That Sony/Nintendo PlayStation prototype is now fully armed and operational

Remember back in July 2015, when an extremely rare Sony/Nintendo PlayStation prototype showed up in the junk bin belonging to an Imgur user's dad? Well, two years later, that relic of the past has been brought to life once again and is now capable of playing actual software.

First thing's first: If you need a quick history lesson, back in 1988 Sony and Nintendo worked together to produce a disc-reading accessory for the SNES called the Super Disc (or SNES-CD). After Nintendo decided that it would rather partner with Philips, Sony took their ball and went home... and created what would become the PlayStation. So the prototype that showed up is basically to PlayStation what neanderthals are to humans: an ancient ancestor that isn't quite like the thing it would eventually evolve into.

Anyway, programmer and all around tech guru Ben Heck borrowed the system and documented his process of getting this legendary hardware up and running, and you can watch the whole ordeal on YouTube. A fair bit of warning: the video is very jargon-heavy. If you want to get right to the good stuff and just see the prototype being tested, skip to 8:15.

By the end of his time with the machine, Heck was able to get it to recognize all of the inputs it should and play disc-based games. Now it's up to programmers to create software that can run within its constraints.

If you want, you can check out more video footage of the console in its native environment, or check out more rare and forgotten console accessories.