Bleem!, a company which made PlayStation emulators has shut
down, apparently being put out of business by the cost of legal
battles with Sony. Software by the LA-based company allowed games
for Sony’s PlayStation console to be played on PCs and other
consoles.
Sony first sued Bleem! in May 2000 for copyright infringement
but Bleem! launched a counter-suit alleging that Sony was
exercising an illegal monopoly over the video game industry.
At the time of the Bleem! case Sony had also brought a case against
a company called Connectix which had launched a PlayStation
emulator for the Apple Mac. Connectix lost its fight against Sony.
Bleem! on the other hand successfully fought against a temporary
injunction against sales of its emulator and defeated Sony in its
fight to get a permanent ban on sales.
Visitors to Bleem!’s web-site now encounter a page featuring
Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog crying over Bleem!’s headstone and
e-mailing the company is met with the automated response, “Thanks
for e-mailing Bleem!, but we're history. Vapor. Kaput. Splitsville.
Extinct. Gone the way of the Dodo. In a word, Dead.” The message
concludes: “Seriously, send an email to RIP@bleem.com if you want
to give us money, have a job offer for one or all of us, or have a
good idea for what the heck we should all do next.”
