A creative modder and video game enthusiast by the name of James Channel has created the fabled Nintendo Playstation designed by Sony.
If you read that last bit again, you may or may not be confused by the combination of words used. But, if you know a little bit about your video game history, then this device would illicit an “ah ha!” moment.
The original Playstation by Sony was intended to be the next Nintendo home console. Specifically, Sony designed the Playstation to be Nintendo’s CD expansion for the Super Nintendo home console.
Ken Kutaragi, an engineer from Sony, had designed the SNES sound chip without Sony’s knowledge, a feat that caused him to lose his job at Sony.
But he was brought back when Sony realized the potential in a relationship with Nintendo, and Kutaragi was given the task of designing a disc peripheral to expand on the SNES console.
(Image Source: James Channel on Youtube / Heritage Auctions)
When the agreement between Nintendo and Sony eventually fell apart, Sony decided to fully pursue their own home console, leading to one of the most beloved video game systems of all time.
And since there is only one known prototype in the world for the long-lost Sony/Nintendo mashup console, James Channel decided to make one for himself.
Nintendo + Sony = SNES Playstation
The mashup Nintendo / Sony / SNES / Playstation console started exactly as you might suspect – James had an old Playstation and an old SNES laying around.
And, inspired by the story of the Nintendo Playstation prototype, he decided to see if the two could be combined into a functional console.
His build is essentially the Playstation motherboard inside of a Japanese SNES shell. But obviously, that takes quite a bit of smart modification to get it in an aesthetically pleasing and fully functional package.
The part of his build that makes it the most unique and also the most frightening is the upright exposed disc drive.
As someone with an ingrained fear of scratching my game discs, I can’t get myself to be comfortable looking at that. This design choice came from a necessity and is also a fun addition to this one of a kind home console.
With James’ haphazard build style, it is surprising how clean the project ended up looking at the end. But that is just part of his online persona, and there is an obvious knowledge behind that clumsy facade.
You can check out the full build video here on the James Channel Youtube Channel and cringe at some of the dangerous looking bits.
Impressions
It always feels a bit silly to offer any kind of “impressions” on these kinds of builds, because our opinion is quite obvious – WE LOVE IT.
These kinds of unique builds are incredibly exciting to us as fellow retro video game enthusiasts, and the work by James Channel reminds us of the unique history in how our favorite video game consoles became a reality.
He essentially pulled a piece of video game fantasy into his own reality, and he is now one of two known people in the world with a Nintendo Playstation at his disposal.
