Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida recently shared insights into his experience with the unreleased Nintendo PlayStation prototype, including playing a nearly completed game developed for the cancelled console.

In a MinnMax interview, Yoshida recounted his career at Sony, starting with his early work alongside Ken Kutaragi, known as the "father of PlayStation." Joining Kutaragi's team in February 1993, during the original PlayStation's development, Yoshida and his colleagues were introduced to the Nintendo PlayStation prototype. He emphasized that this was a functional prototype, not just a concept.

Yoshida described witnessing a nearly finished game running on the system, even playing it on his first day. He likened the game's style to a contemporary space shooter, possibly similar to Sega CD's Silpheed, which streamed assets from a CD. While he couldn't recall the developer's identity or the game's origin (US or Japan), he expressed optimism about its potential survival. "I wouldn't be surprised," he stated, referencing the CD-based nature of the game's storage.

The Nintendo PlayStation remains a highly sought-after collector's item, largely due to its unreleased status, representing a fascinating "what-if" scenario in gaming history. The prototype's rarity has driven significant interest in auction and collector circles.

The possibility of this Sony-developed space shooter resurfacing is intriguing, not unprecedented. Nintendo's release of Star Fox 2 years after its cancellation provides a precedent. Perhaps this lost piece of gaming history could one day see the light of day.