This is the PlayStation that Nintendo Never Released

[Detective Shadzter]

This is the PlayStation that Nintendo Never Released

 

By James O Malley on 03 Jul 2015 at 1:45PM

 

 

When Sony first started developing the PlayStation in the early 90s, it wasn't intending to do it alone - it was working with Nintendo to build a CD-reading version of the Super Nintendo. As we now know though, during development relations between the two companies broke down and the tie-up was abandoned, leading to the separate creation of the original PlayStation and the cartridge-based Nintendo 64. The "Nintendo PlayStation" quickly became part of gaming legend.

 

So it is brilliant that our pals over at Kotaku UK have spotted one Reddit user's photos that are purported to be of a prototype for the hybrid machine. Note that it takes both cartridges and CDs, and how it has SNES-style controller ports, but PS1 style power and reset buttons.

 

 

User Dnldbld described how they found the machine - a story that sounds almost too good to be true:

 

"My dad worked for a company, apparently one of the guys he used to work with, I think his name was Olaf, used to work at Nintendo and when my dads company went bankrupt, my dad found it in a box of 'junk' he was supposed to throw out... I have not had a chance to boot her up, I don't have a power cable at the moment, but it seems like it's a pretty common DC cable. I'll have to get one and see how it goes."

 

It could conceivably be an elaborate hoax but given the contents of the photos... that would be pretty damn elaborate. Kotaku has reached out to try to verify the story. You can head over there to see all of the photos. [Kotaku UK]

 

 

 

 

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2015/07/this-is-the-playstation-that-nintendo-never-released/

 

This is an amazing piece of gaming history. Never thought we'd ever see one of these surface. 

[Tara]

I seriously hope this isn't a hoax, as this is quite the artifact.  I'm so curious to see how it boots up.

 

If it boots up at all, that is.

[Polkadi~☆]

This had better be real. I've always wanted to know what the console could have been.

[TCB]

The 'my dad knows a guy at Nintendo' part immediately set off red flags, and I know I'm not the only one who gotten skeptical from right there and then.

[Mauro Fonseca]

Didn't they say they had only made mockup models of this one by the time Nintendo decided "fuck Sony"?

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Didn't they say they had only made mockup models of this one by the time Nintendo decided "fuck Sony"?

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Didn't they say they had only made mockup models of this one by the time Nintendo decided "fuck Sony"?

[Detective Shadzter]

Damn! A modder has owned up to making it.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-03-ultra-rare-sony-playstation-snes-console-spotted-pictured

[Nepenthe]

First Rayman in Smash, then this.

Trust no one.

Actually, I just got word from Shadzter that this is actually real. Is this a first- reopening a supposedly-debunked rumor topic?

[Detective Shadzter]

Turns out it's real.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-03-ultra-rare-sony-playstation-snes-console-spotted-pictured

 

[Tara]

I literally can't believe it's real ohmygod.

 

I notice that the back has an S-Video input, something that the original PS1 (not sure about the second model that was released) doesn't have.  On that note, when did S-Video become a more universal thing?  I thought that was something that came into prominence around the PS2 era?

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I literally can't believe it's real ohmygod.

 

I notice that the back has an S-Video input, something that the original PS1 (not sure about the second model that was released) doesn't have.  On that note, when did S-Video become a more universal thing?  I thought that was something that came into prominence around the PS2 era?

The Saturn's output is a form of S-video, though its generally uses a more standard cable to connect to the TV

[Tara]

The Saturn's output is a form of S-video, though its generally uses a more standard cable to connect to the TV

That's interesting.  I've never owned a Saturn so I've never known how it connected.  I just assumed it made use of RCA and/or direct cable like every other console released at the time.

[azoo]

I don't know whether to believe if it's real or not. 

 

There's as much going for it as there is going against it. As much as it looks like it was made in the early '90s, there's a lot of people who give that level of attention to detail like that. Plus, "no power cables" and the "works at Nintendo" things are very very suspicious.

 

When they boot it up and show it for what it is, I may believe.

[Tara]

At this rate, even if it is a hoax, I'm interested to see what they made.  It looks pretty cool!

[Stritix]

It honestly looks... kinda cool in a way?

[goku262002]

So its real right? good.

I want to see this thing boot up! god I hope he doesn't fry it booting it up, it must be ages for that prototype.

[Baraksha]

I think it's fake, like most of you said the whole "My dad worked for a company" thing looks suspiciouse, he could possibly just built it to get the attention and most importently, it says "PlayStation" on thw controller , but back then it was named the "Play Station" with a space,it was only later that they took out the space in order to avoide leagle problems

[Failinhearts]

I'm pretty insecure on whether or not this is real. I guess we may find out as the story unfolds....

Looks cool though.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

I think it's fake, like most of you said the whole "My dad worked for a company" thing looks suspiciouse, he could possibly just built it to get the attention and most importently, it says "PlayStation" on thw controller , but back then it was named the "Play Station" with a space,it was only later that they took out the space in order to avoide leagle problems

It's not fake. It's actually real. If it was fake the topic would still be locked.

[Penny]

This is amazing. Forgotten gaming history right there. Seeing the SNES controller with "Sony" and "PlayStation" all over it just feels weird. But you wanna know why this is so cool though? It's not that it's gaming history, even though that's certainly part of it.

 

No, what's really cool, and what sticks out to me, is that this is a glimpse into an alternate reality, one where Nintendo games come out on Sony hardware. No console wars between Sony and Nintendo, just cooperation. If the deal had stayed put and gone through, if this Nintendo PlayStation had been a real released thing, could anything have competed with the Nintendo-Sony juggernaut? Would Microsoft ever have come out with the Xbox? Would SEGA still be making consoles? How would gaming have changed, for better and worse, if this thing had released?

 

What this piece of hardware could've meant to gaming as a whole is what makes this so fucking cool. At least, for me.

 

 

(and yeah this thing could've bombed and it might not have made much impact at all but that's not exciting to think about so whatever)

[Baraksha]

It's not fake. It's actually real. If it was fake the topic would still be locked.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

This is amazing. Forgotten gaming history right there. Seeing the SNES controller with "Sony" and "PlayStation" all over it just feels weird. But you wanna know why this is so cool though? It's not that it's gaming history, even though that's certainly part of it.

 

No, what's really cool, and what sticks out to me, is that this is a glimpse into an alternate reality, one where Nintendo games come out on Sony hardware. No console wars between Sony and Nintendo, just cooperation. If the deal had stayed put and gone through, if this Nintendo PlayStation had been a real released thing, could anything have competed with the Nintendo-Sony juggernaut? Would Microsoft ever have come out with the Xbox? Would SEGA still be making consoles? How would gaming have changed, for better and worse, if this thing had released?

 

What this piece of hardware could've meant to gaming as a whole is what makes this so fucking cool. At least, for me.

 

 

(and yeah this thing could've bombed and it might not have made much impact at all but that's not exciting to think about so whatever)

[Ryannumber1gamer]

Problem is, it sounds like sony wanted the ability to do anything they wanted with Nintendo's IPs, and quality control would have gone out the window. Nintendo may have ceased to really exist after a period of time

 

That wasn't the problem. Nintendo still had control of the games releasing. Sony had twisted the contract in a way that they'd get more money from licensing and such. Nintendo on the other hand had been known for underhanded tactics during the NES days and the prices of cartridges or such, so you can specifically say Sony are the bad guys in the situation. What they did was underhanded and wrong yes, but Nintendo could have easily did something to bend it in a way they get a lot more money.

[Tornado]

I literally can't believe it's real ohmygod.

 

I notice that the back has an S-Video input, something that the original PS1 (not sure about the second model that was released) doesn't have.  On that note, when did S-Video become a more universal thing?  I thought that was something that came into prominence around the PS2 era?

 

The absolutely earliest original Japanese PSX models had S-Video:

 

 

S-Video was always big in Japan, and it was the PS2 era where it finally started dying down.