Super NES CD-ROM

Super NES CD-ROM System
SNES-CD add-on prototype concept art
Also known asSuper Famicom CD-ROM Adapter, Nintendo PlayStation
ManufacturerNintendo, Sony
TypeVideo game console add-on
GenerationFourth generation
LifespanCanceled
MediaCD-ROM, ROM cartridge

The Super NES CD-ROM[1][a] (commonly abbreviated to SNES-CD) is an unreleased add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game console. It was built upon the functionality of the cartridge-based SNES by adding support for a CD-ROM-based format known as Super Disc.[4][5]

The SNES-CD was developed in a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony and was publicly announced in 1990.[6] Sony also planned to release it as a hybrid console, the Play Station[7] and planned to use their Super Disc for video and other multimedia.[8] A separate partnership with Philips led to the development of a CD-ROM/XA format add-on for SNES,[6] and separately yielded a few Nintendo-themed games on the CD-i format.[6] Eventually the three companies agreed on a common CD standard. The project moved to a 32-bit system and specifications were completed near end 1992,[6] but by the summer of 1993, Nintendo quietly canceled the addon entirely.[9]

After the SNES-CD was canceled, Sony developed its own new and unrelated console using the PlayStation name. The first PlayStation console became the chief competitor of Nintendo's next console, the Nintendo 64.

  1. ^ "Super NES Technology Update: CD-ROM". Nintendo Power. No. 35. April 1992. pp. 70–71.
  2. ^ "Super NES CD-ROM System documentation" (PDF). Nintendo of America, Inc. February 1, 1993. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018.
  3. ^ "ニューマシン総まくり" [Overview of New Consoles]. Weekly Famitsu (in Japanese). July 3, 1992. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017.
  4. ^ Theriault, Donald (July 3, 2015). "Nintendo Play Station Superdisc Discovered". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference EngadgetTest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d "Nintendo's rocky road to CD". Electronic Games. April 1993. p. 27.
  7. ^ "Rare 'Nintendo PlayStation' sells for £230,000". BBC News. March 6, 2020. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference IGN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Nintendo CD: The full story". Super Play. No. 11. September 1993.


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