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"Super Disc" vuelve a dirigir aquí. Para la unidad de disquete, consulte SuperDisk .

Sistema de CD-ROM Super NES
SNES-CD add-on.jpg
Arte conceptual del prototipo de complemento de SNES-CD
También conocido comoAdaptador de CD-ROM Super Famicom, Nintendo Playstation
FabricanteNintendo , Sony
TipoConsola de videojuegos add-on
GeneracionCuarta generación
Fecha de lanzamientoCancelado
Medios de comunicaciónCD-ROM , cartucho de ROM

El Super NES CD-ROM System [1] [2] (comúnmente abreviado como SNES-CD ), conocido como Super Famicom CD-ROM Adapter en Japón, [3] es un periférico de videojuego inédito para el Super Nintendo Entertainment System ( SNES). El complemento se basó en la funcionalidad del SNES basado en cartuchos al agregar soporte para un formato basado en CD-ROM conocido como Super Disc . [4] [5]

La plataforma SNES-CD se desarrolló en asociación entre Nintendo y Sony. Se planeó lanzar la plataforma como un complemento para el SNES estándar, así como una consola híbrida de Sony llamada PlayStation [6] (apodada "Nintendo PlayStation" para distinguirla de la posterior consola Sony del mismo nombre ) similar a Twin Famicom de Sharp y TurboDuo de NEC . Otra asociación con Philips produjo algunos juegos temáticos de Nintendo para el CD-iplataforma en lugar del SNES-CD. Sony promovió de forma independiente sus desarrollos en su propia consola independiente, que terminó heredando el nombre de PlayStation y se convertiría en el principal competidor del sucesor de cartuchos de Super NES, el Nintendo 64 .

Historia [ editar ]

Recreación de un logotipo de Super Disc utilizado desde 1991 hasta 1993

El ingeniero de Sony Ken Kutaragi se interesó en trabajar con videojuegos después de ver a su hija jugar en la consola de videojuegos Famicom de Nintendo. Aceptó un contrato con Sony para desarrollar hardware que impulsaría el subsistema de audio de la próxima consola de Nintendo, la Super NES . Kutaragi desarrolló en secreto el chip, el Sony SPC 700 . Como Sony no estaba interesado en el negocio de los videojuegos, la mayoría de sus superiores no aprobaron el proyecto, pero Kutaragi encontró apoyo en el ejecutivo de Sony, Norio Ohga.y se permitió que el proyecto continuara. El éxito del proyecto impulsó a Nintendo a asociarse con Sony para desarrollar un complemento de CD-ROM para Super NES y una consola de la marca Sony que reproduciría tanto cartuchos SNES como juegos lanzados para el nuevo Super Formato de disco. [7]

El desarrollo del formato comenzó en 1988, cuando Nintendo firmó un contrato con Sony para producir un complemento de CD-ROM para SNES. El sistema debía ser compatible con los títulos existentes de SNES, así como con los títulos lanzados para el formato Super Disc. [8] [9] Según su acuerdo, Sony desarrollaría y mantendría el control sobre el formato Super Disc, con lo que Nintendo cedería efectivamente una gran cantidad de control de las licencias de software a Sony. Además, Sony también sería el único beneficiario de las licencias relacionadas con el software de música y películas que había estado persiguiendo agresivamente como una aplicación secundaria. [10] Presidente de Nintendo Hiroshi YamauchiYa desconfiaba de Sony en este punto y lo consideraba inaceptable, ya que Sony era el único proveedor del chip de audio, el S-SMP, utilizado en SNES y requería que los desarrolladores pagaran por una costosa herramienta de desarrollo de Sony. [10] Además, Yamauchi comenzó a ver un socio más favorable en Philips. Philips también fue uno de los mayores rivales de Sony en toda la industria. Entonces, para contrarrestar el acuerdo propuesto, Yamauchi envió al presidente de Nintendo of America, Minoru Arakawa (su yerno) y al ejecutivo Howard Lincoln a los Países Bajos para negociar un contrato más favorable con Philips . Como lo describe David Sheff en su libro Game Over, “[The Philips deal] was meant to do two things at once: give Nintendo back its stranglehold on software and gracefully fuck Sony."[10] At the June 1991 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony announced its SNES-compatible cartridge/CD console, the "PlayStation".[8] The next day, Nintendo revealed its partnership with Philips at the show—a surprise to the entire audience, including Sony.[11][9]

While Nintendo and Sony attempted to sort out their differences, between two and three hundred prototypes of the PlayStation were created,[12][13] and software for the system was being developed. In 1992, a deal was reached allowing Sony to produce SNES-compatible hardware, with Nintendo retaining control and profit over the games. The two organizations never repaired the rift between them and by the next year, Sony had dropped further development of the Super NES CD-ROM, and instead refocused its efforts on developing its own console for the next generation of consoles which became known as the PlayStation.[7][14][10]

Prototype[edit]

A photo of the only known SNES-based PlayStation prototype

In November 2015, it was reported that one of the original "Nintendo PlayStation" prototypes had been found. The prototype was reportedly left behind by former Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson during his time at Advanta.[15] A former Advanta worker (Terry Diebold) acquired the device as part of a lot during Advanta's 2009 bankruptcy auction. The system was later confirmed as operational and the unit plays Super Famicom cartridges as well as the test cartridge that accompanied the unit, although the audio output and CD drive were non-functional.[5] Some groups attempted to develop homebrew software for the console, such as Super Boss Gaiden, as there were no known games that utilized the CD drive.[16]

The prototype came with a Sony/PlayStation-branded version of the standard Super Famicom controller (model number SHVC-005).[17] In March 2016, retro-gaming website RetroCollect reported that they (and influential members of online emulation communities) had received (from an anonymous source) a functional disc boot ROM for the SNES-CD.[18][19]

Diebold had given the unit to Benjamin Heckendorn, a console modder, to look at, around 2017. Heckendorn provided a tear-down video of the system,[20] through which he was able to identify faults in several on-board components that he subsequently replaced, which resulted in fixing the audio and CD drive issues indirectly. Heckendorn showed audio CDs working on the system, as there were no known game CDs, but affirmed that homebrew games worked.[21][22]

The prototype was put up for auction by Diebold in February 2020, with an initial asking price of US$15,000, but the auction quickly exceeded US$350,000 within two days.[23][24] It was auctioned off at US$360,000 to Greg McLemore, an entrepreneur and founder of Pets.com, who has a large collection of other video game hardware and plans to establish a permanent museum for this type of hardware.[25][26]

Technical specifications[edit]

Heckendorn's July 2016 teardown video provides technical specifications of the prototype, as none was published by Sony or Nintendo.[27] Heckendorn said the system would have probably been as powerful as a standard Super NES, but not as powerful as the Sega CD. The standalone unit has the following connectors: two Super NES controller ports, a cartridge slot, a dual-speed CD-ROM drive, RCA composite jacks, S-Video, RFU DC OUT (similar to the PlayStation SCPH-1001), a proprietary multi-out AV output port (the same one featured on the Super NES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube), headphone jack on the front, a serial port labelled "NEXT" (probably for debugging), and one expansion port under the unit.[28]

SYSTEMPC Engine CD-ROM²Sega CDSNES-CD (SFX-100)
CPU (MHz)7.167.163.58
Co-CPU (MHz)None42.048
Bus Width (Bits)8168
Add-on Processor (MHz)None12.5None or 21 MHz (NEC V-810 Philips version)
Add-on VideoNonePresentNone
Add-on AudioCDRicoh+CDCD
CD-ROM Speed1x1x2x
Main RAM (KB)864128
Video RAM (KB)646464
Audio RAM (KB)0864
Exp RAM (KB)64 (256 Kb Super CD and 2048 with Arcade Card)512256 (512 or 1024 with Philips SNES-CD)
Exp Video RAM (KB)02560
Exp Audio RAM (KB)64640
CD Cache RAM (KB)01632 (128 Philips version)
Backup RAM (KB) for save data088
Total RAM (KB)200 (392 with Super CD, 2148 with Arcade Card)992552 (902 or 1416 with Philips SNES-CD)

Legacy[edit]

After the original contract with Sony failed, Nintendo continued its partnership with Philips. This contract provisioned Philips with the right to feature Nintendo's characters in a few games for its CD-i multimedia device, but never resulted in a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES. Witnessing the poor reception of the Sega CD, Nintendo cancelled plans for the add-on.[14] The Nintendo-themed CD-i games were very poorly received, and the CD-i itself is considered a commercial failure.[29] The main game in development for the SNES-CD platform launch was Square's Secret of Mana, whose planned content was cut down to the size suitable for cartridge and released on that medium instead.[30][31]

Kutaragi and Sony continued to develop their own console and released the PlayStation in December 1994 in Japan and September in North America and Europe the following year. The CD-based console successfully competed with Nintendo's cartridge-based Nintendo 64 and other CD-based console systems such as the Fujitsu FM Towns Marty, the NEC PC-FX, the SNK Neo Geo CD, the Panasonic 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and the Sega Saturn, causing it to become the console leader due to its success. The broken partnership with Sony has often been cited as a mistake on Nintendo's part, effectively creating a formidable rival in the video game market.[32][7] Nintendo would not release an optical disc-based console of its own until the release of the GameCube in 2001.[14]

See also[edit]

  • Atari Jaguar CD
  • Panasonic M2, Initially announced as an add-on chip for the 3DO
  • Satellaview
  • Sega CD, a CD-ROM attachment for the Sega Genesis
  • TurboGrafx-16, the first video game console with a CD-ROM drive attachment (see CD-ROM add-ons section)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Super NES Technology Update: CD-ROM". Nintendo Power. No. 35. April 1992. pp. 70–71.
  2. ^ "Super NES CD-ROM System documentation" (PDF). Nintendo of America, Inc. February 1, 1993. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "ニューマシン総まくり" [Overview of New Consoles]. Weekly Famitsu (in Japanese). July 3, 1992. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Theriault, Donald (July 3, 2015). "Nintendo Play Station Superdisc Discovered". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Lai, Richard (November 6, 2015). "We turned on the Nintendo PlayStation: It's real and it works". Engadget. AOL Inc. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "Rare 'Nintendo PlayStation' sells for £230,000". BBC News. March 6, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Fahey, Rob (April 27, 2007). "Farewell, Father". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Edge staff (April 24, 2009). "The Making Of: PlayStation". Edge. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  9. ^ a b IGN staff (August 27, 1998). "History of the PlayStation". IGN. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d Robinson, Andy (February 5, 2020). "The Road To PS5: PSOne's Betrayal And Revenge Story". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  11. ^ Nintendo-Philips Deal Is a Slap at Sony - The New York Times, June 3, 1991
  12. ^ "Sony PlayStation". Next Generation. No. 24. Imagine Media. December 1996. p. 48.
  13. ^ Lipshy, Jarrod S. "Why the Super Nintendo CD Would Have Been the Greatest Console Ever". Unrealitymag. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  14. ^ a b c Cowan, Danny (April 25, 2006). "CDi: The Ugly Duckling". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  15. ^ Brian Crecente (July 3, 2015). "HOW MISFORTUNE AND A BIT OF LUCK LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE FABLED NINTENDO PLAY STATION". Polygon.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  16. ^ Life, Nintendo (July 11, 2016). "Someone Has Actually Made A Game Which Works On The SNES PlayStation". Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  17. ^ "Did a SUPER RARE Sony-Nintendo PlayStation prototype just pop up online? Possibly, maybe". theregister.com. July 4, 2015.
  18. ^ Buchanan, Adam (March 1, 2016). "Unreleased Super Nintendo CD "Nintendo PlayStation" Boot ROM Discovered". RetroCollect. RetroCollect. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016.
  19. ^ "Super Disc Boot ROM - The Cutting Room Floor". The Cutting Room Floor. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  20. ^ The Ben Heck Show (July 22, 2016). Ben Heck's Nintendo-Playstation Prototype Part 2 Repair. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ Good, Owen S. (May 6, 2017). "The 'Nintendo Play Station' is working, thanks to Ben Heck". Polygon. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  22. ^ "Hacker Makes the Nintendo PlayStation Fully Operational". Kotaku. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  23. ^ Philips, Tom (February 13, 2020). "Ultra-rare Nintendo PlayStation prototype up for auction". Eurogamer. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  24. ^ Smith, Andrew (February 14, 2020). "Auctioned Nintendo PlayStation Prototype Console Will Be the Most Expensive Video Game Item Ever, Current Bid is $350,000". IGN. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  25. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (March 6, 2020). "Rare Nintendo Play Station sold at auction for more than $300,000". Polygon. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  26. ^ Zweizen, Zack (March 7, 2020). "The Man Behind Pets.Com Bought The 'Nintendo Play Station' Console For $360,000". Kotaku. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  27. ^ "Ben Heck tears down the legendary Nintendo PlayStation". Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  28. ^ The Ben Heck Show (July 15, 2016). Ben Heck's Nintendo-Playstation Prototype Pt 1 Teardown. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017 – via YouTube.
  29. ^ Blake Snow (May 4, 2007). "The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time". GamePro.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
  30. ^ Finnegan, Lizzy (April 7, 2015). "Secret of Mana: A Good Game With The Great Cut Out". The Escapist. Archived from the original on October 4, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  31. ^ Schaulfelberger, Frederik (September 2006). "Sanningen om Mana". Level (in Swedish). IDG (6): 114–121.
  32. ^ Nutt, Christian. "Birthday Memories: Sony PlayStation Turns 15". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Nintendo Playstation prototype at Wikimedia Commons