The Mythical Nintendo PlayStation Just Sold For $300,000

I remember the stories of how Nintendo were worried that Sega had made the leap to the new CD technology (I had the Sega CD) and the Atari Jaguar (which I owned) was about to add a CD ROM (which never happened), Nintendo needed help to compete with their rival so they turned to Sony to get them into the new age of CD gaming but relations soured between the two and the project was scraped.

Little was known about the mythical console and nobody had ever seen one so the myth just sat gathering dust until Terry Diebold unveiled it to the world after finding it in a box of stuff he bought when his former employer went bust , so after nearly 30 year here it is ...Nintendo PlayStation !


OK it's not much of a looker but it is the Lock Ness Monster of video games !

Made in 1992, the Super NES CD-ROM was modelled after the successful Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Snes) - but with a disc drive in the base.

It was rumoured to play both Snes cartridges and CD-based games, although no official games were ever released using the CD drive.

However, the console does work. The auctioneers tested it with a Snes Mortal Kombat cartridge and "played a couple of rounds". In addition, the disc drive plays audio CDs.

Most gamers had never seen the console until it was fished out of Terry Diebold's attic by his son.
www.bbc.co.uk...

I'm almost certain back in the day I remember seeing at least mocks of this device. That's why I'm surprised all the current articles are saying it was mythical.

I also remember reading about the fact they were in bed together and Sony had the CD expertise, but Nintendo ultimately wanted to remain on cartridge as they were worried about piracy. Damned if I can remember which mag ran the story though!

The SNES was my favourite console. That's why I ended up paying stupid money to import a Super NT 😄

a reply to: youcanttellthepeople

There are usually mock ups of suspected consoles but they aren't the real thing , I remember the original XBox was thought to be X shaped.
I knew of the console back in the 90s but wasn't aware they'd got to the prototype stage , 2020 shows they did.
Aint the future great.

He’s putting it up for auction, after he turned down an offer of $1.2 million (£1m) for it.

According to Diebold, the offer of $1.2 million came from someone in Norway, but he turned it down in favour of an auction. So clearly he’s looking for substantially more than that.

Guess he should of took the offer.

Founder of Pets.com Greg McLemore has been revealed as the collector who bought the Nintendo PlayStation prototype.

Forbes reported the buyer’s identity on Saturday. McLemore, 51, has spent 20 years assembling a collection of rare and vintage video games and arcade amusement machines. A 2015 profile in Robb Report noted that he made his first purchase shortly after selling 50 percent of Pets.com to Amazon and turning the company over to a new CEO.

McLemore, to Forbes, called the $300,000 (plus a $60,000 buyer’s premium) that he paid for the Nintendo PlayStation “inexpensive” when compared to recent auctions, like a mint-condition copy of Super Mario Bros. that sold for $100,000; McLemore said he reached out to seller Terry Diebold and made an $100,000 offer for the machine a few years ago.

McLemore told Forbes he intends to loan the Nintendo PlayStation to the University of Southern California’s Pacific Asia Museum, for an exhibit next spring and summer showcasing Asian influence on the video games industry
www.polygon.com...