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***Update 1 – 2015-11-10 – 19:36 CET***

It´s very rare that I hope that I´m wrong about something. However, in this case I´m very happy to inform you guys (and girls) that I was incorrect about Dan Diebold´s (DanDiebold) Nintendo PlayStation prototype (you can read the full story further down the page). You see, back in July (this year) Dan uploaded some pictures of his Nintendo PlayStation prototype console to imgur (then reddit). And I (like many others) thought that the console was fake (only 200 prototypes were ever produced, so it´s a super rare console). Well, the console is not fake. In fact, Engadget had the chance to test and play on the console together with Dan and his father in Hong Kong four days ago (they will also bring the console to the retro game expo in Hong Kong as well).

Yep, the Nintendo Playstation prototype even worked! (the picture has been borrowed from engadget.com).

So I´m going to be man enough and admit that I was wrong. I´m glad that I was incorrect though, because this means that we will get the chance to see some “never-before-seen” games on the Nintendo Playstation prototype console. Not only that, video game history is also written at this very moment. Personally, I have just seen fake versions of this console. And the last time I saw a so-called “real” Nintendo Playstation prototype console was back in 1997 in Stockholm (a guy told me that he had the “real” console, and that he wanted to sell it). Long story short, it was not an authentic console. So I bailed out. Anyhow, a big congrats to Dan Diebold and his father! And if you want to see more pictures of the Nintendo Playstation prototype console, then just click the engadget link down below (you will also find an interview with Dan and his dad Terry Diebold in their article).

Source:
engadget
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Not everything that glitters is gold

Okay, I’m going to be brutally honest with you guys/girls now. Since I’ve been searching for the Nintendo Playstation prototype since the mid 90s (I have seen a lot of fake console´s over the years). I´m of course talking about the DanDiebold story (which has been known for almost two weeks now), but if you haven´t heard of that story just yet, then here´s a short summary of the Nintendo Playstation prototype hype train. A imgur user called “DanDiebold” started to post images of a Nintendo Playstation prototype console about two weeks ago, and then stated the following:

“My dad worked for a company, apparently one of the guys he used to work with, I think his name was Olaf, used to work at Nintendo and when my dad’s company went bankrupt, my dad found it in a box of ‘junk’ he was supposed to throw out”. – DanDiebold, owner of the Nintendo Playstation prototype console

If you´re somewhat familiar with Sony and Playstation’s history, then you know that Sony once had a president and chief executive officer called Olaf Olafsson (his of Icelandic origin) in the early 90s. So yeah, you guessed it, people went wild when this story went viral. However, Most magazines, forums and Games news sites believes that the console is fake though. And rightfully so, and let me tell you why.

Does this console look authentic to you?

For example, there were only 200 Nintendo Playstation prototype units made (also known as “Nintendo Playstation Superdisc”). So an authentic console would easily be worth a six-figure sum with no doubt. So why didn´t DanDiebold wear gloves when he touched his console? I also raised an eyebrow over the fact that he handled the console like it was a broken toaster (or something like that). Another thing, why has DanDiebold waited such a long time to show the world his console? Then we got the part about the fact that he even had thoughts on booting up the console on his own (I heard something about DanDiebold contacting experts all over the world, but I don´t know if that´s true or not), which of course would be a really stupid idea.

This is the real deal, yes. It’s a “authentic” Nintendo Playstation prototype console.

There’s the truth and…the truth

Then I found out about TheGebs24´s Skype interview with DanDiebold (you can watch the interview further down the page), which was uploaded on Youtube 3 days ago (on July the 12th).

“Nintendo Playstation Prototype owner lets me film out Skype session. Watch me ask him questions about this ‘HOLY GRAIL’ gaming find and find out what’s next for the Nintendo Playstation Prototype!!” – TheGebs24

I have watched the Skype interview, and I don´t know about you, but the whole thing smells rather fishy to me. I hope I’m wrong of course, but I trust my gut feelings and instincts. Nevertheless, let´s have a little history lesson first. So I took the liberty to add some really good comments about the matter:

“SNES-CD Profile (March 27, 2004)

Sony Goes it Alone

When it was clear to Sony that they wouldn’t get any help from Nintendo with new CD games for the Play Station, Sony decided that it was time to show the world that they could manage on their own.

At the Tokyo International Electronics Show in October 1991, Sony put on a big show previewing the console, which they presented as a console both for both gaming and education. A variety of educational multimedia titles were announced.

No real games were presented however, Sony was in the process of signing deals with game publishers and developers. And still the Play Station would be able to run all old SNES games. Sony announced the launch – a tentative summer 1992 date – would be set six months before Philips and Nintendo’s SNES add-on.

That picture was published online back in 2004, and the quality of the picture looks like it may have been from a 1990s magazine scan. The console those guys just recently discovered looks very similar, and may very well be the real deal, the original Sony-Nintendo PlayStation.” – Jag85, a Gamespot user

“Nintendo first courted Sony to develop a CD-based console in 1988, after both Sony and Philips had pitched their ideas to Nintendo.”

“Nintendo decided to work with Sony, and development resulted first in the SNES-CD, a CD drive attachment for the SNES, and later the Play Station, a console that took both SNES cartridges and CD-ROMs. The Play Station was shown at the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show.”

“All was looking just fine for Nintendo until it found that the deal they had struck with Sony way back in 1988 granted Sony the right to control and license all the CD-based games for the “Super Disc”. Nintendo was now to be at the mercy of Sony and its “Super Disc”, which could play SNES carts and Sony-manufactured CDs. Nintendo, understandably, began to get worried.”

“However, Sony’s contract with Nintendo gave them the full rights to every game published for the device, so Nintendo then went with Philips. The deal was announced one day after the Play Station announcement.”

“When it became clear that CD-ROMs weren’t a fluke and could turn into a major business, Nintendo Co. Ltd. president Hiroshi Yamauchi realized that the proposed alliance with Sony meant giving up the very foundation of Nintendo’s business – absolute control over license and manufacturing.” – mesome713, Gamespot user

So how big are the odds that DanDiebold´s Nintendo Playstation prototype is an authentic console? I would say very, very low. That´s also why I would love to have some experts to investigate the console thoroughly. As it would give us the final word on whether or not the console is the real deal or not. I really hope so, and that the console is fully functional, as I like the thought of having some Nintendo Playstation prototype emulators up and running (if DanDiebold dumps the BIOS, It can be done).

So what do you guys/girls think? Does DanDiebold own an authentic Nintendo Playstation prototype console? ~~Or is just a hoax console?~~

Source:
Reddit
nintendolife
gamespot
assemblergames

***Disclaimer***
This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.