Google Pulls PSX4Droid For Sony's Xperia Play

tlhIngan writes "Google has apparently pulled an Apple and pulled PSX4Droid (a PlayStation emulator) from the Marketplace, citing 'policy violations' for it reason. It's believed that Sony's Xperia Play (aka Playstation Phone) release was behind the move. Strangely, FPSE is still on the Marketplace."

If you guys were half as nerdcore as you claim...

[Anonymous Coward]

..you'd know that PSX4Droid was pulled from the markert for GPL violations, which is why FPSE is still on the Market

Not the end of the world

[SkankinMonkey]

While I don't like the decision to remove the app from the store, and hope google clarifies the reasoning (at least to the publisher) it's not the end of the world for most Android devices since they can install the app manually. Neither iOS or Windows 7 Mobile allow for this as far as I know. And yes, some android devices don't either (mostly at&t phones) but, for now, they are the exception to the rule.

Are three OK?

[tepples]

Name one Android phone that doesn't let you sideload applications.

Motorola Backflip, HTC Aria, Samsung Captivate, and other Android-powered phones sold in AT&T stores all hide the "Unknown sources" checkbox from the end user.

Re:Not the end of the world

[fermion]

Jailbroken iPhons, which is no hard to do can load anything. Apple cannot remove anything from your phone without your knowledge, so even banned apps stay on. This is not true with google. Previous versions of iPhone do run the latest iOS. Something not true of Android(yes my 3GS has the latest iOS). The OS is no held from certain users because they did not buy from the right OEM. Apple is not going to sue users because they bough phones from OEM without proper liscense. Apple may have silly rules, but at least the rules are initially sated. One rule is Apple decides what goes in the App store. Google has no such rule, except when it does.

Re:Sony's war on piracy

[yeshuawatso]

Maybe not piracy since without downloading the giant ISO files to play PS1 games, the emulator is just a nice file explorer shell for OI File Manger. Trademark infringement is more likely.

See here: http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4003:a7trs0.2.13 [uspto.gov]

Sony has a registered trademark for PSX that pretty much includes anything dealing with electronics.

Interestingly though, Nintendo owns the patent for emulation of games on mobile devices: Patent #6,672,963 [uspto.gov]

Based on Nintendo's patent, it will be 2024 before we can emulate on mobile devices freely, so ALL emulators could be removed from the market for patent infringement. But then again, there is no criminal charges for violating a patent, just civil penalties if the patent holder decides to file suit. I believe most of the emulator developers don't reside in the US, so I can see why their out of Nintendo's reach.

Re:Not the end of the world

[Wovel]

Except that google actually has removed applications from people's phones before. Was even a story here on /. Feel free to look it up.

Re:!apple

[Nursie]

Turns out it's GPL violation, the guy based it off PCSX and wouldn't release the source.