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Nintendo's PlayStation Prototype Found
Posted by GamersTavern
Posted on 4 July, 2015 at 5:58PM ↑ 1 ↓ 0
Nintendo's PlayStation Prototype Found

Happy 4th of July, everyone! To celebrate, here's some cool bit of retro related news. First, in the event that you don't already know this, I'll give a little background information to help you understand the context behind this story: around 25 years ago, Nintendo and Sony entered into a partnership to create a CD capable console, but those plans fell through and the thing never saw commercial release. There were, however, a number of prototypes produced. One of those prototypes has allegedly been discovered, with pictures and even a video posted online showcasing the thing. If this is the real deal, then it's practically a historical relic. It should probably be donated to a museum somewhere. Where's Indiana Jones when you need him?

The person that found this supposed prototype goes by the online alias of "Dnldbld." This individual claims to be the son of a businessman who had connections with a former Sony executive, thought to be Olafur Olafsson (what a name), the chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment in 1991. Maybe his dad really DID work at Nintendo. Have a look at some of the pictures below and judge for yourself!

SNES-CDSNES-CDSNES-CDSNES-CDSNES-CDSNES-CD

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Comments
Termingamer 2
4 July, 2015 at 12:37AM ↑ 1 ↓ 0

That's cool.
I wish I had this prototype. How many games are found?

Lazlo Falconi
4 July, 2015 at 11:36PM ↑ 1 ↓ 0

I don't know, considering it looks nothing like other Play Station models I've seen--which were spelled with a space, has a Famicom controller with Sony branding AND a Famicom logo, but no Nintendo badge, anywhere on the device, and, what I consider to be the smoking gun, the inclusion of the Nintendo multi out AND RCA outs (why both?) seem to point to this being a fake. Also, is that an HDMI out on the left?

The Super NES also ran on 10V DC, while this device runs on 7.

You can also tell by the yellowing on the front of the console. It's very uneven. I've seen plenty of yellow SNES's and computers and other 90s tech. This thing has been rapidly aged to give it that appearance.

The Super Famicom Cassette is also clearly fake. First, Super Famicom carts only have the Nintendo badge, Pat. Pend., and Made in Japan in the small square at the top. The model number and other info are on the label, which is conveniently missing, as I'm sure it would give away copyright info to what the cart really held. I'd also like to point out that the embossed area just doesn't look right. Very obviously fake.

Oh yeah, and why is there an eject button on the face of the machine, and on the top?

GamersTavern
5 July, 2015 at 5:49PM ↑ 0 ↓ 0

Yeah, it does seem fake. Everyone seemed so sure that it was real, though, so I just went with it. If it is in fact a fake, people will figure it out. This is the Internet, after all. You can't fool anybody for too long when it comes to the Internet.

Termingamer 2
6 July, 2015 at 07:02AM ↑ 0 ↓ 0

Heh, why am I such a moron.

Billy
6 July, 2015 at 7:58PM ↑ 1 ↓ 0

You do know that early Playstations had RCA jacks and a multi-out, right?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PlayStation-Model-Backs.jpg
In fact, the "next" port could have possibly became the serial I/O port on the final Playstation.

>Oh yeah, and why is there an eject button on the face of the machine, and on the top?
The ones on top could be for show, that is, to show off possible design cues and the ones on front the actual functional buttons. Prototype hardware can be all over the place as they're testing stuff out. Or, you could power the SNES and CD sections separately, with the top eject being the cartridge eject.

Other than that, ya got me.

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