Virtual Game Station
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The Virtual Game Station is an emulator by Connectix that allows Sony PlayStation games to be played on a computer. It was first released for the Macintosh, in 1999.
Released at a time when the Sony Playstation was at its peak of popularity, Connectix Virtual Game Station (VGS) was the first PSX emulator that allowed for Playstation games to be run at full speed on a G3/266 system (in some cases it was noted to be able to run on 200mhz 604e systems reasonably well), with almost full compatibility with all PSX games. The impact of this product was huge as it changed the available Macintosh game library from a very small, select group to the biggest collection of games available. Graphics could be run full screen, at full speed. Several Playstation-type hand controllers became available with VGS is mind. The only lacking features were the ability to receive Dual-Shock force-feedback or use light-guns.
VGS was initially released for NTSC based Playstation games but later versions were made for PAL based games. Like the PSX, only games released for the selected VGS system could be run, copied games would not work either, although it didn't take too long for the hacker community to release a "Mod Chipped" version. Versions 1.1 and 1.2 of VGS attempted to make "modding" more difficult but were soon modded as well.
Soon after a PC based emulator called Bleem! was released. Although it was a decent emulator, VGS provided more compatibility and faster speed (quite a feat, as the PC's for the time sometimes clocked in at over 400mhz as compared to 266). VGS was ported to the PC, where it received less popularity.
VGS proved to be extremely popular, as it cost less than half the price of a PSX and did not require any extra hardware besides the games. Sony perceived VGS as a threat, and filed a lawsuit against Connectix for copyright infringement. The case was eventually closed in favour of Connectix. Soon after Sony purchased VGS from Connectix and soon discontinued it, although by this time the PS2 was nearly out and the Playstation was at the end of its peak, with people looking towards the next generation consoles.