Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Total Film
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsarama
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Total Film
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsarama
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Pokemon Legends Z-A
  • Golden Joystick Awards 2025
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
Masc presenting person holding G'AIM'E light gun in front of large screen featuring Time Crisis gameplay.
Retro The upcoming G'AIM'E Time Crisis light gun console is now up for pre-order, and my trigger fingers are twitching with excitement
Evercade Alpha closeup with Ryu from Street Fighter on screen
Retro Best retro game consoles 2025: my favorite ways to play classic capers
PlayStation Portal with cloud streaming library on screen
Handhelds The PlayStation Portal is finally on sale, and at $130 it makes far more sense than expensive PC handhelds
Nintendo Switch 2 sitting in centre with Steam Deck OLED above on left, Anbernic RG Cube aboveon right, Anbernic RG28XX directly left, Modretro Chromatic on right, and MSI Claw 8 AI+ below on woodgrain desk.
Handhelds Best gaming handheld 2025: I'd hit these portable PCs and emulation consoles first
Promotional art for Final Fantasy 7
Games "Nintendo created their big competition": Shuhei Yoshida says Super NES ditching PlayStation at the last minute was "almost helpful"
Photo of SuperStation FPGA console in midnight blue next to original DualShock controller.
Retro "The world's first affordable FPGA gaming console" - I'm mesmerised by this new Superstation One PS1 system snapshot
Close up of Virtual Boy logo on accessory with red backdrop
Horror Games "I knew the PlayStation was much better": Programmer behind legendary PS1 horror game tried to duck out of Virtual Boy development because he knew the VR console "wasn't going to sell well"
Theme Park
Games Sony was "very close close to getting the FIFA license," former PlayStation exec says, and nearly bought Peter Molyneux's studio before losing it to EA: "It was easier and cheaper to buy them"
Crash Bandicoot
PlayStation PlayStation immediately outperformed Nintendo and Sega in Europe at launch because neither had a "consistent marketing strategy," and Sony "didn't say no to things"
Wipeout 64 cover art
Racing Games PS1-era Sony nearly fell out with one of its most legendary studios because the "traitors" put Wipeout on Nintendo 64: "What the f*** was Psygnosis doing on the N64?"
holding Virtual Boy for Switch 2 with red backdrop
Games "That's the way Nintendo is": Tetris legend says Game Boy designer Gunpei Yokoi "made Nintendo's game business, for chrissakes" but that still didn't save him when "Virtual Boy was dead on arrival"
PlayStation
PlayStation Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida has one regret from the PS1 era: the US and Europe missed out on too many Japanese classics
Close up of PlayStation Portal on woodgrain surface with cloud library on screen.
Handhelds Sony's "Canis" PlayStation handheld should "beat the Xbox Ally X in performance," but I'm convinced it's really gunning for the Switch 2
A photo shows a page in the upcoming photography book PlayStation: The First 30 Years that shows a green and grey controller
PlayStation PlayStation celebrates 30 years with $325 deluxe photo book that Sony says is "sure to become a coveted collectors item" instead of answering fans' prayers for more retro games
James in James Channel video using home made Xbox handheld to play Halo with disc spinning at the front.
Handhelds "Now I can take Steel Battalion with me everywhere!" - Hey gamers, I've found your Xbox handheld
  1. Games

Take a look at the original Sony/Nintendo PlayStation prototype that never happened

News
By Leon Hurley published 3 July 2017

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
CATEGORIES
PS4 Platforms PlayStation
Leon Hurley
Leon Hurley
Social Links Navigation
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website. 

UPDATE: There's a video of the prototype Sony/Nintendo PlayStation.

Pay attention, 10 second history lesson: way back in 1988, Sony and Nintendo worked together on a CD-ROM peripheral for the SNES. In 1991 it was revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show by Sony but the day after, Nintendo announced that, actually, it was partnering with Phillips for its CD tech. Sony, furious, more or less spite-developed its half of the tech into the PlayStation 1 we know today, to get back at Nintendo.

Because it was never actually released the Sony/Nintendo PlayStation is quite rare. So this one is quite a big deal. It apparently turned up in some junk belonging to imgur user DanDiebold's dad. Here's the real kicker though, this is the story he posts behind the images:

You may like
  • Promotional art for Final Fantasy 7 "Nintendo created their big competition": Shuhei Yoshida says Super NES ditching PlayStation at the last minute was "almost helpful"
  • Photo of SuperStation FPGA console in midnight blue next to original DualShock controller. "The world's first affordable FPGA gaming console" - I'm mesmerised by this new Superstation One PS1 system snapshot
  • Close up of Virtual Boy logo on accessory with red backdrop "I knew the PlayStation was much better": Programmer behind legendary PS1 horror game tried to duck out of Virtual Boy development because he knew the VR console "wasn't going to sell well"

"My dad worked for a company, apparently one of the guys he used to work with, I think his name was Olaf, used to work at Nintendo and when my dad's company went bankrupt, my dad found it in a box of 'junk' he was supposed to throw out". 

Now this bit seems almost too good to be true because 'Olaf' could possibly reference Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, the original co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Not only could this be one of the first ever PlayStations, it could be one that belonged to its creator. 

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

Read more
Promotional art for Final Fantasy 7
"Nintendo created their big competition": Shuhei Yoshida says Super NES ditching PlayStation at the last minute was "almost helpful"
 
 
Photo of SuperStation FPGA console in midnight blue next to original DualShock controller.
"The world's first affordable FPGA gaming console" - I'm mesmerised by this new Superstation One PS1 system snapshot
 
 
Close up of Virtual Boy logo on accessory with red backdrop
"I knew the PlayStation was much better": Programmer behind legendary PS1 horror game tried to duck out of Virtual Boy development because he knew the VR console "wasn't going to sell well"
 
 
Theme Park
Sony was "very close close to getting the FIFA license," former PlayStation exec says, and nearly bought Peter Molyneux's studio before losing it to EA: "It was easier and cheaper to buy them"
 
 
Crash Bandicoot
PlayStation immediately outperformed Nintendo and Sega in Europe at launch because neither had a "consistent marketing strategy," and Sony "didn't say no to things"
 
 
Wipeout 64 cover art
PS1-era Sony nearly fell out with one of its most legendary studios because the "traitors" put Wipeout on Nintendo 64: "What the f*** was Psygnosis doing on the N64?"
 
 
Latest in Games
Silksong
Silksong "was much harder when I did it," says Team Cherry tester who also voiced Trobbio: "It was almost entirely nerfs to bosses that I got put in"
 
 
New World: Aeternum
Palworld lead "very sad" fantasy MMO New World is coming to an end: "That said, if Amazon want to slip me the files for the 2019 version…"
 
 
outer worlds 2 commanders credentials
How to get into the cabin and get the commander's credentials in Outer Worlds 2
 
 
GTA 6
Take-Two CEO says AI is "going to be really, really bad" at making video games and probably couldn't even come up with the GTA 6 marketing plan
 
 
Battlefield Redsec loadout
How to get your loadout in Battlefield Redsec
 
 
A closeup of the squad aiming weapons in a fiery furnace in FBC: Firebreak
FBC Firebreak died on impact, Remedy just lost its CEO, and isn't "satisfied" with revenue down 32% – but finds "positive sides" anyway: "Our first multiplayer product launch was technically successful"
 
 
Latest in News
The Witcher
The Witcher's final season has just wrapped filming, and some of its cast were reduced to tears: "There's a little bit of relief, there's a little bit of loss and sorrow"
 
 
Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Ares
Jeff Bridges channels the Dude in response to fans rejecting Tron: Ares after underwhelming opening weekend: "That's just like your opinion, man"
 
 
The Witcher season 4 ending
The Witcher showrunner defends controversial line from the season 4 trailer: "It's what our Geralt would say"
 
 
Xbox Series X
With over 9,000 people laid off, Xbox more expensive than ever, and several studios closed, Microsoft's pro-AI CEO says the "best way to innovate is to have good margins"
 
 
Watch this, Turkelton! Hulu's Scrubs reboot, starring Zach Braff and the original cast, finally has a release date
 
 
Photo taken by Tabitha Baker of the Razer Barracuda X gaming headset sitting next to the Nintendo Switch 2.
If you're too impatient for Black Friday, one of my favorite Switch 2 headsets is down to an almost record low
 
 
  1. Spooktacular box art featuring a movie theater suffused with eerie green light
    1
    This is the perfect family board game for Halloween
  2. 2
    It’s hard to imagine there are many gamers who won’t enjoy this quick but tactical board game for 2 players
  3. 3
    The Outer Worlds 2 review: "The Fallout New Vegas creators have crafted a masterful space age RPG that's willing to play game master to my silliest decisions"
  4. 4
    Once Upon a Katamari review: "Time traveling cowboy adventures, ninja thievery, pirate battles, and more make this the most inventive evolution of the series yet"
  5. 5
    Jurassic World Evolution 3 review: "Far from a fossil, this park builder is one you'll keep coming back to, despite its flaws"
  1. Chainsaw Man
    1
    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc review "Storytelling just as compelling as the chainsaws, devils, and visually excessive fight scenes"
  2. 2
    Tron: Ares review: "Misses out by swapping the Grid for the real world"
  3. 3
    One Battle After Another review: "One of the best studio movies in years and an instant classic"
  4. 4
    The Conjuring: Last Rites review: "Not bold or memorable enough for the Warrens' final chapter"
  5. 5
    Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle review: "Roars past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer's best adventure yet"
  1. Some of the young cast of IT: Welcome to Derry, including Phil (Jack Molloy Legault), Lilly (Clara Stack), and Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler).
    1
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
  2. 2
    Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"
  3. 3
    Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills"
  4. 4
    Gen V season 2 review: "As strong as the first season, if not stronger"
  5. 5
    Wednesday season 2 part 2 review: "Ortega shines, but it's a zombie who steals the entire show"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...