iPhone developer ZodTTD has been releasing classic game console emulators on the iPhone for some time now – everything from the Genesis to the N64, to the original PlayStation. After finding success on the iPhone, ZodTTD ventured into the world of Android with PSX4Droid, a PlayStation One emulator.
PSX4Droid has been available for months, allowing users with back-ups of PlayStation One titles to run ROMs on their Android smartphones. However, the emulator app has suddenly been pulled from the Android Market by Google and the developer's accounts have been frozen, leaving him unable to upload anything to the Android Market.
In response to this, ZodTTD is giving his emulator away for free – a download that once cost $5.99 – via his personal website. If you have a legally-obtained PSOne BIOS and ROMs, download it now to start playing PSOne games on your Android phone.
Android, Google's smartphone OS, is normally known for being an "open" platform. And the Android Market is known to have a much less stringent approval process for apps than its closest competitor, iTunes. PSX4iPhone is still currently available, so what reason could Google have to pull this app?
We're guessing this has something to do with the Xperia PLAY that's just launched in select countries. Its most prominent selling point is its PlayStation-certified D-pad and button layout, which can be used to play a number of already available PSOne titles (along with over 60 other titles). Certain PSOne titles even come pre-loaded on the Xperia PLAY, depending on what country it's purchased in.
There's a huge potential market there that Sony Ericsson is after, and they don't want anyone getting in their way.
