');
-            errorMessage.pop_back();
-        if (errorMessage.back() == '\r');
-            errorMessage.pop_back();
+        if (errorMessage.size()) {
+            if (errorMessage.back() == '\n')
+                errorMessage.pop_back();
+            if (errorMessage.size()) {
+                if (errorMessage.back() == '\r')
+                    errorMessage.pop_back();
+            }
+        }
 
         LOG(LogError) << "Error - launchEmulatorWindows - system error code " <<
                 errorCode << ": " << errorMessage;
@@ -124,6 +176,7 @@ int launchEmulatorWindows(const std::wstring& cmd_utf16)
     CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
 
     return errorCode;
+
     #else // _WIN64
     return 0;
     #endif
diff --git a/es-core/src/Window.cpp b/es-core/src/Window.cpp
index 43ac9d9cc..ebdbd8819 100644
--- a/es-core/src/Window.cpp
+++ b/es-core/src/Window.cpp
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ Window::Window()
         mTimeSinceLastInput(0),
         mScreenSaver(nullptr),
         mRenderScreenSaver(false),
+        mGameLaunchedState(false),
         mInfoPopup(nullptr)
 {
     mHelp = new HelpComponent(this);