Summary
PlayStationandNintendoare the two biggest console creators on the planet and have been for the past three decades. However, only a few years before the launch of its first console, PlayStation’s potential way into the gaming market was an unlikely team-up with Nintendo. While the partnership didn’t last long enough to come to anything, the gaming giants did create a Nintendo PlayStation prototype together.
Until a decade ago, it was believed none of these Nintendo PlayStation prototypes still existed. Then one showed up and proceeded to sell for $300,000 at auction in 2020. A piece of gaming history and a one-of-a-kind console, or so everybody thought. Turns out there are at least two Nintendo PlayStation prototypes still in existence as one of them has been hidden away in Ken Kutaragi’s closet.
Kutaragi is an ex Sony CEO and is often referred to as the father of PlayStation, having played a pivotal role in the creation of Sony’s original console and its first two successors.Videographer Julian Domanskihad the opportunity to visit Kautaragi (thanks,Time Extension), and during his time with one of the minds behind the original PlayStation, Domanski was shown a Nintendo PlayStation prototype neither he nor anyone else knew existed.
Nintendo And PlayStation Once Worked On A Console Together
And It Turns Out There Are Twice As Many In Existence Than We Thought
“I never thought I’d see something so rare, but today I actually got to fondle a Nintendo PlayStation… Turns out the ex CEO of SonyCEA has one in his closet,” Domanski shared in a now-deleted post. Either the ex-CEO didn’t realize the world has been wondering whether more of these existed for the past 30 years, or he didn’t want everyone to know. Based on the deleted post, I’m assuming it may have been the latter.
Photos of the console are out there now, meaning it is confirmed that there are still at least two Nintendo PlayStations still on the planet.According to VGC, it’s believed that around 200 of them are made, so there may still be more of them out there waiting to be discovered. If you ever find yourself in the home of an ex-PlayStation or Nintendo executive, ask if they have any rare and valuable consoles hidden in a closet or tucked away in a sock drawer.
The idea behind the Nintendo PlayStation was that it would allow a Nintendo console to play CD-ROMs, potentially kicking off a whole new, much more powerful era of gaming for Nintendo. Not only did Nintendo renege on the offer, siding with Phillips after having already started work with PlayStation, but it would refuse to accept gaming’s disc-based future for another decade, effectively opening the door for PlayStation to do its own thing and become a viable competitor.
