The last known prototype of the fabled Nintendo PlayStation will soon go up for auction. The history behind this never-released console is long but significant to the creation of the PlayStation we know and love.
The short-lived partnership between Nintendo and Sony is well known as one of the most infamous blunders in video game history. In 1998, Sony decided to enter the video game market during the height of the rivalry between Nintendo and Sega. Looking to incorporate its CD-ROM technology into a much larger market, Sony struck a deal with Nintendo to add a CR-ROM disk drive to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which hadn't been released yet.
Headed by Ken Kutaragi, the eventual head of Sony Computer Entertainment, this add-on would eventually be known as the "PlayStation." The add-on allowed you to play both SNES cartridges and Sony's CD-ROM technology. Because Sony would retain full licensing rights to all CD-ROM, Nintendo would have to cede a large amount of control to another company. Nintendo, however, was leery of giving away so much power and began quietly looking in other directions.
The PlayStation was officially unveiled at the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, alongside several software partnerships to beef up Sony's portfolio. But the next day, Nintendo didn't reaffirm their partnership with Sony like many expected. Instead, they announced a new partnership with electronics company Phillips, a longtime rival of Sony, to incorporate a CD-ROM drive into their SNES. After months of allegedly working with Nintendo only to have it all discarded, Sony was furious.
Sony decided to enter the video game industry alone rather than let their hard work go to waste. This would result in the release of the original PlayStation in 1994, a revolutionary console that sold over 100 million units and is widely regarded as one of the greatest video game consoles of all time. The partnership between Nintendo and Phillips didn't last long, as Nintendo eventually abandoned any idea for a CD add-on to their console. However, the existing agreement meant that Phillips had the rights to some of Nintendo's iconic characters. This resulted in a series of infamous video games released for the CD-i, Phillips' own console, including Link: The Faces of Evil and Hotel Mario.
While the PlayStation brand has enjoyed tremendous success across several iterations, the original SNES CD-Rom was never heard of again. Over 200 models of this fabled console were made, but all of them were allegedly destroyed. That is, until a Colorado man discovered one in his father's attic
In 2015, Dan Diebold posted some pictures of an alleged SNES console with a disk drive and a Sony logo on it. This lead to online speculation as to whether or not it was the famously lost console. When asked about it, Dan said that he acquired the console from his father.
"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 dad's company went bankrupt, my dad found it in a box of 'junk' he was supposed to throw out". Dan said when pressed about the device.
The Olaf in question is Olaf Olafsson, the first president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment. Olafsson eventually left Sony for a banking company, Advanta, but not before receiving one of the consoles for himself. Dan's father, Terry, worked for Advanta as a maintenance man. When the company went bankrupt in 2009, an auction was held. This is where Terry got his hands on the console. The console remained in the Diebold household until it was rediscovered by Dan. When he found the console, the disk drive wasn't operational and there were no cords available to turn the console on, but the cartridge slot seemed to be functional.
Since then, the console has been on a trip around the world, with various experts inspecting it and confirming its specs in order to see if it actually works. In 2017, "The Ben Heck Show" host Benjamin Heckendorn featured the Nintendo Playstation and confirmed it was fully operational.
After years of being an Internet hot topic, the legendary console will finally be made available to the public in an auction. The sale of the console will be handled by Heritage Auctions, which specializes in comics, music and other pop culture heirlooms. The auction will commence on March 5, with bidding beginning on Valentine's Day.