The ultra-rare PlayStation SNES console has been switched on
Here's what happened.
Four months ago, an ultra-rare PlayStation SNES console prototype was discovered, photographed and revealed online.
Only 200 PlayStation SNES units were ever made - borne out of early plans for Nintendo and Sony to team-up and release a version of the Super Nintendo Entertainment system with a CD-ROM drive.
The vast majority were junked when the companies decided to go their separate ways. So it was a huge surprise when, in July, a surviving relic finally come to light. Now, it has been switched on.
Engadget tracked down the unit's new owners, father and son Terry and Dan Diebold, who had carefully coupled the console to a power supply.
SNES games and controllers worked fine, but the unit's CD-ROM drive was not operational.
Attempts have been made to repair it - including X-rays of the machine to check if it had become damaged inside - to no avail. The drive is receiving power fine, which suggests the problem is a software error.
One explanation is that the drive was purposefully disabled before leaving Nintendo's clutches - as the technology inside it was no longer the company's to release.
Whatever the reason, the console is undoubtedly the real deal - and a true piece of gaming history.
