Over two decades ago, a small company by the name of Bleem! appeared and offered a unique product in the gaming market, the ability to play PlayStation games outside of the original hardware, in what would be popularly known as "emulation" worldwide, be it in Windows PCs at the time (Windows 95 or 98), or also to emulate PlayStation games in a Sega Dreamcast, through their Bleemcast! emulator.

This commercial emulator was a key target for Sony, who took the Bleem company to court over alleged copyright violations to their PlayStation hardware, and while the courts initially failed in favour of Sony, Bleem appealed several times, and after a heated legal battle going back and forth, the courts sided in favour of Bleem!, with the decision being that the work of Bleem! constituted fair use. However, Bleem! as a company was drained out of money due to the legal fees, which ended in Bleem! shutting down at the end of 2001, marking an end to the company, but a sacrifice that paved the way for safe emulation up to this day (much to Nintendo's dismay).

Fast forward to 2021, and the Bleem! brand was acquired by Piko Interactive. Piko Interactive's acquisition of the brand came with a renewed interest in retro gaming as a whole, and their intent was to revive the brand as a digital marketplace for retro gaming as a whole, initially known as "Bleem Powered" and having a website under construction at the time. Despite the news, 2021 went by without any updates on the situation or the revival project, with the "Bleem Powered" site going down in 2022.

Two years later, on February 6th, 2024, Piko Interactive released a blog post with news about the situation, with the project being renamed from "Bleem Powered" to "Bleem.net", which they mentioned would be "a celebration of all things 80s, 90s and early 2000s", like a "destination store" or a "digital mall". And today, November 19th, 2024, the company has announced an update on the project, with Bleem.net officially getting a Kickstarter webpage for crowdfounding and making the preparations for the official launch.

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The Kickstarter page is quite minimal at the moment, with only a very brief summary being available the time of writing. Not much information is shared about what the actual project will be in detail, only that they have been "collecting the rights of video game IP", claiming it will be "the largest retro gaming project".

This project is the culmination of 11 years in the making for our company. We have been collecting the rights of video game IP and pop culture IP like Cartoons, Toys, and comic books. And we are working on this incredibly weird and awesome project that we call Bleem.net.

Users interested in the development of Bleem.net can register on Kickstarter, join the pre-launch date and be notified about official launch of the project goes live.

Bleem.net Kickstarter page

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

But what is it? Asking for money for a Kickstarter with no actual description on what it'll be, or how, is strange. Unless I'm missing something, this whole thing is fishy and vague as hell.

 

[4d1xlaan]

tbh, the fact that you could actually run ps1 on dreamcast is kinda wild

 

[ShadowOne333]

But what is it? Asking for money for a Kickstarter with no actual description on what it'll be, or how, is strange. Unless I'm missing something, this whole thing is fishy and vague as hell.

Tbh I'm kind of on the same page, there's still no details on what the project actually is.
I'm guessing it will be a marketplace or digital storefront of sorts, but there's no details on any of it yet.
I'm guessing once the actual Kickstarter page officially launches that they will add proper details on what it is and how it will work.

 

[Bladexdsl]

sounds like a gog clone site they will be making. big deal

 

[The Catboy]

Kickstarter
Also, super vague what they are making

 

[NinStar]

It is not the name that matters, it is the people behind it.

 

[poughstings]

Ai or crypto bs.

 

[Maq47]

Personally, I think this is a HUGE win for retro gaming, as it will show, if successful, that people are willing to pay to play these retro games, and not just pirate them (most people, myself included, emulate retro games because of the high cost of working hardware, and the rapidly inflating price of first- and second-party games, for any system older than the 3DS). If there were a hardwareless, legal way to play 99% of retro games for a reasonable price, like a subscription (Nintendo Switch Online is okay, but I don't see the long-term value), I would pay it hands-down, particularly if it were hosted by a third party. It would be game-changing. Heck, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft would absolutely start up their own versions of this store if it takes off. This stands to benefit EVERYONE.

 

[SeventhSon7]

The Hero We Need (and Deserve)

 

[smilodon]

Capitalizing on Nintendo hate by scaming people? Maybe not what it is about, but I can see it happen.

 

[Spider_Man]

But what is it? Asking for money for a Kickstarter with no actual description on what it'll be, or how, is strange. Unless I'm missing something, this whole thing is fishy and vague as hell.

Sounds something like Internet Archive (which is free) maybe with an app front loader with emulators to play.

If its to suggest an archive which you can obtain said content, which then will make it illegal, I dont get what they're asking for.

People to fund a project for illegal files, we already have emulators for these systems and front end loaders or RA that's all free.

So yes, not sure what they're actually offering in return for money, maybe hoping idiots will pay for whats already free.

 

[CoolMe]

What "retro gaming project"? Emulators already exist, not sure what they think they can improve upon.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

Give us money, what for? Haha shut up! Just give us money!

 

[Latiodile]

surpsied they're able to make a kickstarter with no "working prototype", which idk if this has changed over the past decade but they require one to even make a campaign, this just smells like a scam and this probably isn't the original bleem

 

[LanHikariDS]

It is not the name that matters, it is the people behind it.

THIS
Piko just owns the name and is (ab)using it purely for nostalgia bait. To my knowledge, this has nothing to do with the original Bleem project, or any of it's staff.

 

[SecureBoot]

Cautiously optimistic maybe? Idk what to make of it

 

[Jayinem]

tbh, the fact that you could actually run ps1 on dreamcast is kinda wild

I bought Metal Gear Solid, Tekken 3 and Gran Turismo 2 when they came out. I think they were $10 each, but it's been 25 years.

Edit: after some research they were $5.95 each.

 

[Xdqwerty]

Piko interactive is involved so it might be shit

 

[VinsCool]

If they announce they made their own Switch Emulator and pray for their past notoriety to make it pass untouched it would be pretty hilarious.