Piko Interactive is making a new PC games store:
https://pikointeractive.com/making-return-as-a-digital-games-mark/
Among the highlights from the press release:
"“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.”
"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."
"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."
By the last part, I assume they mean they will work with GOG on an official integration with Galaxy 2.0. Anyhow, as long as the games are DRM-free, I'm game, but I am concerned about the quality if they feel that these games wouldn't even be a good fit on Steam.
Oh, and of course the website is http://store.bleempowered.com
Edit: Yay, I can finally make threads again. Also, curses to self for forgetting to put the word 'game' in thread title.

Bleem?!


https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/45671676/now-thats-a-name-i-havent-heard-in-a-long-time.jpg

Bleem, as in the ill fated commercial PSX emulator ?

Reading their announcement it seems a little fuzzy, what do they mean by "Bleem powered games" ? emulated games ? (In which case is it their emulator or are they just repacking existing open source one).

Why won't they release on other platforms?

Hm, somehow that "bleem powered" thing sounds like some form of DRM for me, but I could be wrong.

Interesting. If this means officially supported PS(1/2) emulation/digital releases for PC, why not. It would be nice to see support for the ability to use custom emulators as well. So... you've had issues with creating threads? :)

Bleem ... meh name

If they are true to the legacy of that name, it shouldn't be the case.

Even though Bleem wasn't successful commercially, it was successful in fighting against the model where games were tied to some specific hardware. If they are using that name and bind games to a certain launcher... well, don't know what to say about that then.

Sounds interesting. Also, you could use something like tinyurl or my url-redirector. It's the ~ in particular in this case.

IIRC in other PC releases they've done, they've just bundled open source emulators ala mednafen with BSNES with the games.

be aware that they're saying that they will provide roms for use on your everdrive carts, that and also that the bleem! store will be just a website, so no client download required.

Can someone please explain exactly what that means in easy to understand plain simple English?

And most importantly, are they saying that GOG has agreed to sell their games that are gated behind their new Bleem DRM?

If so, that's just going to be another nail in the coffin of GOG as it continues to become even more of a sinking ship.

Where did you see any mention of DRM or DRM-free anywhere ?

That makes more sense in the context that it is in the linked page:

"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."

The way I interpret that is that it's some kind of an emulator that allows games to be run without Bleem cilent, which is required when using their own store. If that's the case, then that custom wrapper would not in fact be DRM, but allow DRM-free distribution.

This is pure speculation of course, and I can be wrong about that. But that's the only way that makes sense regarding the full statement.