By Stephen Schenck | April 7, 2011 12:13 PM
The Android Market’s loss can be your gain, as developers whose apps fall on Google’s bad side are turning to alternative distribution channels, sometimes with extra bonuses not originally part of the package. After Google yanked PSX4Droid last week, the author has made the app available as a free download, throwing in the app’s source code, to boot.
Google’s decision to revoke the PSX4Droid PlayStation emulator last week stirred up some minor controversy, especially with the first pack of official PlayStation games making their appearance in the Market for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. While Google may have had good cause to pull the plug on PSX4Droid if it appeared to be encouraging its users to pirate system ROMs or games, the timing just made things look like Google was trying to appease Sony. Since then, though, we’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Google to remove other emulators like FPSE, but as that still hasn’t happened this is really looking more like Google taking issue specifically with PSX4Droid.
With developer ZodTTD’s Android Market account reportedly frozen, he’s given up on the hope of making more money off the app and has released the APK free to download from his own site. Developers wanting to build off his work are now able to do so, thanks to the code ZodTTD has also released.
Grooveshark has found itself in a similar position, with Google also pulling it from the Android Market. While it looks like it’s thinking about putting up a fight to get reinstated, for now you can also find it as an independent APK download. As with the PSX4Droid APK, you’ll need to enable non-Market installations in order to get the app onto your Android.
