Summary
An extremely rare prototype NintendoPlayStationcontroller was recently sold for an incredible $35,000 at the Heritage auction. First developed back in 1988, the Nintendo PlayStation was developed as a hybrid console that could play Nintendo’s SNES cartridges and Sony’s CDs. However, due to a variety of factors, Nintendo walked away from the deal, striking up a new partnership with Philips in order to publish games on the Philips CD-i system instead. Nintendo cutting ties with Sony ended up giving rise to the originalPlayStation 1console, later released in 1994.
The prototype system ultimately went unreleased, with only 200 ever being produced in its lifetime. It’s been rumored that they were all intentionally destroyed once the partnership fell through. Despite that, the prototype console still exists, as seen in a 2020 auction where the Nintendo PlayStation made an unexpected appearance. TheNintendo PlayStation sold for $360K at this auction, which also came with a prototype controller. Now another bit of gaming history is being made as a prototype controller from the canceled console was recently sold at Heritage auction.
As reported bycllct, theprototype Nintendo PlayStation controller sold for $35,000 at Heritageon June 25, 2025. This is the first time that a prototype controller from the canceled hardware was ever offered for sale on its own, and just the second time thata Nintendo PlayStation controller prototypewas seen at a public auction. The auction house listing noted that due to a lack of hardware that would be able to test the controller, it would be sold as is with no returns.
Heritage Sells Nintendo PlayStation Prototype Controller for $35,000
Heritageemphasizes the incredible rarity of this item, stating that “We have no idea if we’ll get the chance to offer anything related to the Nintendo PlayStation ever again.” As previously stated,the Nintendo PlayStation was never officially released, with the only known prototype being sold back in 2020. The reason why one was discovered was that it was originally purchased at an auction of abandoned property from a Sony executive, which was kept in an attic until it was rediscovered by his son in 2015.
While the Nintendo PlayStation can only play SNES games, as no “Super Disk” games were ever developed for the system, it’s still an incredible piece of gaming history. One gamer earlier this yearbuilt his own Nintendo PlayStation console, using the shell of an SNES console and the inside half of a PS1 system. It managed to work, despite the chaotic-looking nature of his build.
PlayStation (Original)
The PlayStation, sometimes known as the PS1 or PS One was Sony’s first formal foray into the console wars with Nintendo. It belonged to the fifth-generation of video game consoles and locked horns with the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn.
