A rare Nintendo Play Station prototype that did not make it to market has sold for $360,000 in an auction. Reported on CNN, Greg Mclemore who is the pets.com and Toys.com was able to get the closing bet on the rare collector’s item. He beat people like CEO of Oculus VR, Palmer Luckey.
The Nintendo consoles were developed in 1991 in a collaboration between Sony and Nintendo and the copy sold was one of only 200 prototype units made. Forbes describes the unit as basically a Super NES with a CD-ROM drive. I am sure a CD-ROM capable gaming console was way ahead of its time in 1991.
Valerie McLeckie of Heritage Auctions, where the console was offered, tells CNN it’s believed the other 199 prototypes were destroyed when the Sony/Nintendo deal fell through. Sony released its first PlayStation in 1994.
This particular unit of the console was discovered when Terry Diebold was going through boxes of stuff owned by former Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Olaf Olafsson
Diebold and Olafsson both worked at Advanta Corporation, an American banking company controlled two banks, Advanta Bank Corp and Advanta National Bank that filed for bankruptcy in 2009. The console was one of many items that ended up at private auction after the bankruptcy, which is how Diebold acquired it.
McLemore says the console was “the single most expensive thing I’ve ever bought outside of a house,” adding “it was worth it especially when combined with the rest of my collection,” CNN reports. That collection includes more than 800 coin-operated machines as well as smaller games, magazines, and art, which McLemore wants to use to create a permanent museum, according to Forbes.
“I’m looking to not have this machine just buried in a closet somewhere,” McLemore says.
