Jesse Cochran: Believe it or not, the Sony PlayStation was partially an idea from Nintendo!
In 1991, Nintendo and Sony wanted to build
Believe it or not, the Sony PlayStation was partially an idea from Nintendo!
In 1991, Nintendo and Sony wanted to build a new console together, one that played both Super Nintendo games and more in optical media format. So they built this prototype, and things were slightly going well until both companies had a big disagreement specifically over the media formats: Nintendo wanted to keep to cartridges, and Sony was very insistent over optical discs. As a result, the partnership failed.
So both Nintendo and Sony had their separate ways. Nintendo went on to build the N64, while Sony made the PlayStation their own brand. The only key difference is that the Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, and the PlayStation's release was in 1994. Both consoles had their exclusive titles, respectively.
From a point of view of my own, Nintendo's preferences for using cartridges was a valid one, at least during the time: games and their save data loaded quicker on cartridges, while loading data from a CD/DVD-ROM took a lot of time for the PlayStation. However, as the PlayStation evolved, it became more convenient to manufacture discs, as they would install the data in the console, then require the disc to play that installed data, to avoid piracy.
This item you see here is the prototype of the Nintendo PlayStation. The real thing was auctioned off for $300,000 in 2020, and it was confirmed after auction that it is currently a working, functioning device.
Jesse Cochran: Believe it or not, the Sony PlayStation was partially an idea from Nintendo! In 1991, Nintendo and Sony wanted to build
Believe it or not, the Sony PlayStation was partially an idea from Nintendo! In 1991, Nintendo and Sony wanted to build a new console together, one that played both Super Nintendo games and more in optical media format. So they built this prototype, and things were slightly going well until both companies had a big disagreement specifically over the media formats: Nintendo wanted to keep to cartridges, and Sony was very insistent over optical discs. As a result, the partnership failed. So both Nintendo and Sony had their separate ways. Nintendo went on to build the N64, while Sony made the PlayStation their own brand. The only key difference is that the Nintendo 64 was released in 1996, and the PlayStation's release was in 1994. Both consoles had their exclusive titles, respectively. From a point of view of my own, Nintendo's preferences for using cartridges was a valid one, at least during the time: games and their save data loaded quicker on cartridges, while loading data from a CD/DVD-ROM took a lot of time for the PlayStation. However, as the PlayStation evolved, it became more convenient to manufacture discs, as they would install the data in the console, then require the disc to play that installed data, to avoid piracy. This item you see here is the prototype of the Nintendo PlayStation. The real thing was auctioned off for $300,000 in 2020, and it was confirmed after auction that it is currently a working, functioning device.
