Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida recently shared insights into his experience with the unreleased Nintendo PlayStation prototype, including playing a nearly completed game developed for the defunct console.
In a MinnMax interview, Yoshida recounted his career at Sony, starting with his early work alongside Ken Kutaragi, the "father of PlayStation." Joining Kutaragi's team in February 1993, during the original PlayStation's development, Yoshida and his colleagues were introduced to the Nintendo PlayStation prototype. He emphasized that this was a functional prototype, not just a concept.
Yoshida described playing an almost finished game on the very day he started. He compared the game's style to a contemporary space shooter, possibly Silpheed for the Sega CD, highlighting its use of CD-based assets. While he couldn't recall the developer's identity or the game's origin (US or Japan), he expressed optimism about its potential survival. He noted the game's data was stored on a CD, suggesting a possibility of its existence in Sony's archives.
The Nintendo PlayStation remains a highly sought-after collector's item, representing a fascinating "what-if" scenario in gaming history. Its rarity and the potential for the game's rediscovery have fueled significant interest among collectors and auction houses.
The prospect of this unreleased space shooter seeing the light of day is intriguing, mirroring Nintendo's eventual release of Star Fox 2 years after its cancellation. There's a chance this lost piece of gaming history could still emerge.
