Nintendo's PlayStation: The Extremely Rare Hybrid SNES-CD Found in an Attic

The discovery of the SNES-CD PlayStation prototype is one of those stories that seems like a documentary or even fiction script, but which happened completely unexpectedly. Everything unfolded in a way that connects the forgotten past of the video game industry with the present, revealing how corporate decisions, broken partnerships, and chance can change history forever.

In this article, we’ll explore the incredible story of a console considered an urban legend that was found in a simple attic in the United States. We’ll also see why this find is so important to the history of video games.

The Project That Almost Changed Everything

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nintendo dominated the video game market with the resounding success of the NES and, later, the SNES. At the same time, Sony didn't exist as a company within the video game industry. Its involvement was limited to the production of audio chips, such as the famous SPC700 used in the Super Nintendo.

In this context, a strategic partnership emerged between Nintendo and Sony to create a CD-ROM peripheral for the Super Nintendo, known as the SNES-CD. The idea was simple: to utilize the greater storage capacity of CDs to create better games, with higher-quality soundtracks, animated cutscenes, and content impossible to store on cartridges. With Sega launching the Sega CD, this was the step fans had been waiting for.

The project was internally named “Play Station”, separated into two words, and envisioned a hybrid console capable of running both SNES cartridges and CD games. However, contractual conflicts and disputes over the rights to the CD format led Nintendo to quietly break its contract with Sony, announcing a new partnership with Philips.

This new agreement with Philips would also fail, but the break with Sony had historical consequences; the Japanese company decided to go it alone and transform the rejected project into the first PlayStation, released in 1994. Approximately 200 prototype units were manufactured before the partnership dissolved, and until then, it was believed that all prototypes of the SNES-CD PlayStation had been destroyed.

An ordinary attic, an extraordinary discovery

Decades later, in 2015, Dan Diebold wasn't looking for video game relics. He was simply helping his father, Terry Diebold, organize their attic, filled with old boxes, obsolete electronics, and objects accumulated over the years. It was in this seemingly mundane setting that something completely out of the ordinary emerged.

Inside a dusty box, Dan found a visually strange console; it resembled a Super Nintendo, but it had an integrated CD player and the name PlayStation stamped on the console. At first, it seemed like just a curious prototype or a modified piece of equipment. However, as Dan began to research, he realized that it wasn't just rare, it was something many believed had never existed.

What Dan had in his hands was a complete and working prototype of the SNES-CD PlayStation, a relic directly linked to the split between Nintendo and Sony.

How Did the Console End Up There?

The presence of that prototype in the attic wasn't pure luck. Terry Diebold had worked for many years for Advanta Corporation, a company led by Olaf Olafsson, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment. When the company ceased operations, various corporate equipment was sold in internal auctions.

Among monitors, computers, and electronics, Terry acquired the console without knowing exactly what it represented. To him, it was just an old piece of Sony hardware, possibly some kind of prototype. Without imagining its historical value, Terry simply stored it in the attic for years, where it remained forgotten. And it was thanks to Dan's curiosity that the console saw the light of day again.

The Internet Shock and Prototype Validation

By sharing photos of the console on forums and social media, Dan Diebold quickly caught the attention of the gaming community. Experts, collectors, and historians began analyzing every detail of the device: ports, logos, internal architecture, and even the controller design.

Initially, there was skepticism. Many believed it could be a replica or a hoax. However, technical analyses confirmed the hardware's authenticity. The console had original components from Sony and Nintendo, as well as an architecture consistent with historical documents and rumors about the project.

The most impressive thing is that the device worked. Although incomplete and unstable, it could boot up, run Super Nintendo cartridges, and recognize specific development CDs. The discovery was considered one of the most important in the history of video game preservation.

Rewriting History

The SNES-CD PlayStation found by Dan Diebold isn’t just a rare console. It represents an alternate universe of the video game industry, a future that never happened. If the partnership between Nintendo and Sony had worked out, it's possible that the PlayStation as we know it would’ve never existed, and Nintendo's dominance could’ve been even greater in the 1990s.

The prototype also helps us better understand why Sony decided to go its own way. Nintendo's rejection was a hard corporate blow, but also a catalyst for the development of Sony's console. Without it, perhaps there wouldn't be franchises like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, or Resident Evil as we know them on the original PlayStation. This single console became a symbol of wounded pride and brand reinvention.

Preserving History

With fame came offers. Collectors offered exorbitant sums for the prototype, interested in possessing the "Holy Grail" of video games. Dan and Terry Diebold refused several of these initial offers, as they understood the cultural value of the object. The console began to be exhibited at events, fairs, and conventions, allowing the public to see up close something that, until then, existed only in rumors, urban legends, and old photos. The prototype was also analyzed by engineers and restorers, ensuring its preservation and proper documentation for future generations.

The Auction and the Historic Consecration

Years later, the SNES-CD PlayStation was eventually auctioned publicly, fetching a record-breaking $360,000. The auction confirmed its importance and also established its place as one of the most valuable consoles in video game history.

Regardless of who its current owner is, the impact of Dan Diebold's discovery was already guaranteed. The console ceased to be a myth and became proof of a lost chapter in the industry.

Conclusion: “By Chance” as the guardian of Memory

The story of Dan Diebold is a reminder that not all preservation originates in museums or official archives. Sometimes it happens by chance, in attics, garages, and forgotten boxes. A simple act of curiosity was able to rescue one of the greatest secrets in the history of video games.

The SNES-CD PlayStation could’ve been discarded, broken, or lost forever. Instead, it became an enduring symbol of a question everyone had: “what if it had been released?”, a piece of the past that almost redefined the future of video games.

Thanks to Dan and Terry Diebold, the world could finally see and touch the console that should never have survived.