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SNES-CD

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The SNES-CD (Also referred to as the or "Super CD'", "Super Disc", or "Nintendo Play Station") refers to an unreleased add-on for the SNES, which would have allowed the system to play CD-ROM-based games.

History

In 1988, after Sony assisted Nintendo in developing the audio chip used for the then-upcoming SNES, Nintendo entered into a partnership with Sony to jointly develop an add-on for the SNES that would play CD-based games.[1][2] Under the agreement, Sony and Nintendo would develop the add-on, and the "Play Station", a full console combining the functionality of both the add-on and the SNES.[3] Nintendo and Sony, however, could not agree on the format to use for the system; to combat piracy, Nintendo desired to use a propreitary mini-disc format they referred to as "Nintendo Disk", a mini-disc inside of a shell which also used a lockout chip, while Sony instead desired to use a normal CD format with the lockout chip being inside the hardware.[4] Licensing issues also arose; under Sony's terms, it would keep licensing rights to all games produced on the disc format, leaving Sony in full control of the hardware.[1][5]

Desiring better terms, president Hiroshi Yamauchi secretly sent Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln from Nintendo of America to Sony's business rival Phillips' headquarters in Europe to negotiate a better deal[2], under which Nintendo would keep all licensing rights for games, while Nintendo's properties could have games developed for the Phillips CD-i multimedia player.[4] Therefore, in June 1991, at the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show, one day after Sony's unveiling of the Play Station, Nintendo announced that it would be instead working with Phillips to create the CD add-on.[1]

In 1992, Nintendo renegotiated terms with both Phillips and Sony, and all three agreed to continue joint development of the add-on, the "Nintendo Disk Drive", while Sony would produce their Play Station and Nintendo games would still appear on the CD-i.[4] Games would also use the standard CD format, allowing for cross-compatibility between all three machines.[1][4] Under terms of the contract, Nintendo would keep all licensing for games, while Sony would have rights to non-video game media, and Phillips would have the right to Nintendo's games appearing on the CD-i.[4] However in 1993, Nintendo, due to the overly long development time, concerns over how well the system would interface with the add-on[4] and seeing the commercial failure of SEGA's Sega CD add-on for their Sega Genesis console[6], finally ceased development for their CD add-on.

While Sony would continue to develop its Play Station console, it is reported that only 200 prototype systems were ever manufactured before the project was scrapped[1][3], and Sony would instead use the experience to develop its own console, named the PlayStation. In addition, as part of the deal between Nintendo and Phillips, Phillips retained Nintendo's license to use five of their characters in games for the CD-i.[7] The games produced using Nintendo's licenses (Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda's Adventure, and Hotel Mario) were all met with mixed to poor reception critically, and the CD-i itself was a commercial failure.

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 History of the PlayStation. IGN (August 27, 1998). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Farewell, Father. Eurogamer (April 27, 2007). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 We turned on the Nintendo PlayStation: It's real and it works. Engadget (November 6, 2015). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Super CD to PS3. Nintendojo (September 22, 2011). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  5. ↑ Holy Crap: The Super-Rare Nintendo PlayStation SNES Has Been Switched On... And It Actually Works. Moviepilot (November 10, 2015). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ SNES-CD profile. N-Sider (March 27, 2004). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ An interview with the creator of the CD-i Zelda games. Zela Universe (March 28, 2013). Retrieved December 12, 2015.
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