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This early nineties console was meant to be a collaboration between Sony and Nintendo, but never went into production. Now, for the first time, one of the only known prototypes will be available at public auction.
If you’re even slightly into video gaming, you’ll no doubt have heard of Nintendo’s Switch and Sony’s PlayStation 4. I’d imagine you probably have a personal favourite and you’ve most likely spent a bit of time with either one. If you’re very into gaming, magnify this tenfold.
But believe it or not, there was a time in the early nineties when Sony wasn’t the most dominant name in the video gaming industry. Before the explosive rise of the PlayStation, and before the company relied almost entirely on its gaming division to make a profit, Sony was unsure as to how it would venture into a market that was already saturated with consoles.
It turned to industry leader Nintendo for help, a move that probably seems a bit strange today given that the companies are now big-league rivals. Step forward the ‘Nintendo PlayStation’ prototype, an early concept for a system that would merge Nintendo’s brand recognition and game development expertise with Sony’s CD-ROM technology. It never came to fruition due to disagreements between the two, but several hundred prototypes were built, most of which have since been destroyed or lost.
Only a handful are known to still exist, and one of these rare gems will be going to public auction in March 2020, most likely for an eye-watering amount of money. If you’re a casual millionaire with a thirst for oddball gaming memorabilia (paging Elon Musk) then this may be the bidding war for you. The rest of us plebs will probably have to sit this one out.
What is the Nintendo PlayStation?
Put simply, the Nintendo PlayStation console is basically an extension of the already existing SNES, which was Nintendo’s flagship console during the early nineties. The system used cartridges and could run 16-bit games.
Sony’s suggested prototype – the very one about to go on sale – added a CD drive to the SNES design, allowing for a console that could play both types of game. It also birthed the term ‘PlayStation’, which has become such a common term that your grandma has probably thrown it into conversation once or twice.
Combining CD technology with gaming was a big deal at the time. It would allow video and original music to become part of the gaming experience, a staple that we take for granted today, and would expand the possibilities available to developers in a big way.
Though it never actually became a real console, the Nintendo Playstation is a historic moment for the industry. It was the starting point for the real PlayStation we know today and is an odd, quirky little anomale in Sony’s history, making the prototypes very rare, sought after, and extremely valuable.
