Often times, when you write about retro video games, you write about something that everyone knows about. Your subject material has already been completely covered by other sources from top to bottom. It’s not often that I get the pleasure of writing about a completely unknown retro console. But that’ s exactly what happened when Reddit user AnalogueBoy unleashed pictures and videos of his Father’s prototype SNES CD (or is it a Nintendo Playstation).
If you need a refresher on the history behind the Playstation Nintendo Super Disc, you can check out the wiki page or watch the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JKAPMh3K9Y
In a nutshell, Sony and Nintendo had a bit of a falling out. In the late 80’s, Nintendo commissioned Sony to produce a CD (or super disc) addon for their SNES retro console. However, Nintendo was a bit too lax with the fine print of their deal and didn’t get exclusive rights to the video games. Seeing the dollar signs shrinking before their very eyes, Nintendo freaked out and hammered out a deal with Sony’s big rival, Phillips. Many people feel that Nintendo was trying to use the new deal as leverage to force Sony to restructure their old deal. This latter deal would lead to the incredibly disappointing Phillips CD console. However, some prototypes of the ill fated nintendo cd still lingered about for disposal at a later date. The original Sony/Nintendo add on was supposed to get all sorts of sweet stuff like sequels to the groundbreaking Final Fantasy 6 (FF3 to us North American gamers) and Super Street Fighter 2. It’s really a shame we’ll never know what could have been. However, some experts claim that advanced games such as The Secret of Mana and the super FX chip (Star Fox!) directly stem from the research and development between the two companies.
Back to present time, according to Reddit user AnalogueBoy, his father worked for Nintendo back in the early 90’s. During his time working for big N, he somehow managed to snag up one of the 200 Playstation prototype that were supposed to be destroyed once the deal went south. What’s interesting to note is that Sony left their name and the Play Station brand all over what otherwise appears to be a very Nintendo-ish console. One would imagine that the execs at Nintendo would have a field day with the Sony name plastered in bold letters all over the SNES CD. Interestingly, they kept the original Super Famicom fine print on the back of the controller. You can check out AnalogueBoy’s YouTube video below. Bear in mind he uses a curse word or two. So, the video may not be suitable for everyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=13&v=Z4HfLsWTE9Q
Many people (myself included) wonder about the authenticity of this retro console prototype. Don’t get me wrong the story sounds nice. “My dad worked for Olaf Olafsson (President of Sony). When the Nintendo/Sony deal went belly up, he discovered this Playstation prototype in a box marked trash and decided to steal it instead of throwing it out.” It’s plausible. But, I find his story a bit too coincidental. For instance, don’t you think that he would most likely still have the power cable to turn the console on? A working prototype would be worth much more money than an unverified (yet still bitching looking) piece of hardware. As they say, the proof is in the pudding. And, as of yet, we still don’t have actual video showing us the console booting up and running software. With that being said, I really want to believe that this thing is the real deal. The story is logical enough to be true. And, if this is a true prototype of the SNES CD, it’s absolutely priceless considering the other models may have been destroyed in the early 90’s.
Anyway, tell me what you think in the comment section below. Is this a real piece of history, or is this just another guy on the internet trying to ‘pull the wool’ over our eyes? Did Terry DieBold (Reddit user’s father) preserve an important piece of gaming archaeology that could rewrite console history, or is AnalogueBoy trying to make a quick buck on some sucker on eBay? We want to know what you guys think about this madness.
Rare or Vintage eBay Video Game Listings
- Original NES MAX Controller – $10 give or take. May be able to get an auction cheaper. The more yellowed the plastic on the controller, the better it is 🙂
- Gameboy Booster – Prices fluctuate. But, you should be able to snag one around $20. Play Game Boy games on your Nintendo 64!
- Club Nintendo Wii Remote Holder – Rare. Mostly come from Japan. But, they’re cheap! Love the swanky material.
- Harvest Moon SNES Prototype Cartridge – Hope you like Harvest Moon because this cart costs as much as a used car. Just under $5,000
- Nintendo Wii Development Disc – Relatively uncommon but still affordable. $20 to $30 range.
- PlayStation 2 Debugging Console
- B.C. Racers Mega CD Sega Prototype – Pretty rare stuff. Developer demo of game. $249 obo.
- The Legend of Zelda Outlands Challenge – Cool. But, try not to spend more that $35.
- Valkyrie Profile PS1 – Not rare but expensive nevertheless. It’s one of ‘those games’.
