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One design for the SNES CD-ROM was an add-on, akin to the Sega CD for the Genesis/Mega Drive.
The Super NES CD-ROM (commonly abbreviated to SNES CD) was unreleased add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was built upon the functionality of the cartridge based SNES by adding support for a CD-ROM based format known as Super Disc. It was developed in a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony. Sony planned to release it as a hybrid console, as the Play Station. However, Sony wanted the full rights to all games published for the SNES CD-ROM, so Nintendo instead went with Philips. One day after the PlayStation announcement at CES 1991, Nintendo revealed its partnership with Philips.
Another design for the unit. This one was a standalone device, containing both Super Famicom hardware and the Super Disc CD drive.
Sony and Nintendo attempted to repair relations between each other, and in the end, Sony was allowed to continue development on SNES-compatible hardware. However, Sony decided later to create its own, competing console based on the PlayStation and that later in the same generation as the PlayStation it was followed by the 1996/1997 release of the Nintendo 64. This eventually became the current Sony PlayStation. Philips' version of the SNES-CD later became the infamous Philips CD-i.
History[]
Sony courted Nintendo to develop a CD-based add-on and console around the Super Nintendo hardware 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 PlayStation, a console that took both SNES cartridges and CD-ROMs. The PlayStation was shown at the 1991 Consumer Electronics Show.
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 PlayStation announcement.
The Sony PlayStation. It dominated the 64-bit era, trouncing Nintendo's own console, the Nintendo 64.
Though Philips continued to work with Nintendo, Sony and Nintendo tried to make up with each other, and Nintendo eventually agreed to allow Sony to produce SNES-compatible hardware, while Nintendo would receive final oversight and royalties for all game software. Still miffed by Nintendo's earlier abandonment, Ken Kutaragi convinced Sony to start from scratch and create the PlayStation as a standalone 32-bit console, one which would eventually beat Nintendo's machine in the 32/64-bit era.
Under the final contract, Philips was allowed to, as appeasement, publish Nintendo-branded games on their long in development CD-i. An "interactive CD player", it was more meant for simple educational titles than for full games. Nevertheless, Nintendo games were made for the CD-i, and while generally liked at the time by reviewers, they eventually became highly unpopular, taking the CD-i's reputation down with them.
External links[]
- Super NES CD-ROM at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia