Before the emergence of the PlayStation as the dominant video game console Sony had no console of their own, and instead partnered with Nintendo. At the time, Nintendo’s flagship console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), could only take videogame cartridges. Sony was to build for them an add-on to handle CD-ROMs; it was to be dubbed the “PlayStation.” 

Sadly, this was never meant to be, and the product never went beyond the prototype stage. Video game fans, however, have been able to get their hands on the machine through auctions, including its controller. On 23 August, Heritage Auctions sold a 1992 Nintendo PlayStation SNES prototype controller for US$35,000, making it the most expensive video game controller sold at auction.

Had this joint project been a success, gaming as we know it may be a very different experience. The technological breakthroughs Sony made with 32-bit video games and 3D graphics may not have happened when they did had Sony not gone off on their own. Additionally, Sony, unlike Nintendo, made third-party video game development far easier on their system, giving birth to an extensive video game library and series such as Metal Gear, Tomb Raider, and Final Fantasy, all of which may not have existed had Sony not gone out on their own. 

Lot 28047⏐Sony Group Corporation & Nintendo Co., Ltd.⏐Nintendo PlayStation SNES Prototype Controller - 1992
Circa: 1992
Dimensions (estimated by The Value): 6.1 x 14.4 x 1.5 cm 
Estimate: US$
Hammer Price: US$25,000
Sold Price: US$35,000

Auction House: Heritage Auctions
Sale: 2024 August 23 - 24 Video Games Signature® Auction #7378
Date: 23 August 2024

The lot itself originates from the unfulfilled joint Nintendo-Sony project to put out a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES, a new information format for the console known as Super Disc, and a hybrid Sony-Nintendo console known as the “PlayStation.”

As such, the controller that was to be developed for the console bore extreme similarities to the original SNES controller. It featured the same “dogbone” layout, with the same “D-pad” on the left side and the diamond-patterned buttons on the right. Even the cable used to plug into the machine was of the same design.

The only real difference between the two controllers is their color scheme and the branding, with the “Playstation” variant having that name and the Sony logo instead of “Super Nintendo Entertainment System.”

This rare controller is one of the last two physical remnants of the Nintendo-Sony joint project. The other is a full prototype build of the console, one of only 200–300 ever made and the only one known to still exist. It was the property of a former Sony executive in America before switching hands over the years and being sold at auction in 2016 for US$360,000. It ended up in the hands of Greg McLemore the founder of Pets.com, a failed venture from the dot-com bubble of the late-1990s. 

*Note that unless stated otherwise, this article will use the term “PlayStation” to refer to the hybrid Sony-Nintendo console and not the modern PlayStation.*

With the lot's rarity and value established, this only leaves the question of: why does this exist? In the 1980s, Sony wasn’t interested in getting into the video games. However, one of their engineers, Ken Kutaragi, developed for Nintendo an audio chip for the upcoming SNES, to be released in 1990. The project was a success and led Kutaragi to an idea for further development with CD-ROMs.

Introduced in 1985, CD-ROMs were to be the future of video games, instead of cartridges. Nintendo was not convinced at the time, and they still believed that their ROM cartridges were faster at delivering information.

Regardless, Nintendo relented, and work began on making an add-on for the SNES developed by Sony that could read CD-ROMs, on the agreement that the machine would read everything but video games in a format called Super Disc. It was further agreed that the SNES would receive the product as an add-on and Sony could sell the system as a console, dubbed “PlayStation.” 

However, it was clear to Nintendo executives that Sony was rapidly encroaching on the project. Sony's SuperDisc format and their licensing control over it practically made Nintendo beholden to Sony's fees. There were also software disputes which Sony won, further worrying Nintendo. Most concerning of all was that Nintendo was simply a crutch or testing ground for Sony to develop their own console in the future.

Nintendo began going behind Sony’s back to work with Sony’s main rival Phillips, to give the software and hardware initiative back to Nintendo, and screw over Sony as much as possible. Nintendo would even go out of its way to announce the partnership with Phillips in such a way that Sony would be publicly blindsided and embarrassed by it at the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show.

The Sony-Nintendo partnership practically disintegrated and while there were attempts to come to a new agreement anything relating to the project evaporated. Kutaragi eventually convinced Sony executives to develop and release, the PlayStation 1, in 1994. The system would go on to redefine gaming and bring the hobby into the mainstream. Kutaragi himself would lead the development of the PS1 and subsequent consoles up to the PS3. Meanwhile, Nintendo's partnership with Phillips on the latter's CD-i system was an abject failure. 

Regarding the Super Disc, no games or software were ever made for the system. Software development had begun in the early 1990s, but the partnership broke down before anything materialized. Interestingly, however, a German team did indeed develop a game user Super Disc called Super Boss Gaiden.