PlayStation emulator maker closes shop

LOS ANGELES: A company that made software allowing consumers to play video

games meant for the Sony Corp. PlayStation on their PCs and other consoles has

shut down after protracted legal battles, it said.

Bleem Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that made what is called

"emulator" software, replaced the front page of its Web site over the

weekend with a graphic depicting a tombstone in a grassy field. The stone says,

"Bleem! April 1999 - November 2001." The title of the page was also

changed to "Game Over."

The Web site also shows "Sonic the Hedgehog," the most famous

character created by Sega Corp. for its now discontinued line of consoles,

plucking petals from a flower and crying.

A call to Bleem was not returned. An e-mail to Bleem executives was answered

with an auto-reply that said, "Thanks for emailing Bleem!, but we're

history. Vapor. Kaput. Splitsville. Extinct. Gone the way of the Dodo. In a

word, Dead."

A Sony spokesman said he was not aware of the shutdown and could not

immediately comment. Sony first sued Bleem over its products in May 2000. Bleem

countersued, claiming Sony was exercising an illegal monopoly over the video

game industry.

Bleem's most recent product, Bleemcast, allows PSX games to be played on

Sega's Dreamcast console. Users burn the Bleemcast code onto a CD and then put

the CD into the Dreamcast and turn the console on, which loads the code into

memory. This tricks PSX games into thinking they are on their native platform.

Bleem sold individual discs for $5.99 each that were compatible with specific

games and would let them work on the Dreamcast. The company also had plans for

$19.99 "bleempaks" that would be compatible with multiple games.

The email from Bleem said Bleemcast was still being sold at Electronics

Boutique, a major game retail chain. EB's Web site lists only one Bleem product,

the Bleemcast disc for the Sony game "Gran Turismo 2."

Bleem was one of two companies to make a PlayStation emulator. The other one,

Connectix, licensed its technology to Sony in March and ceased distribution of

its product in June.

(C) Reuters Limited.