SNES Playstation prototype discovered

[RetroDefense]

Attention, video game history aficionados - someone's found the holy grail.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/07/prototype_snes_playstation_found_in_the_wild_unicorn_and_big_foot_expected_next

[KiwiArcader]

Holy Grail? I don't think so.

This item is just a footnote in history of a deal that went sour. The whole Sony backstabbing Nintendo and vice versa thing is largely a moot point really. There has and always will be situations where potential mergers/collaborations are looked at by parties and decisions made to not go there. In this case Sony wanted royalties for CD games and Nintendo didn't like the deal so went down the cartridge path. They prospered and Sony went on to prosper too, if not more than Nintendo. A LOT more!!

If it worked and there was some software for the thing it would be intriguing seeing it running. As it stands someone would buy it for collector value but I am guessing the price would be way down on those Apple I computers that have sold recently because you can actually use those. Still, it will be interesting to see if it turns up on the auction block sometime soon ....

[twiztor]

yes, i was talking to a friend about this (he suggested i try to buy it since i'm into vintage video games) and i pointed out that i wouldn't pay very much for it because it doesn't do anything. sure, it would be cool to have and display, but 99% of people don't know what it is, plus there's ZERO games for it.

if it sells anytime soon i could see it going for a high price due to all the publicity and hype around it, but that's about it.

[RetroDefense]

Guys, it's the history behind it, not the software library or whether it works or not.

The story goes, Kutaragi was so pissed Nintendo bailed on their CD-ROM partnership, he pushed for Sony to develop their own, stand-alone console. The Playstation line is the result. A line of systems which no doubt contributed to Sega exiting the hardware market, Nintendo's "fall from grace," etc.

Perhaps Sony would have eventually entered the video game market anyhow. Perhaps not. Either way, this system represents a major turning point for the industry.

It's an amazing piece of video gaming history for what it represents. Yellowed plastic and all.

[twiztor]

oh, don't get me wrong, i think this find is amazing. the "what if" of the Nintendo/Sony partnership has been a question for a long time, especially considering what happened a year or two after the split. the fact that a prototype console like this even exists is mindblowing. i've had numerous people (that aren't even into video games) mention this to me in the last couple of days, which speaks to itself as far as impact.

[RetroDefense]

Looks legit.

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/11/snes_playstation_prototype_gets_turned_on_opened_up

[x123]

I remember seeing a picture of this in an old game players magazine I think. I always thought it looked cool. I am surprised more people don't remember it. I remember back then the internet seemed a lot easier to navigate, find info, fan sites, etc. It's isn't like that these days.

[MichaelLyles]

I think I read about this a month ago or so. The article was swearing this was a fake.

[lalilulelo]

THis is old news but still coll in my book. Imagine what would happened if they actually did collaborated. I bet the videogames industry would still be booming but on a slower rate without the 'playstation' effect.

[crannie]

This is amazing~ but I was always under the impression that the SNES Playstation was originally designed as an add-on to the SNES?

[mjkerpan]

The SNES Playstation was always planned as an intergrated unit: Nintendo was planning to sell an addon called the SuperDisc, while Sony had the right to sell an all-in-one version. Nintendo's unease with having granted the right to build such a thing was one reason that they backed out of the deal. The fact that Sony was supposed to get most of the licensing revenue for CD-based games was another factor.

[RetroDefense]

So this is a thing.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/07/11/someone-made-a-game-that-works-on-the-unreleased-nintendo-playstation

[te72]

Hmm, the font in that game appears to be from Secret of Mana... and I might be a bit crazy here, but I think I hear parts of the song "Tie Your Mother Down," by Queen in there.

[E-Day]

I just watched the first part of The Ben Heck Show today where he took it apart and examined it. The next part is where he will try and fix it. If someone out there can get it working, it's surely him.

[RetroDefense]

I just watched the first part of The Ben Heck Show today where he took it apart and examined it. The next part is where he will try and fix it. If someone out there can get it working, it's surely him.

 

[RetroDefense]

Part 2 is up.

 

[formisc1]

Can you imagine what the gaming landscape would have been like if sony and nintendo had followed through their plans with this "Playstation"

 

We might be missing alot of beloved games we loved

[RetroDefense]

Ben Heck posted a quick follow-up:

 

[Data]

Can you imagine what the gaming landscape would have been like if sony and nintendo had followed through their plans with this "Playstation"

 

We might be missing alot of beloved games we loved

I would speculate that Sega would still thrive with their unique brand of games.  I can't speculate on Microsoft though.

[consumer]

Everybody remembers the playstation as this great moment in video games.  My opinion of the whole thing is that it diverted us from a much more glorious path! Imagine if Sony and Nintendo were cooperating instead of competing...damn we'd have had some great titles.  Really with that SNES CD thing would have materialized.