One lucky guy has reportedly found a rare prototype of the Sony and Nintendo-developed PlayStation console which played both CD-ROM disks and SNES cartridges.
The original images were posted by Imgur user DanDiebold, who claims the device belonged to his father who once worked for Nintendo. His father found the rare console in a box “full of junk” after he lost his job.
The user hasn’t yet had the chance to boot up the device due to not having the correct cables for it, therefore we are yet to know if it IS in fact a genuine prototype – but looking at the images, it’s hard to imagine that it isn’t.
The device comes straight out of the late ’80s and early ’90s when Sony formed a partnership with Nintendo with an aim to create a CD-ROM version of the Super Nintendo.
However, the two companies clashed over licensing arrangements and plans for the console eventually fizzled. But that wasn’t before 200 prototypes were made.
And after Nintendo formed a new partnership with Sony rival, Phillips, CEO (at the time) Ken Kutaragi ran with the CD-ROM technology and ended up creating the original PlayStation (which launched in 1994).
The rest is history.
