Video: Check Out the Innards of the SNES PlayStation in This Hardware Teardown

The Ben Heck Show gets into the nitty gritty

by Thomas Whitehead Sun 17th Jul 2016

The prototype isn't this shiny, obviously

For fans of Nintendo and Sony's gaming history, few devices are quite as fascinating as the SNES PlayStation, a unit that was planned as a CD add-on, with a version that would have also incorporated the full package in one box. The emergence of prototype units has been interesting to follow as the mysterious system emerged into view for the public.

Now there's a really interesting look at how the system, or at least the prototype, was constructed. The Ben Heck Show has produced an intriguing breakdown of the hardware - the video includes a history of the unit, and then a full teardown that takes a look at the innards of the system.

Check it out below.

[source youtube.com]

Tom has been involved in the games industry for over a decade, mostly writing about it or struggling to sell Indie games. Loves reading, writing, hunting Capcom’s fiercest monsters and watching baseball.

1
Kriandis
Sun 17th Jul 2016

Nintendo decides not to use Sony's Playstation CD add on...Hindsight is 20/20 right Nintendo.

2
Xaessya
Sun 17th Jul 2016

@Kriandis
They thought they had a killer idea with Phillips and Zelda Wand of Gamelon.

3
6ch6ris6
Mon 18th Jul 2016

i didnt understand much of what is said in the video but it was still super interesting. i hope they can make it run!!

4
Kroko
Mon 18th Jul 2016

There's a socket in the back labeled "NEXT"? Well it's obviously for connectivity with the NX. They really thought this through far in advance.

5
Dpullam
Mon 18th Jul 2016

I would absolutely love to own of these puppies! Too bad I don't have much room for collectibles, nor could I probably afford this device in the first place! It looks so cool though!

6
Vincent294
Mon 18th Jul 2016

Can't wait for pt 2.

7
Gridatttack
Mon 18th Jul 2016

I'd like to own a controller of this type. I like the pure white with the colored buttons.

8
Serpenterror
Mon 18th Jul 2016

Want to have a better version of this system? Take an original Super NES, then duct tape it on top of the original PlayStation 2, there ya go, now you can play SNES, PS1, and PS2 games all on one unit. Of course you still need two power adapters, some controllers, and two TV cables to make it work. As an added bonus you can also play Game Boy games and watch DVD movies with it too lol...

9
DarthKlarc
Mon 18th Jul 2016

For an engineer handling a one of a kind prototype, he sure is touching it with his bare fingers a lot. Its pissing me off. He is not respectful of the rarity of the item. Finger oil causes degradation.

10
sdelfin
Mon 18th Jul 2016

@TruenoGT That's true that the Sega CD added capabilities and had lots of memory including a good bit more for game data. Keep in mind that one of the main added capabilities was scaling and rotation to compete with the SNES mode 7. While Sega CD's effects were better, SNES mode 7 games were good enough for most people. Plus, Nintendo had the benefit of being first with that kind of tech for a home console.

While adding tech to the Genesis, the Sega CD may have also added a good bit of complexity to game development. The SNES CD is more like the PC Engine CD, which also added no extra features other than audio channels. Still, the PCE-CD did very well and had quite a library of games, many of which looked a great deal nicer than HuCard games. If nothing else, a SNES CD add on would have allowed for larger games that were less expensive to produce than carts.

11
sdelfin
Mon 18th Jul 2016

@TruenoGT more RAM would have been easy to add through carts(like PCE and Saturn), though expensive. I wonder if they could have included an enhancement chip like the SA1(the faster version of the system's CPU) in the RAM/BIOS cart you would need anyway.