In July, an online image of a "Nintendo PlayStation" appeared on the internet. The mysterious image is supposedly a prototype of a Nintendo and Sony PlayStation that did not materialize because of disputes between the two gaming companies.

Engadget reported that the gaming console features both a SNES slot for cartridge and a CD-ROM player. According to knowledgeable sources, Sony reached an agreement with Nintendo 18 years ago to add a CD player to the SNES gaming console.

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The agreement went smoothly until it hit a snag when it came to splitting the revenues. Sony allegedly wanted to keep all the sales from CD license and told Nintendo that they will first deliberate on how much their royalties should be. The SNES console maker vowed revenge.

In the 1991 Chicago CES convention, the Sony PlayStation was shown to the general public for the first time. The next day Nintendo held a press conference declaring that its dropping Sony in favor of Philips.

After that bitter break-up, Sony embarked on creating its own gaming console - the PlayStation - which is widely acknowledged to be the company's most valuable product.

Such gaming console prototypes are quite rare and experts estimate that only about 200 units were made.

One of those lucky enough to have gotten hold of one of the prototypes is Terry Diebold and his son, Dan. The father recounted how he got the prototype through an auction held by his company, Advanta. He said that he was able to buy the Nintendo PlayStation and other items for $75.

Terry said that he was one of the people who packed the boxes that went through the auction so he had an inkling on what box the rare gaming console would be.

He surmised that the unit may have belonged to Olaf Olafsson, the former Chief Executive Officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. He also happen to be one of the board members of the failed company in which Terry worked.

When the prototype game was tested by a reporter, the cartridge was working perfectly. However, no one was able to make the CD player work.

TagsNintendo PlayStation, SNES CD-ROM, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo SNES, Nintendo-Sony