The following was sent out
Piko Interactive has acquired the Bleem! brand name from David Herpolsheimer, former president of the Bleem company. Continuing their intent of keeping the past alive, Piko is launching an online digital marketplace called Bleem!.
Bleem Powered represents commercial preservation of older titles from now defunct platforms. Releases made available through the store front will come as complete downloads. Each release will include the necessary software to make the game run as intended.
“We will be making available titles on the Bleem Marketplace that we would never release on Steam or Good Old Games [GoG]. Some of these releases will be available exclusively on our new storefront. We are also excited to work with independent and homebrew developers in monetizing their releases and reaching new fans.” Stated Eli Galindo, owner of Piko Interactive and Bleem Powered.
The intent of the Bleem Powered store front is to be the go-to location for gamers wanting that console feel on PC. Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, Sega Genesis, the Game Boy line, TurboGrafx-16, PS One, and more will be supported. Additional platforms will be supported on an as needed basis.
Third party publishers will be able to use the custom wrapper through publisher partnerships. This will allow them to use the wrapper on their own Bleem Powered releases or when publishing on Steam or GoG. This wrapper is not required for publishers to publish game of the Bleem Marketplace
“Making things easier for gamers is our goal. The Bleem Powered storefront is just an extension of that intent. It really is as simple as download, open, and play. Working with outside companies to publish their games on the storefront will give gamers even more choices.” Stated Eli describing the scope of the retro gaming marketplace. He continued with, “We will also be acquiring licenses for catalogs of games to be released on the Bleem store.”
Piko Interactive is well known in the retro gaming community for preserving classic titles. They have also developed a reputation for completing many titles as well as creating brand new releases. The Bleem Powered store front will not be a software download, it will only be a website. This saves gamers from having to deal with additional software they do not want, or need, to play their favorite games.
Forward thinking actions with the Bleem Powered marketplace includes offering commercial licenses. This will allow arcade machine manufacturers, emulation boxes producers, etc. to launch with legal full libraries of games ready to play out of the box. Intellectual property owners will see an extremely competitive revenue split when publishing on the Bleem Powered marketplace. In an unprecedented move, Piko Interactive games will be made available in a manner that gamers can use the ROM file with their flashcarts or emulators of their choice. Additionally, Piko Interactive is working on making the digital games compatible with GOG Galaxy launcher.
Removing the launcher aspect makes the Bleem Powered process much more streamlined – download, open, play.
We wish the best for them in this endeavor.