Nintendo SNES PlayStation finally uncovered! [READ THE FIRST POST BEFORE POSTING!]

You mean that, apart from the unit from Dan, the 2 units from Sony Japan, there are three more?!
At this point I don't believe anyone has destroyed any of the 200 prototypes. 6 is already a lot.

 

I think there are 5 units known to exist including Dans. Are there more we don't know about? Probably.

And $1700 value? At a minimum, I'd put another 0 and then multiply by 5. This isn't just an unreleased piece of hardware, this is true history. History Nintendo probably wished didn't occur. If it weren't for this project going sideways, the Sony and Playstation you know today probably wouldn't exist. This hardware and the bitter fallout truly changed gaming history.

At the end of the day without an auction, we will never truly know. But I don't think $50k or $100k is out of the question given the history of this failed partnership. And to think an ultra rare Atari 2600 game can sell for $30k, but a piece of gaming hardware history is worth less than a fraction of that? I think not.

This, to me, is the equivalent of a barn find of a rare prototype Ferrari. And would fetch a price accordingly.

 

It's nice to finally get a ball park on the value. The window of possible values has been huge. I wonder how many of them were actually trashed. Who knows when we might find another one of these popping up.

 

I've already given proper values. As I said, 5k on the low end to a museum with some sort of contract. 500k is silly.

 

I think the 32bit upgrade is the superfx chip, it's the same time frame and the specs seem pretty much the same.

Sony licensed the LSI Logic LR33300 Self-Embedding Processor and had the data cache and ram interface removed. The serial ports are based on an intel synchronous/asynchronous UART, possibly off the shelf with modifications to the source code. GTE, DMA, MDEC, IRQ and the new ram interface are probably all custom, whether it was written by Sony, LSI Logic or contractors is anyones guess.

It is possible that the first prototypes were using FPGAs as they were available at the time, but hugely expensive. Commodore used them before they were bankrupt for testing the CD32 ASIC that integrated the CD controller, chunky to planar hardware and old MOS CIAs.

More than anything I'd love to get the source files, but it's unlikely that Sony would ever be so forward thinking to release them.

I think the GPU is also an ASIC, but I don't know if it's using the same language and process.

 

I actually think the console holds more value in it's current untested state than if he powers it on and documents what's on that cartridge. People will pay far more to be a part of the discovery process. Right now that cartridge could contain anything.

 

Your willingness to shed the light on this is really amazing, Brian. Unfortunately as with any web forum, there are those who you scratch your head about.....

As for price, the Sega Pluto, of which there are less known, was at 15K on ebay but didn't hit the seller's price. There may be more, but the historical significance on this is far greater.

 

Thanks Greg.

Until either a private sale occurs and is disclosed or a public auction, all pricing is speculation. There's no way to concretely say it's worth this or that. Hence why I used the Atari 2600 game as an example.

In the end true value is what someone is willing to spend. Chances of another play station coming up for sale I would say are slim to none and I know of no unit in a private collectors hands. Quantity made and available isn't always an indicator of price. Demand drives that.

I'm sure we will see where this ends up including what it sells for at some point. Time will tell.

 

Obviously my hope is that it gets displayed at a certain museum in Texas, but I'm a bit biased to them!

 

Thanks for the kind words.

I'm just as anxious to see this unit including what I hope is Forteza working. And I'm just trying to share info I have from my time at Sony. Glad everyone else appreciates it.

 

The likely reason that Sony chose 7.6v for the DC input is because that is about the efficient and safe low-end of the voltage you can supply a 5V linear regulator with.

Insert 7.6V > get 5V out reliably.
Insert 7.2V > get maybe 4.9V under low load.
Insert 9V > more power is wasted as heat.

Modern LDOs have lower dropout voltages, but it still applies for classic 7805 parts.

 

As has been said by other staff, let's try to keep this friendly, positive and on topic. Bear in mind the first three forum rules:

1. Respect others or be destroyed.
2. No flaming.
3. If you don't have something to say, don't say anything.

Those who flame or are disrespectful to others will incur warning points. Here are some points to bear in mind:

• It's great to see new users because of this thread, but please make use of the search facility (currently ignores any words 3 characters or less - sorry!) as we've talked about SNES CD many times before, and you'll probably find the information already.
• The item does seem to be real, so let's not continue speculating on that.
• PSUs are really easy to get hold of. We don't need dozens of people offering them - he can pick one up in a local store.
• It's his to do with as he pleases. Keep it, sell it, smash it, open it up, refuse to open it up, plug it in without checking voltages, take it to a game shop - his decision.
• He's said he won't open it up, so let's not keep asking him to do so. Yes, it would be a good idea to check it over before powering it up - but refer to the previous point again.
• I believe he said he's taking it to a friend of his who is knowledgeable about video game systems and happens to run a retro shop - not randomly taking it to a game shop who's going to destroy it. Quit speculating. If you have something you know nothing of and you know someone in that field, you take it to them.
• Any statements you make, back up with fact. Wikipedia is made up of user content and is NOT a factual source unless it cites credible sources.
• I know there are a lot of posts, but read through them before asking questions (many people asked what the socket looked like AFTER he posted clear photos including the back of the unit).
• Speculating on value isn't really helpful. The bottom line is that nobody knows what it would sell for if auctioned. And that's what he'd need to do in order to find out.

Regarding the history of the SNES CD, we've covered it before and it's probably best to do so in another thread - keep this one on topic, and the topic is the specific unit that has been found. I'll put something on the Wiki once I've got it up and running properly. A few notes for now:

• Sony first worked on a solution with Nintendo, then Philips, then Sony again (possibly with Philips).
• There are numerous conceptual drawings / mock-ups / prototypes / dev kits for a number of these designs.
• Initially, the CD add-on was to be exactly that - an add-on. There were at least three conceptual drawings with Super Famicom styling.
• Sony went on to make Play Station, apparently alone, which is what has been unearthed. That then became PlayStation, a completely separate unit.
• The previous unearthed unit was a development kit. It's the MSF-1 unit with the "Mickey Mouse" shaped controller. Game-Rave posted pictures years ago. They were on the forums, too. Google it.
• Yes, this unit differs slightly from the Rainbow-logo one.
• Yes, Sony made another styled Play Station, in dark grey. Again, Game-Rave released pictures.
• 200 units were made? PROVE IT. There is ZERO proof of this. It being on Wikipedia means nothing - there's no source. Yes, it's a perfectly reasonable, maybe even small amount if it was to be a dev kit. There's just no proof, though.
• Sony apaprently unveiled the Play Station at CES in 1991. That was in Chicago on 1-4 June. REALLY?! Super Nintendo wasn't released until August 23 1991 in the US, and you expect us to believe that Sony unveiled their console in America at that show? No - it didn't happen. There is NO PROOF. What you WILL find is video footage of The Nintendo stand, which was all about SNES. Why would that person not video the Play Station, too? You'll find footage of the CDTV, Neo Geo, Game Gear, SNES - all new consoles. No Play Station, though. Some say it was a Tokyo electronics fair, which seems more plausible - although I'm not sure they got the name right! And the Tokyo Toy Show that year didn't appear to have it.

I've also told Brian he's welcome to create a thread if he wants to talk industry stuff that's not Play Station related.

Anyway, feel free to continue talking about this unit in the thread. Anything not directly related to Dnldbld's unit should go in the SNES CD history discussion thread. Thanks!

 

hi guys, i made a new account just to discuss the wonderful discovery of the nintendo play station! i never thought this one of a kind prototype would ever see the light of day! i've read this entire thread and its just so fascinating! also, big thank you to brian for sharing more inside info on this piece of "what if" gaming history.

 

I'm late but,

HOLY SHIT!

 

Wow! Just wow, thanks for sharing this amazing find!

 

I'm glad to see this surfaced. I've shared as much info as I have, but happy to answer questions that I may have an answer too.

As I told the admin, I didn't have anything to contribute to Assembler until recently, hence my absence. But I think I have some other industry related items I could share in due time (not SNES - PS related).

 

hi brian, i do have a question regarding the nintendo play station. did sony deal with any other 3rd party companies like capcom or konami getting ready to develop super cd games before the nintendo play station was scrapped? if yes, were they dissapointed to find out the console was cancelled?

 

PS Related?

Do you know if sony ever planned to sell the PS1 here in Brazil?

 

Looking forward to what you find in your trip to Japan @Brian. Always so interesting when someone from the inside shares their experiences.

 

I wonder how the CD-ROM games save,as it doesn't seem to have a memory card slot.