In this thread we post prototypes/pre-production or rare consoles and peripherals

[camineet]

Here's the EGM article on the 32-bit Nintendo Disc CD-ROM add-on




Remember guys, there were two 16-bit SNES CD-ROM systems before that one.
The already-shown Nintendo Play Station and the Phillips system.

Yes, that's right, there were THREE canceled SFC/SNES CD-ROM systems/addons.

http://www.nintendoland.com/home2.htm?snes/snescdr.htm

To sort things out there were 3 different Nintendo CD consoles: 1. The Playstation which Nintendo and Sony were planning on based on the their deal with Nintendo from 1988. 2. The Nintendo/Philips CD-ROM add-on based on the agreement between Philips and Nintendo around the time of the C.E.S. in June 1991. 3. The Philips CD-ROM XA / SNES Nintendo Disk which were a product of the cooperation betwen both Nintendo, Sony and Philips. Based on a deal struck around October - November 1992.

[noire]

How was that star thing supposed to work? Seriously.

Wii sports would have included frisbee, frisbee golf, ultimate frisbee and the discus throw.

Also, there would have been many more broken TVs.

And Tambourine Hero would sell a billion.

[camineet]

There was another Konix Multisystem from the early to mid 90s that also never came out.
The 32-bit TXE MultiSystem / MultiSystem 2. For Asian markets.

http://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/index.php?id=msu

[camineet]

Early prototype slim Sega Saturn circa 1993 / early 1994








pre-production silver Sega Saturn

[f3niks]

Did these ever go on sale anywhere?

Wow. A zip drive. It's amazing how fast technology can change.

[camineet]

circa 1996 - reported spec for Apple's Pippin 2 system (never came out)

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.g...8?dmode=source

It will be powered by a 120Mhz PPC603E, with MPEG2, 2D and 3D acceleration, and a DVD drive(optional). Spec wise, it blows M2 away. Plus, sinec it can use most of MacOS and services, developing for it would be a piece of cake if you have some experience with Mac development.

http://faberp.tripod.com/atmark.htm

Pippin 2.0: The future (?) Yes, it seems strange but the Pippin will probably have some sort of future. Apple is working on a MacOs Light version that will be used in future products: NCs and PDAs are the most likely products to use it. One of the biggest supporter of Pippin 2.0 is Larry Ellison (head of Oracle, and member of the administration council of Apple). The future Pippin will probaly be based on G3 processors (at first it was tought it could use a PowerPC 603 at 120 MHz), will have at least 8 Mb of RAM, an MPEG-2 decoder, a Firewall port, a built-in modem and maybe a DVD drive. Both Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) and Avie Tevanian (Software Engineering Chief) confirmed Apple interest in Network Computer some months ago.

http://web.archive.org/web/199701121...ws_pippin.html

SEPTEMBER 30, 1996 / VOLUME 10 NUMBER 37 Options will make Pippin 2 a home, network computer By David Morgenstern (david_morgenstern@macweek.com) As its Pippin partner is preparing to enter the domestic market, Apple is firming up plans for its next-generation design. The forthcoming revision will give developers greater flexibility as well as compliance with the proposed Network Computer Reference profile. Sources said Apple is demonstrating for third-party licensees and developers the Pippin 2.0, a reference design that is expected to show up in devices in the third quarter of 1997. Some models will cost less than $500. The first-generation Pippin, the @World Player from Bandai Digital Entertainment Corp. of La Mirada, Calif., is set to ship in the United States in November. The company said the base model will cost $599; a configuration with all the trimmings is not currently priced (see 05.20.96, Page 1). "Pippin is evolving," a Pippin developer said. "Bandai financed a game machine to compete with Sega and Nintendo but came up with much more -- a Network Computer." The new system will be a modular hardware and software platform that will let licensees easily pick and choose which features to ship in a product, sources said. While the current Pippin must start up from a CD-ROM, Version 2.0 allows for as much as 8 Mbytes of ROM that can hold system software or third-party application software, such as an Internet browser. The system will also support a diskless booting capability (see 05.27.96, Page 1). The scheme will also reportedly let vendors create low-cost systems without disc-based storage for vertical markets, such as a networked kiosk or a television set-top box with a cable modem. In addition to the floppy drives and Iomega Corp.'s Zip storage currently available for the Pippin, Version 2.0 will support EPROM storage for files.

Based on a 120-MHz PowerPC 603 processor, the new Pippin will be far speedier than its predecessor; sources said Apple may use a 603e chip, depending on prices next year. The design will reportedly feature an 80-MHz system bus, much faster than that available with any current Macintosh and most desktop computers. In addition, the hardware will be tweaked to provide a high-bandwidth stream to the video buffer. According to sources, the Pippin 2.0 will offer a wider range of multimedia optimizations than its predecessor. It will come standard with hardware 2-D and 3-D graphics acceleration, and the reference design includes an MPEG-2 video decompressor. The system will also support AC3 encoded audio. Developers reportedly will be able to add a Digital Video Disc (DVD) player in designs. The Pippin 2.0 will support most compact disc standards, including digital audio, Photo CD and the multimedia Enhanced CD format. The Pippin 2.0 will support the 1394 serial standard, or FireWire, but sources said Apple has not decided if the technology will be integrated on the motherboard or as a daughtercard. Users will also be able to connect and control a variety of 1394 devices, such as digital video cameras, digital VCRs and printers, which are expected to ship in 1997. In addition, the inclusion of FireWire will let the Pippin act as a control console for any attached programmable devices, such as a D-VCR. "I see potential with FireWire," said analyst Van Baker with Dataquest Inc. of San Jose, Calif., after hearing about the reported new Pippin specifications. He said Apple's poor performance over the past year and the Pippin's game-machine background may present obstacles for its acceptance in enterprise sites. However, "a Network Computer that adds video and multimedia is a different value proposition," Baker said. In addition to the home entertainment and NC markets, Apple also sees potential sales for the Pippin 2.0 in the education market, sources said. Apple declined to comment.

[camineet]

What, no love for all the hard work I did digging up obscure prototypes and info about never-released consoles? :(

[Mario]

Dev kits are awesome, how hard are they to collect (is even legal?)

Dev kits and debug kits are supplied on a kind of permanent loan basis so technically developers and publishers never own them meaning they aren't in a position to onsell and that they should be returned to the platform manufacturer in the case of bankruptcy.

Obviously though collectors manage to get hold of them.


Looking through the thread though reminded me of how cool and exciting it is whenever a new generation of dev and debug kits turns up to the studio. All our stuff older platform stuff is sitting in boxes somewhere so it might actually be cool to pull out an example of each and put it on display (newer employees would probably get a kick out of it).

Thanks awesome thread for bringing back those warm fuzzy feelings :)

[Jea Song]

VMU Mp3 player(was actually looking forward to this one) and somekind of sega watch?

[Wendo]

What, no love for all the hard work I did digging up obscure prototypes and info about never-released consoles? :(

I appreciate it! Thank you.

[ManaByte]

If anyone remembers this VR visor that SEGA was hyping for a long time and never came out.

If you're talking about the Master System ones, they did come out and look like this:

[Mariah Carey]

I was so disappointed when I found out they renamed it plain-old "Nintendo 64."

I was glad they changed it. Ultra 64 sounded like it came from a 10-year-old boy.

[camineet]

If you're talking about the Master System ones, they did come out and look like this:

I don't think he's talking about the SegaScope 3-D glasses for Master System:


but the never-released VR goggles for Genesis

[Wark]

Prototype PlayStation logos


Prototype PlayStation


Prototype NeoStar


. . . and for shits and giggles . . .

Prototype Boomerang (?)

[camineet]

I appreciate it! Thank you.

Yay! thanks and you're welcome. Heh, I actually enjoy this.

[camineet]

Prototype PlayStation logos Prototype PlayStation

That's amazing, thanks.

[Mdk7]

Prototype PlayStation logos Prototype PlayStation Prototype NeoStar . . . and for shits and giggles . . . Prototype Boomerang (?)

woah, those logos are really cool!!

[Mdk7]

Prototype PlayStation logos Prototype PlayStation Prototype NeoStar . . . and for shits and giggles . . . Prototype Boomerang (?)

woah, those logos are really cool!!

[Nabs]

The Konix Multi-System and hydraulic motion chair:

heres the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgkOLfcRWYA

[pn18]

[DaCocoBrova]

Devkits apply?

[marwan]

yes...since we never get to see them else where.

[Shig]

Yes, please.

[pn18]

Yes, please.

Yes, it looks way better than the original design, imo.

[handofg0d]

Sega Genesis / Sega CD Dev Kit:



Xbox Alpha I and II side by side:


Xbox Beta kits:


Xbox Beta LIVE debug kit:


Xbox "Tuscany Xblade" Debug Unit:


360 Launch Team:


360 HDDs:


Gamecube DDH (Dolphin Dev Hardware):


Gamecube NPDP-Gang Writer (Filled with carts) and NPDP WIF PCI Card:


Gamecube GDEV:


Dreamcast HKT-0120 Katana Devkit:


Dreamcast GD-R's:


Playstation Debug Units & Net Yaroze Unit:


PS2 TOOL:


PS2 TEST:


PSTwo TEST:


PS3 TESTs w/ BRD-Rs:

[batbeg]

There's something humorous about a PS2 with the word "TOOL" printed across it :) There are so many awesome things posted here, really cool stuff all around.

[neopokekun]

heres the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgkOLfcRWYA

Some more Konix Multisystem videos.

Jeff Minter showing Attack of the Mutant Camels '89: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Konix cube tech demo
Konix Bikers
Viktor the Vectorman

[marwan]

There's something humorous about a PS2 with the word "TOOL" printed across it :) There are so many awesome things posted here, really cool stuff all around.

yah, it sounds kinky!

[gollumsluvslave]

I always liked the looks of the doomed Indrema:-


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indrema

[neopokekun]

Nokia released the Ngage but does anyone remember Ericsson's unreleased Red Jade a few years earlier?

Red Jade prototype

Here is an article about it.

[SolidC213]

[g35twinturbo]

The prototype for the Dreamcast DVD add-on: The hard to find Divers 2000 Dreamcast:

I remember this all too well, why are people posting mock ups and devkits lol

[jaypah]

I remember this all too well, why are people posting mock ups and devkits lol

because it made the thread even more awesome?

srsly, awesome thread. some of this stuff i had long since forgotten about and some of it is completely new to me.

[Classic_Gs]

Very cool thread all. Thx for the pics and info.

[batbeg]

Well, as we're posting mock-ups, I thought that this was a pretty cool idea, though it probably would've been unwieldy as heck.

[g35twinturbo]

because it made the thread even more awesome? srsly, awesome thread. some of this stuff i had long since forgotten about and some of it is completely new to me.

*sigh*

I guess because I see the devkits everyday, I didn't want to see them in this thread that was awesome :9

[itsgreen]

this thread is full of win.

[jaypah]

*sigh* I guess because I see the devkits everyday, I didn't want to see them in this thread that was awesome :9

if Hugh Hefner was posting in a "Hot Stewardess" thread do you think he'd get vexed because someone posted a few Playmates? of course not. c'mon g35, i know you got a little Hef in you, right buddy? let us 'common folk' enjoy some devkits! :P

[camineet]

NEC PowerVR ARC1A





Sometimes called the PowerVR Highlander prototype. Highlander was the first codename for the 2nd generation PowerVR back in 1995-1996 before the first generation PowerVR was released. It turned out that Highlander would actually be 1 of 5 planned PowerVR2 chips. Highlander was actually the multimedia variant that had 2D, audio and other things, but this wasn't well known or well understood outside of NEC and Videologic. Highlander became the PMX1, better known as the Neon250 in 1999. ARC1A was the starting point.

[b]ARC1A was the prototype graphics card used in a Pentium II PC which together formed the Katana / Dreamcast development kit Set 2.1[/i]

This extremely early alpha PowerVR2 graphics card had about 20% of the performance of the final Dreamcast / PowerVR2DC. Lots of graphics rendering features missing. Yet it was still more powerful than PlayStation, Nintendo 64, 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics, and first generation PowerVR PCX1 or the PCX2 revision.

This is what ran the Sega Super GT / Scud Race demo. Not nearly as well as the arcade, but hey, for ~20% of Dreamcast's power? not bad.


You've seen the prototype shell / casing of Black Belt, and Katana/Dreamcast, now you're seeing the pre-alpha guts.

BTW, the Dreamcast development kit Set 4.0 was

The other development kits that look like (or are) PC towers that you've seen are the later Set 4.0 and Set 5.0 kits.

[Rugasuki]

Pioneer LaserActive



Released in 1993. My friend had one of these while I had the Panasonic 3DO and we used to argue about which was the better system. 3DO's Roadrash inevitably determined that fight. The interesting aspect of the LaserActive was that in addition to playing LaserDisc based games you could buy modules that supported Sega Genesis and Turbo Graphix 16 games.

Info available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_LaserActive

[blame space]

I always liked the looks of the doomed Indrema:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indrema

@ anyone who thinks that's real. Look at those USB ports.

[Alien Bob]

@ anyone who thinks that's real. Look at those USB ports.

[Hellraizah]

The Atari Mirai




Rumored to be in development in conjunction with SNK.

[daegan]

Wait - where are THESE from? I don't remember MadCatz licensing anything other than Batman and sports leagues...

[camineet]

The Atari Mirai Rumored to be in development in conjunction with SNK.

.

ahhh good one, really exellent! I was gonna put this in myself but you beat me

[cyberheater]

Best thread i've ever read on here. Well done.

[neopokekun]

The unreleased follow up to the C64, The Commodore 65.

The C65 was in development in 1990-91 before being cancelled by Irving Gould. Some specs:

# The CPU named CSG 4510 R3 (codenamed Victor after it's designer Victor Andrade) was a custom CSG* 65CE02 (a MOS 6502 derivative), combined with two MOS 6526 complex interface adapters (CIAs)

# A new VIC-III graphics chip named CSG* 4567 R5 (codenamed Bill), capable of producing 256 colors from a palette of 4096 colors; available modes include 320×200×256, 640×200×256, 640×400×16, 1280×200×16, and 1280×400×4 (X×Y×colordepth i.e. number of colors/bit planes)

# Two CSG* 8580R5 SID sound chips producing stereo sound

# 3.54 MHz clock frequency

# 128 KB RAM, expandable to 8 MB using a RAM expansion port similar to that of the Commodore Amiga 500

# Heavily improved BASIC: Commodore BASIC 10.0

The C65 was also supposed to be backward compatible with the C64 but because it emulates most parts it has problems running the more advanced games and demos.

[Bourbon Cowboy]

Playstation logos are pretty sweet.

[f3niks]

Damn I love this thread. Keep 'em coming.

[cRIPticon]

What the hell was the Apple-Bandai Pippin? I remember reading some hype on it back in the day in Hobby Consolas, but it vanished without a trace. I still want a Jaguar, by the way. I am the only person alive that liked that control pad.

You and me both. Loved that control pad.