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Super NES CD-ROM
The Super NES CD-ROM (commonly abbreviated as SNES CD) was a proposed video game platform developed in the early 1990s by Nintendo via joint ventures with Sony and Philips in an attempt to expand upon the functionality of the cartridge-based Super Nintendo Entertainment System by adding support for compact discs (CDs).
The collaborations with Sony and Philips resulted in two distinct but unrelated projects that would support playback of CDs, one of which was an add-on device for the Super NES developed by Philips and another was a dedicated all-in-one unit developed by Sony under the name "PlayStation". Games would also be stored on the medium, using two distinct formats based on CD-ROM for both collaborations.
Both projects ultimately fell short after Nintendo dropped out of both joint ventures in 1991 and 1993 respectively, meaning that both CD-based projects were cancelled with fewer to no prototypes being produced. This turn of events led to Sony developing a console of their own and Philips gaining licenses to some Nintendo properties for a few Nintendo-themed games for the CD-i platform, many of which were unsuccessful and poorly-received. Nintendo themselves never properly transitioned to optical media for several years until the release of the GameCube in 2001.
Released in 1990, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was Nintendo's entry into the fourth generation of video game consoles, also known as the 16-bit era. It became a major success worldwide, outselling its competitors, the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, becoming the most popular console of that generation.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, compact discs (CDs) started to gain traction as a storage medium for music and video games, and offered some significant advantages over the traditional cartridge format that was the norm in the video game industry at the time such as greater storage capacity as well as the potential for storing full-motion video (FMV) and high-quality audio (including audio CD playback). Add-on accessories using CD technology were created to take advantage of this approach; the first one being NEC's TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD-ROM² in 1988 and then Sega's Sega CD/Mega-CD in 1991. In response, Nintendo sought to create their own take on the concept and entered negotiations with Sony, who had previously designed the sound chips for the SNES, to create the project.
Sony engineer Ken Kutaragi became interested in video game development after observing his daughter play games on Nintendo's Famicom video game console. Without full corporate approval, Kutaragi secretly designed the S-SMP audio chip for Nintendo’s upcoming Super NES console. At the time, Sony was uninterested in the video game business, so most of his superiors did not approve of the project (and was nearly fired for doing so), but Kutaragi received support from Sony executive Norio Ohga, who allowed the project to proceed.
Encouraged by the collaboration, and convinced that CD-ROMs (which Sony had co-developed with Philips) would eventually supplant cartridges, Kutaragi proposed a CD-ROM drive for the Super NES. Although Nintendo was initially skeptical, concerned about the slow load times of CD-ROM drives of the time, it permitted Sony to begin development after Kutaragi claimed the drive would be used for multimedia purposes rather than games.
Development began in late 1988. The resulting project was a Sony-branded console called the PlayStation, designed to support both Super NES cartridges and a new CD-based format known as the Super Disc. Contemporaneous plans for the Super NES CD-ROM peripheral reportedly included the integration of Argonaut Software's Super FX graphics co-processor to provide 3D acceleration. Jez San of Argonaut recalled that Nintendo and Sony initially intended for the CD add-on to incorporate the Super FX chip, which would have allowed the peripheral to run 3D graphics; San said the chip was discussed as part of early technical proposals during Super NES CD-ROM negotiations.
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Super NES CD-ROM
The Super NES CD-ROM (commonly abbreviated as SNES CD) was a proposed video game platform developed in the early 1990s by Nintendo via joint ventures with Sony and Philips in an attempt to expand upon the functionality of the cartridge-based Super Nintendo Entertainment System by adding support for compact discs (CDs).
The collaborations with Sony and Philips resulted in two distinct but unrelated projects that would support playback of CDs, one of which was an add-on device for the Super NES developed by Philips and another was a dedicated all-in-one unit developed by Sony under the name "PlayStation". Games would also be stored on the medium, using two distinct formats based on CD-ROM for both collaborations.
Both projects ultimately fell short after Nintendo dropped out of both joint ventures in 1991 and 1993 respectively, meaning that both CD-based projects were cancelled with fewer to no prototypes being produced. This turn of events led to Sony developing a console of their own and Philips gaining licenses to some Nintendo properties for a few Nintendo-themed games for the CD-i platform, many of which were unsuccessful and poorly-received. Nintendo themselves never properly transitioned to optical media for several years until the release of the GameCube in 2001.
Released in 1990, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was Nintendo's entry into the fourth generation of video game consoles, also known as the 16-bit era. It became a major success worldwide, outselling its competitors, the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, becoming the most popular console of that generation.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, compact discs (CDs) started to gain traction as a storage medium for music and video games, and offered some significant advantages over the traditional cartridge format that was the norm in the video game industry at the time such as greater storage capacity as well as the potential for storing full-motion video (FMV) and high-quality audio (including audio CD playback). Add-on accessories using CD technology were created to take advantage of this approach; the first one being NEC's TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD-ROM² in 1988 and then Sega's Sega CD/Mega-CD in 1991. In response, Nintendo sought to create their own take on the concept and entered negotiations with Sony, who had previously designed the sound chips for the SNES, to create the project.
Sony engineer Ken Kutaragi became interested in video game development after observing his daughter play games on Nintendo's Famicom video game console. Without full corporate approval, Kutaragi secretly designed the S-SMP audio chip for Nintendo’s upcoming Super NES console. At the time, Sony was uninterested in the video game business, so most of his superiors did not approve of the project (and was nearly fired for doing so), but Kutaragi received support from Sony executive Norio Ohga, who allowed the project to proceed.
Encouraged by the collaboration, and convinced that CD-ROMs (which Sony had co-developed with Philips) would eventually supplant cartridges, Kutaragi proposed a CD-ROM drive for the Super NES. Although Nintendo was initially skeptical, concerned about the slow load times of CD-ROM drives of the time, it permitted Sony to begin development after Kutaragi claimed the drive would be used for multimedia purposes rather than games.
Development began in late 1988. The resulting project was a Sony-branded console called the PlayStation, designed to support both Super NES cartridges and a new CD-based format known as the Super Disc. Contemporaneous plans for the Super NES CD-ROM peripheral reportedly included the integration of Argonaut Software's Super FX graphics co-processor to provide 3D acceleration. Jez San of Argonaut recalled that Nintendo and Sony initially intended for the CD add-on to incorporate the Super FX chip, which would have allowed the peripheral to run 3D graphics; San said the chip was discussed as part of early technical proposals during Super NES CD-ROM negotiations.