With the launch of Sony Ericsson's Android-powered "PlayStation Phone," the Xperia Play, supposedly right around the corner, Google has pulled the plug on a prominent PSOne emulator for its mobile OS. According to its author, "zodttd," PSX4Droid was removed from the Android Market without warning due to a "Content Policy violation," though he suspects it has more to do with Sony's imminent smart phone offering. "Sony's Xperia Play must be coming soon," tweeted the dev, adding that, "The timing is suspicious with no remedy."

As for alternatives to the Android Market, PSX4Droid's maker says he's a "bit worried to goto Amazon App Store" since "people who own the Market version would have to buy it again to update." Meanwhile, another PSOne emulator for Android, fpse, remains available on the Market. We've contacted Sony for its response to the app's removal and are awaiting comment.