The National Videogame Museum in Frisco, Texas has received what is probably the only remaining piece of evidence that Sony and Nintendo had ever collaborated together on a console. Known as the Nintendo Playstation, it is one of the most highly-sought after retro consoles. The model the museum has is the Sony MSF-1 mode, which is the oldest known Nintendo Playstation. Designed as a hybrid console, it was compatible with Nintendo’s Super NES cartridges as well as the new CD-based super disc format used by Sony.
Led by Sony’s Ken Kutaragi, the Nintendo Playstation was the strange product of an early 1990s partnership between Sony and Nintendo to develop an attachment for the Super Nintendo that could utilize CD-ROMS. Only around 200 prototypes were built before the Nintendo-Philips partnership for a similar console caused tension among the two companies that led to an ultimate split. The collaboration between Nintendo and Philips eventually came to an end but the work Sony put into the Nintendo Playstation helped bring along the eventual development of the Playstation 1. Even though a handful of the prototypes have been recovered, the one at the National Videogame Museum is a one-of-a-kind as it is the only one with the original development system intact. Now that the museum has acquired the Nintendo Playstation, more people will be able to see it for themselves.
The National Videogame Museum is located at 8004 Dallas Parkway Suite 300 Frisco, Texas if you want to plan a trip to see this remarkable console in person.
