The Nintendo PlayStation Super NES CD-ROM (SNES-CD), also known as Super Famicom CD-ROM Adapter in Japan, is up for grabs at Heritage Auctions . The system is said to be the last of its kind, which is why the current bid is at $350,000.
For the uninitiated, the Super NES CD-ROM system was a prototype gaming console that came from a short-lived collaboration between Nintendo and Sony that reportedly started in the late '80s. Sadly, the device never left the prototype phase. Nintendo and Sony allegedly produced 200 units, which Heritage Auctions claimed have all been destroyed except for the one on auction. There's a sticker with a handwritten "2" under the system, which suggests that this unit may have been the second device that came out of the production line.
The systems look like a Frankenstein creation, featuring a slot for Super Famicom and Super Nintendo cartridges and a separate CD-ROM drive for PlayStation games that would be offered on the Super Disc format. The auctioneers even claim they've played Mortal Kombat via a Super Famicom catridge on the system.
It's incredible that the Super NES CD-ROM prototype is still working after so many years. The auction page claims the console was discovered in 2009 and that the CD-ROM was non-functional at the time. However YouTuber Benjamin Heckendorn reportedly repaired it. That means you can listen to your favorite CD (you still have one, right?) while playing a classic game. A miniature screen is on top of the console to let you know which track is playing.
The console has the typical power, reset and eject buttons, in addition to the multimedia buttons for music playback. There's even a headphone jack and volume dial on the the device. Outputs on the Super NES CD-ROM system are three RCA connectors, one S-Video connector, Nintendo's own Multi-Out port and a mysterious "NEXT" port that no one knows the purpose of.
The Super NES CD-ROM system comes with a single Super Famicom controller that has Sony PlayStation branding. The console relies on a Super Famicom boot/debugging cartridge to enable the CD-ROM functionality and access the Super Disc operating system. Other accessories include the red, yellow and white RCA cables and a Sony-branded 7.5V power adapter.
Are Super Nintendos still working? I don't see why it would be surprising that a console from the early 90s that likely saw minimal use would still be functional. Though technically, the CD drive wasn't working when the device was acquired a decade ago, and did need some repairs, which is pointed out in the listing.
Original parts? I'd be hesitant to spend that kind of money (if I could) by having someone neither from Nintendo or Sony "repairing" it.
@cryoburner, it makes zero sense to me why they would destroy them and yea I could imagine someone holding onto the other ones for future auctions...at least for close to that kind of cash.
Capacitors have to be changed every decade or so if you want to keep using electronics, even collectors don't care about that.
Usually they only make that many prototypes if they are so far along that they are ready to send them out to developers and the media, if they end up not sending them away they are not going to keep them,storage space is expensive and they make a lot of prototypes all of the time, they would run out of space at some point.
It's also pointless for them to disassemble them for parts because they wouldn't use used parts for anything anyway.
Someone keeping one as a momentum is the only way something like this becomes possible.
You can check out the dig where they buried tons of ET cartridges because it was cheaper than doing anything else with them.