After Google pulled the psx4droid Playstation emulator from the Android Market, the developer has decided to offer the app as a free download. As long as you have a phone that lets you install non-Market apps, you can download psx4droid 3.0 and install it manually. The developer has also released the source code for the project.

Version 3.0 of the emulator is based on the open source PCSX-ReARMed emulator, and developer zodttd says it’s faster than older versions of psx4droid. Unfortunately saved game stats from previous versions won’t work with psx4droid 3.0.

Zodttd’s move to release the source code is kind of a big deal, because he’s been accused of coding apps in the past that are based on open source software licensed under the GPL, but failing to release the code for his apps — which is a violation of the GPL terms.

According to the developer, the GPL issue had nothing to do with the app being removed from the Android Market though. He says Sony asked Google to pull the app because the app’s icon included graphics that were covered by a Sony trademark.

While psx4droid was the first Playstation emulator for Android, it’s not the only game in town anymore. The popular FPse emulator was ported to Android recently and it’s available from the Android Market for just over $5.

The first PlayStation emulator for Android devices has been pulled from the Android Market due to intellectual property issues. The psx4droid emulator has been helping bored Android users get their nostalgic gaming fix since last summer. But today the developer Tweeted that Google removed the app from the Market.

In case you’re wondering though, it’s possible that the alleged content violation likely has nothing to do with the fact that the emulator allows you to run PlayStation games. The FPSe emulator is still available for download from the Android Market. Some folks are suggesting the difference is that psx4droid is based on source from another PlayStation emulator called PCSX, but doesn’t comply with the GPL license used by that software.

If you already installed psx4droid you should be able to continue using it, and there’s nothing preventing the developer from continuing to distribute the app outside the Android Market. But psx4droid developer zodttd says he’s rather find a way to return the app to the Market than to distribute it through a different app store, because he want to make sure that customers who have already purchased the app can easily upgrade to new versions of the emulator.

Update: Android Police has another theory. Apparently Sony has a trademark on the term “PSX,” so it’s possible that zodttd could get the app back into the market with a name change. Meanwhile Engadget notes that Sony’s Xperia Play phone with support for PlayStation games is due out soon. Coincidence?

Sure, Sony is getting ready to launch the Playstation Suite for Android, allowing you to purchase and run classic Playstation games on Android devices. But the Suite is only expected to work with Android 2.3 and up… and what are the odds it’s going to work with your existing PSOne ROM collection? Fortunately, Sony isn’t the only game in town.

There’s already a popular PSOne emulator for Android called psx4droid. Now it looks like we could soon see a second emulator in the Android Market. Mobile developer Schtruck plans to port FPSeCE, a popular Windows Mobile Playstation emulator to run on Android.

FPSeCE has been around for years, and I remember using it to play Final Fantasy VII on my Dell Axim x50v more than 4 years ago. Sure, it was a little sluggish on the PDA’s 624 MHz processor. But for RPGs and other games where speed isn’t necessarily of the essence, it worked amazingly well.

I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the emulator handles modern Android devices with 1 GHz or faster processors.

Bear in mind, emulators like FPSe can be a bit tricky to use. First, you need a valid BIOS file from an original Playstation device. Second the emulators exist in a legal gray area at best, since it’s usually easier to just download games from the dark corners of the internet — even though it’s technically possible (if not easy) to rip CDs from your own game collection (which is what I did with FFVII, and man did it take a long time).

Schtruck says FPSe should hit the Android Market soon. To tide you over, he’s posted a few videos of the app in action, which you can check out after the break. It looks like the app lets you choose several different input methods including on-screen controls. There’s support for saving game states, skipping frames to improve performance, and you can play in both portrait and landscape modes.

via PocketNow

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The developer of the first Playstation emulator for Google Android is back, with version 2. The new app adds a framerate counter option and automatic frameskipping to make games play more smoothly. The developer recommends only running psx4droid v2 on phones with 60MHz or faster processors.

The new app is on sale for $1.99 for a limited time. The original app is still available from the Android Market for $5.99 — and the developer is not offering a free upgrade to the new version, so if you want the latest bug fixes, you’re going to need to pony up a few bucks. The developer says the reason for the new version is that save states from the old emulator aren’t compatible with the new app.

Keep in mind, the emulator requires a valid PlayStation BIOS file to run properly. If you don’t know what that means, you might want to check out a set of step by step instructions for using psx4droid from xda-developers.

via Droid Gamers

Don’t feel like shelling out $5.99 to play Playstation games on your Android phone? No worries. The developer of psx4droid, the first PS1 emulator for Android has released a new “lite” version of the app which lets you play for free (assuming you have the means to either download or rip your own Playstation ROMs and load a Playstation BIOS file on your mobile device).

Scan to download

The only difference between psx4droid lite and the full version is that the full version allows you to load saved games. So if you plan to work you way through Final Fantasy VII in one marathon sitting, you might be able to get by without spending any extra cash. Or you know, the lite app gives you a chance to try out the emulator before deciding whether it’s worth spending your money on the full version.

The app supports BIN, ISO, IMG, PBP, Z, ZNX, and Eboot files and can even work with a WiiMote if you pair the Nintendo controller to your phone over Bluetooth.

You’ll get the best results if you’re using a newer phone with a relatively fast processor.

We knew it was coming, but I still can’t help but be a little blown away that there’s no an app that will let you play classic Playstation games on a Google Android device. PSX4Droid is now available in the Android Market for $5.99.

Scan to download

Bear in mind, this is just an emulator. In order to run the games, you’re going to need a valid Playstation BIOS file and a way to get get ROMS for the games you want to play. There are a few different methods for doing this — ranging from downloading illegal files from the internet to ripping files from your own Playstation discs. I have a feeling that the PocketISO tool used for the FPSECE Playstation emulator for Windows Mobile might be useful.

Update: XDA-Dvelopers has a good tutorial on how to make the emulator work and how to get ROMS to work properly in the emulator.

PSX4Droid features on-screen controls, support for using the trackball as a directional pad, and the ability to use a WiiMote as a remote control if you connect it over Bluetooth. You can also save game states, which is a lot easier when gaming on a phone than hunting around for a save point in a game and missing your bus stop.

The app supports Android 2.1 and up.  You’ll also probably get the best results on a newer phone with a 1GHz or faster processor and decent graphics.

You can check out a few videos of Final Fantasy VII, Warcraft II, Ridge Racer, and Crash Bandicoot, and other games on Android devices after the break.

via Android Central and Engadget

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