Nintendo versus Sony, two of the three largest console manufacturers and rivalries in the gaming industry. At times, Sony took the lead in the market share with the PS2 and Nintendo at others with the Wii. At one point, however, this wasn’t the case. The two formally agreed to make gaming Hardware together. This included the SNES CD-ROM and a hybrid console, the “Nintendo Play Station.” This article will delve into the history of the Nintendo Play Station, the cancelation, and how this partnership became one of the largest rivalries.
The Early Stages of Video Games.
During the 1970s, technology was on the rise, and video games were in their beginnings. Ken Kutaragi, someone who had a strong passion for the rapid advancement of technology, joined Sony’s Digital Research Lab directly after graduation. His talents would build a strong reputation for his work on several successful projects, including early LCD Displays, and digital cameras. By the 1980s, the video game industry had skyrocketed. From Atari to eventually Nintendo, dominated the market. As such, the Nintendo Entertainment System, known as the Famicom in Japan, had taken the market by storm. It was common for many Japanese households to have one with children fascinated by the technical capabilities, including Kutaragi’s daughter. Kutaragi one day took notice of his daughter playing the Famicom and his passion for technology and electronics took effect upon observation and made him realize the potential that video games held. By the late 1980s, the third generation of gaming was coming to a close and Nintendo was making a successor to the NES.
SNES Sound Module.
Known for his technical skill, Kutaragi was approached by Nintendo to make a Sound Chip for their next-generation platform, the SNES. While Sony was well known for its electronics including its TVs, it had very little interest in the gaming industry. With his newfound interest in gaming, Kutaragi privately accepted this offer knowing that this proposal would otherwise be rejected. Working privately, Kutaragi designed the technical marvel of the SPC700. A powerful Sound Chip that would take games beyond typical sounds of chip tunes to sound closer to instruments. In comparison to Nintendo’s competitor at the time, the Sega Genisis, the Sony SPC700 had the following:
- 64 KB of RAM
- Supported eight voices
- Had a 32 KHz Sampling Rate.
Whereas the Sega Genisis had:
- 8 KB of RAM
- Supported six voices
- Had a 22 KHz Sampling Rate.
While the Sega Genisis was able to produce decent-quality audio that was beyond simple chip tunes, its numbers were still far in terms of the SNES’ capabilities. The same console that produced marvelous soundtracks from games such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Castlevania IV, and Final Fantasy VII.
The First Relations Between Sony & Nintendo.
While this chip was an amazing wonder to Nintendo, Sony was not impressed. Executives were furious once they were made aware of the news of Kutaragi’s secret deal with Nintendo. Almost leading to Kutaragi losing his job. However, his career survived thanks to the intervention of Norio Ohga. Ohga was Kutaragi’s former supervisor before being promoted to becoming President in 1982, and then CEO in 1989. Being President, Ohga stated that he had claimed to have approved the project. As a result, Kutaragi was permitted to complete his chip, thus establishing the first relationship between Nintendo and Sony.
The SNES-CD & “Play Station.”
At this point, the SNES was in development as the successor to the NES. However, Nintendo had additional plans for the console. The Famicom in Japan had an accessory, the Famicom Disk System. Which used proprietary Floppy Disks that enabled several features for games, and Nintendo had similar plans to make an accessory for the SNES utilizing CDs for massively expanded storage. With Ken Kutaragi being a resource from Sony, Nintendo was interested in Sony developing this new Hardware. However, tensions were high. Gaming projects were under intense surveillance. President Ohga however approved Kutaragi’s ambition to continue working with Nintendo. In 1988, Nintendo and Sony agreed to produce two pieces of Hardware. One being the SNES-CD, an accessory to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and a hybrid console of the SNES and CD accessory known as the “Play Station.”
The proposal for this all-in-one console isn’t strange to Nintendo, as this has already been done before with Sharp who made a Famicom that accepted both games and disks. However, it was to have additional properties including the ability to play music, and movie CDs as a second application driven by Sony. However, the deal that Nintendo signed with Sony wasn’t one that the long-time President of Nintendo Hiroshi Yamauchi appreciated. Third in line to run his family business, Yamauchi claimed to have exercised authoritarian control turning a business of making playing cards and toys into making video games when the time was right would amplify the company’s size exponentially. However, commanding with rigorous intentions meant that there would be strict regulations. Especially with third-party developers. They could only make five games a year and had to pay a licensing fee to develop games for Nintendo consoles to get approval. Anything else was classified as illegal and retail outlets were prohibited from selling them. Being more or less a monopoly in the gaming industry during the era of the NES however, third-party developers had no choice but to abide by Yamauchi’s strict regulations.
Taking Down The Play Station.
Yamauchi had set his sights on working around Sony’s contract for the accessory and Play Station. The deal would have enabled Sony to have control over these pieces of Hardware, including any software license. To Yamauchi, this was an inevitable defeat. Third-party developers who were tired of Nintendo’s policies could instead directly deal with Sony and could make games for the SNES-CD, thus evading Yamauchi’s policies and even enabling Sony to become independent and take these developers with them to a new console. Taking this into consideration along with how Sony was positioning itself to bring all its subsidiaries to develop games as well as filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg’s new movie Peter Pan could be a game for the Nintendo Play Station. Felling threatened, Yamauchi sent the President of Nintendo of America, and son-in-law, Minoru Arakawa, and Chairman Howard Lincoln a trip to the Netherlands to meet with Sony’s competitor in the electronic industry, Philips to make a CD-related deal with them instead.
The Philips CD-i Lurking in The Background
Around 1991, Phillips also released their own multimedia console that could also play CD-based games known as the Philips CD-i. For Yamauchi, this was a perfect opportunity. As David Sheff’s book “Game Over” states The Philips Deal “was meant to do two things at once: give Nintendo back its stranglehold on software and gracefully fuck Sony.” With the SNES in the market and the SNES-CD and Play Station under development by Kutaragi and his team, Sony was oblivious to what was operating behind the scenes. Numerous electronic manufacturers show off their new products at the Consumer Electronics Show, including gaming manufacturers. In June 1991, both Sony and Nintendo were set to attend the CES and make presentations. On the first day, Sony presented the Nintendo Play Station and SNES-CD, showcasing the strong ties to Nintendo. Simultaneously presenting what it is, and its capabilities as the first hybrid console. However, the gaming industry was in for a massive surprise. The following day, Nintendo themselves were up to present with Chairman Howard Lincoln taking center stage to present Sony’s rival Philips to make games for their CD-i console while abruptly abandoning the Nintendo Play Station and SNES-CD. This sent strong waves throughout the gaming world, especially in Japan.
In Japan, their economy had just come to a close and now had hit a recession. To many Japanese, making a deal with a foreign company was considered a betrayal. Third-party developers were also equally furious as they had games planned or even developed for the CD accessory. All of which now had to be downsized to fit the SNES cartridge. Above anyone else, Sony was furious and was set to take legal action against Nintendo for breaching their contract. However, Sony did try to settle their differences with Nintendo and continue this project. Eventually reaching a deal in 1992, Sony would continue making the SNES-CD while Nintendo retained software control. Therefore, Nintendo got off without a penalty. The one who was truly pained by the surprise was Ken Kutaragi. As he was no executive, he was a developer who had the desire to create this Play Station console of his. But it was mocked over contractual disagreements. His project was shot down in a public and very humiliating manner.
The Outcome of The Philips CD-i Deal.
Meanwhile, the Philips CD-i deal was underway. But all that emerged from it were several third-party-developed Mario and Zelda titles, all of which were severely panned for how bad they looked to the point where Nintendo to this date refuses to acknowledge their existence. The deal was a failure on a console that was too expensive, and not many owned to begin with. The rift truly never healed with their canceled Nintendo Play Station, and the SNES-CD was quietly canceled by 1993 when Ken Kutaragi decided that there needed to be reform. Yamauchi in many ways got what he wanted by evading the deal with Sony. Kutaragi however was not in a good place at Sony. The same executives who had fiercely opposed working in the gaming industry were deemed to be in the right after this and wanted Kutaragi gone. However, now CEO Norio Ohga prevented Kutaragi’s termination by defending Kutaragi and his ambitions. Ohga had different plans and wanted Nintendo punished for this betrayal.
The Sony PlayStation.
The first approach would be to sign a deal with Nintendo’s rival, Sega by the end of 1992. A move that can be seen as Sony retaliating against Nintendo for the betrayal. This deal involved taking the same concept of the PlayStation and partnering with Sega. As Sega was also interested in a CD accessory for their Genisis 2. However, Sega President, Hayao Nakayama, rejected the proposal. He cited that Sony doesn’t know how to make Hardware or Software. While rejected by Sega, the deal to continue the SNES-CD was eventually reached. But the deal realistically did not see Sony benefiting at all as Nintendo would take all the profit. However, Sony still had access to their console. The “Play Station” is something to look back to. While both Nintendo and Sega had failed them, Kutaragi decided to stop working on the SNES-CD altogether. By 1993, he made a new console with the same brand name, The PlayStation, a powerful 3D graphical console that played CDs. By being rejected and betrayed by both gaming giants, Sony was about to retaliate with their new console.
Third-Party Support & Launching The PlayStation.
In 1994, Sony started to formulate a plan. To avoid becoming an outdated console such as the Atari, it was decided to collect as many third-party developers as possible. Considering third-party developers were not happy with Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi’s actions, many of them signed on for the new Sony PlayStation quickly. It is estimated that 250 developers signed onto Sony in Japan. Some of which included Konami and Namco who had the advantage in the arcade industry. Namco naturally prepared their racing game, Ridge Racer as a launch title, and other notable developers followed including Konami with Castlevania and Metal Gear. Their alternative competition Sega, was seemingly worried. They had originally released their new console, the Sega Saturn, as a 2D console. But quickly switched to a 3D console to compete. Around late 1994 in Japan, the Sony PlayStation was released but still awaited an American release. Presentations were held in E3 of 1995, Sega made the surprising announcement of the Sega Saturn being a high price of $399, launching the exact day of the announcement. Nobody was prepared for the sudden launch, including third-party developers. Sony, however, came on stage and announced the price of the PlayStation being $299. Being Sony’s new rival, Nintendo showcased the “Ultra 64.” Later known as the Nintendo 64. While in a near-final state, no games were revealed at the time. Instead, Nintendo focused on SNES games including Donkey Kong Country 2 and Earthbound.
The Rise of The PlayStation.
The issue at the time was that Nintendo was strictly still utilizing cartridges over CDs compared to their two competitors. With the restricted size of the N64 cartridge and the previous actions of Yamauchi on third-party developers, this was the breaking point for many third-party developers. Squaresoft, who had close relations with Nintendo up to that point, decided to make use of the PlayStation’s 700 MB Disks for their large RPGs. It was possible that games would now utilize FMV cutscenes, voice acting, and overall larger data sizes for their games. The Nintendo 64 would not allow for any of this. As a result, the prominent games that were mostly exclusive to Nintendo during the era including Final Fantasy, and various RPGs were no longer exclusive to them but were exclusive to the PlayStation.
Sony’s Triumph & Nintendo’s Challenge.
In September of 1995, the PlayStation would launch in the West along with a variety of third-party titles, and continue to steadily obtain even more. With Nintendo releasing their console a year later, they were already a year behind in both sales and Software. With that one action of betraying Sony, Nintendo may have created one of its biggest competitors to date! Having been overpowered by the very brand that they turned their backs on and also virtually losing all of their third-party support to Sony. In just three years, Sony had dominated the market. The success of the Sony PlayStation had effectively made Ken Kutaragi a developer who was rather a controversial figure at Sony, a revered figure thanks to the fact that he made one of the most successful products to date. Even to the extent of becoming the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America in 1997. While it is unknown if Sony would have truly gone this far had the Nintendo Play Station come to fruition, it may have been inevitable that they would have entered the gaming industry at some point due to one man’s ambition. As well as a CEO who supported it to the very end. In any case, that one deal led to a brand that became even more successful with its sequel, the PlayStation 2, and still holding strong to date. Meanwhile, Nintendo falters to second place with the Nintendo 64. Starting with the GameCube, third-party relations started to be repaired once more and eventually built themselves back up to strong status and can now hold their own against Sony. If not, defeat them at times. This one major concept led to one of the largest rivalries in gaming to this date with the Nintendo Switch and PS5.
