“Nintendo effectively created its biggest rival,” Yoshida adds. “But competition benefits everyone. Today, Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation are pursuing different directions, and I think that’s excellent for the industry as a whole.”
Rare Nintendo PlayStation prototypes have attracted attention and high bids—one unit fetched more than $300,000 at auction. Ken Kutaragi, who led development on both the prototype and the PlayStation that followed, reportedly kept multiple final working units, according to Yoshida.
“The hardware was essentially finished and nearly ready for manufacturing, and a few titles were already complete,” Yoshida recalls. “I played a space shooter on it, but it was still built on Super Nintendo technology, so its capabilities were limited.”
Nintendo’s later move into 3D with the N64 produced landmark games such as Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time—titles whose influence endures. Still, the original PlayStation outsold the N64 by a wide margin and set Sony on a multi-generational path to console dominance. In that light, Nintendo’s decision could be seen as “almost helpful.”
Blocky polygons and imperfect textures aside, the best PS1 games remain well worth revisiting today.
Source: gamesradar.com
