This device is considered one of the rarest in the history of video games.
In the early 1990s, Nintendo announced a partnership with Sony to develop a new PlayStation console that would support Nintendo cartridges and Sony CD-ROMs. At the time, the CD-ROM was considered a breakthrough technology because it offered more than 100 times the storage space of a conventional game cartridge or floppy disk.
However, Nintendo subsequently backed out of the deal and partnered with Philips to create the Philips CD-i system, which was a failure. Sony continued to develop the PlayStation as a standalone console. However, the Nintendo version of the PlayStation managed to reach the prototype stage, becoming an extremely rare collector’s item and an interesting historical artifact.
In 2020, a Nintendo PlayStation prototype was sold at auction for $360,000. Heritage Auctions has now sold a prototype Nintendo PlayStation controller for $35,000. This is quite a large sum for a device that looks like a Super Nintendo controller with Sony and PlayStation logos.
Experts estimate that 200 prototypes of the Nintendo PlayStation were created, most of which were destroyed after the deal was terminated. The PlayStation and PlayStation 2 quickly outsold Nintendo’s consoles and became the leading video game platforms for the next decade.
After the 16-bit era, Nintendo continued to use cartridges for the Nintendo 64, switching to optical media only in 2001 with the release of the Nintendo GameCube. Later, the company started the trend of motion controllers with the Nintendo Wii, and in 2017 introduced the Nintendo Switch, a hybrid console that combined home and portable systems.
Source: Tweaktown