Rare Nintendo PlayStation prototype acquired by National Videogame Museum

The National Videogame Museum has just acquired a major new addition to its collection: one of the rarest pieces of gaming hardware ever made, and one tied to one of the most fascinating stories in video game history: the Nintendo PlayStation.

The news was confirmed by the museum’s official X account, which also believes the unit may be the oldest prototype of its kind still in existence. “This Sony MSF-1 is the OLDEST known existing Nintendo Playstation hardware artifact, and is the original development system for Sony’s planned Super Nintendo CD attachment” the NVM said. “It is the ONLY known unit!”

While previously seen units were based on the proposed retail design of the system, the MSF-1 is a very early development unit and therefore lacks the refined finish expected from a final consumer product.

For those unfamiliar with the story, the prototype was born from the failed partnership between Nintendo and Sony in the early 1990s. The so-called “Nintendo PlayStation” (or SNES-CD), announced in 1992, was intended to be a CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo. When the partnership ultimately collapsed, Sony decided to move forward on its own, leading to the creation of the PlayStation.

Thanks to Time Extension for today’s news and Greatsong1 for the tip. You can find more Nintendo news here.