The news team at retrocollect.com got an anonymous screenshot and link to what appears to be the Super Nintendo CD Boot ROM. While this may prove to be the missing link between Nintendo and Sony's rumored disc-based system, chances are it may just be an elaborate homebrew hoax.

You can check out more info and what they found when the BIOS was viewed in a hex editor by following the source link.

Source

 

[Drak0rex]

So when will the SNES CD be hacked?

 

[3DSPoet]

So when will the SNES CD be hacked?

Sometime after the NX and Pokemon Sun & Moon.

While y'all are at it, go ahead and create a functioning SuperDisc system for us all to use (why not? People have made their own GBAs, right?)

 

[Deleted User]

edit: Nevermind.

 

[3DSPoet]

edit: Nevermind.

We never do.

 

[Sheimi]

I'm gonna look in the rom to see what sprites and sounds are in there.

 

[weatMod]

When it was shown that they actually found a prototype of the so called Nintendo Play Station, i was surprised. But this..this just goes to a deeper level of gaming history, if its proven to be truth, then a chapter of gaming history has been discovered.

the thing that really fascinates me the most about all this is how something that happened not even that long ago could be so lost to history
it makes no sense and we are to believe that historians who study ancient history actually know their asshole from their ear hole
haha, in this instance nobody can even figure out what went on a couple decades ago
it just boggles the mind that all of this stuff is not well documented and known about ,it's not like N or sony are defunct companies and not like they were not just as huge then as they are now

 

[3DSPoet]

I think it's more along the lines of the information is still "classified" and sealed away in Nintendo and/or Sony's vaults and there's never been any official documentation. I'd bet that someone within those companies has intimate knowledge of the system or access to it, should the need arise.

 

[DiscostewSM]

Keep in mind that the only thing the Play Station and PlayStation share is the name. If you ever expect something like a combined PS1 and SNES to turn up then I can guarantee you'll be very disappointed. What made you think it "had to have some power to it"?



The PS1 could poorly emulate a nes, but not a snes. But as this has zero to do with the PS1 then it's irrelevant.

The Play Station didn't have a faster CPU, better graphics, better sound etc. The patent for video playback shows that it just decrypted animation to PPU tiles. There is a DSP which we don't know much about, which may have been similar to one of the DSP used in some SNES cartridges. Only when the SNES CD came along in 1993 with a built in superfx did the SNES really get more powerful. When the SNES CD died because of the impending PS1, the superfx was put onto the game cartridge and we've seen what that can do already.

The superfx was started prior to the SNES launch in 1990, but wasn't released until 1993. It's therefore possible that superfx would have been included in the Play Station when it hit retail, but wasn't available when building the prototype in 1992. It's also possible that Nintendo would just keep the superfx for itself because Sony tried to screw them with the Play Station contract.

None of the PS1 hardware existed in 1992. It was all developed after the Play Station project was scrapped.

Huh, I thought it was said that the SuperFX chip was offered to Nintendo to be included as part of the SNES itself, like it was actually complete back then.

 

[LuigiBlood]

Huh, I thought it was said that the SuperFX chip was offered to Nintendo to be included as part of the SNES itself, like it was actually complete back then.

Nah, the SuperFX was made later. Also, the SNES CD in 1993 that was made by Philips didn't use SuperFX but rather a 32-bit CPU, speculated to be a NEC V810 (same CPU as Virtual Boy). And actually, the Philips SNES CD, we've never seen it once. We have specs. That's it. We know it's more powerful.

And the Sony SNES CD (aka SuperDisc) is just a SNES with a CD drive. And the SuperDisc System Cartridge brings a BIOS ROM and extra RAM for loading data, and perhaps more.

 

[SonyUSA]

I'd like to know why a gaming relationship 25 years ago is news today...

Skeletons found from 25 million years ago are still news today

 

[3DSPoet]

Nah, the SuperFX was made later. Also, the SNES CD in 1993 that was made by Philips didn't use SuperFX but rather a 32-bit CPU, speculated to be a NEC V810 (same CPU as Virtual Boy). And actually, the Philips SNES CD, we've never seen it once. We have specs. That's it. We know it's more powerful.

And the Sony SNES CD (aka SuperDisc) is just a SNES with a CD drive. And the SuperDisc System Cartridge brings a BIOS ROM and extra RAM for loading data, and perhaps more.

Man, I really miss the virtual boy! XD Had some great games! (and a lot of not-so-great, but meh...) I want a head-mountable virtual boy that is compatible with the Power Glove!

 

[smf]

Huh, I thought it was said that the SuperFX chip was offered to Nintendo to be included as part of the SNES itself, like it was actually complete back then.

AFAIK it wasn't even started when Jez was pushing to have it bundled with the SNES. People will say anything when they want their project funded, he has admitted that he didn't know whether it was possible and it looks like it wouldn't have been.

Also, the SNES CD in 1993 that was made by Philips didn't use SuperFX but rather a 32-bit CPU, speculated to be a NEC V810 (same CPU as Virtual Boy).

The Philips SNES CD had a coprocessor and 3d graphics, Sony then joined Philips and Nintendo and the CPU was upgraded to 32 bit. The 32 bit RISC chip probably was the NEC V810, but whether they built any of those before cancelling is anyones guess (IMO Sony were keeping their enemies closer and had no real intention of delivering anything). I doubt anyone writing games will have bothered to jump between all the different versions anyway and PS1 prototype dev kits were showing up in 1993.

http://www.anthrofox.org/starfox/superfx.html

 

[cdoty]

Huh, I thought it was said that the SuperFX chip was offered to Nintendo to be included as part of the SNES itself, like it was actually complete back then.

The SuperFX came from Argonauts Games, not Sony or Philips.

 

[EntermateStar]

Keep in mind that the only thing the Play Station and PlayStation share is the name. If you ever expect something like a combined PS1 and SNES to turn up then I can guarantee you'll be very disappointed. What made you think it "had to have some power to it"?



The PS1 could poorly emulate a nes, but not a snes. But as this has zero to do with the PS1 then it's irrelevant.

The Play Station didn't have a faster CPU, better graphics, better sound etc. The patent for video playback shows that it just decrypted animation to PPU tiles. There is a DSP which we don't know much about, which may have been similar to one of the DSP used in some SNES cartridges. Only when the SNES CD came along in 1993 with a built in superfx did the SNES really get more powerful. When the SNES CD died because of the impending PS1, the superfx was put onto the game cartridge and we've seen what that can do already.

The superfx was started prior to the SNES launch in 1990, but wasn't released until 1993. It's therefore possible that superfx would have been included in the Play Station when it hit retail, but wasn't available when building the prototype in 1992. It's also possible that Nintendo would just keep the superfx for itself because Sony tried to screw them with the Play Station contract.

None of the PS1 hardware existed in 1992. It was all developed after the Play Station project was scrapped.

all of that is rumor, without actual specs all of it has as credible as sludge to me

 

[DiscostewSM]

The SuperFX came from Argonauts Games, not Sony or Philips.

I never said it came from Sony or Philips.

 

[urherenow]

There were never any games made for it, so what's the big deal? The ROM is legit. MAME devs have already wired it up and it works directly with the SNES driver.

http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthread...904&page=0&view=expanded&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

and by the way, yes it was an addon, much like the SegaCD.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

but this is just like the unofficial carts that allowed you to load games from floppy disks.

Unofficial? I hope you're not referring to the Famicom Disk System. That was a real (and official) thing. I've personally used one. They can still be found in "recycle shops" around Japan.

 

[niuus]

History in the making. Already tested it, it's simple but fascinating.

 

[cdoty]

Unofficial? I hope you're not referring to the Famicom Disk System. That was a real (and official) thing. I've personally used one. They can still be found in "recycle shops" around Japan.

For the SNES, he's probably talking about stuff like the UFO, Super Magicom, or Super Wild Card.

With only 256k of ram (based on byuu's research) this wasn't loading up entire roms, but sections of the game at a time, similar to the Sega CD or PC Engine/TurboGrafx CD.

 

[smf]

There were never any games made for it, so what's the big deal?

There were games in development for it, we just don't have any. I'm pretty sure at least one of the games made for one of the SNES CD iterations turned into a cut down cart game.

Unofficial? I hope you're not referring to the Famicom Disk System. That was a real (and official) thing. I've personally used one. They can still be found in "recycle shops" around Japan.

Yes the famicom disk system was a real and official add on for the NES. We're talking SNES here though right?

For the SNES, he's probably talking about stuff like the UFO, Super Magicom, or Super Wild Card.

With only 256k of ram (based on byuu's research) this wasn't loading up entire roms, but sections of the game at a time, similar to the Sega CD or PC Engine/TurboGrafx CD.

I don't think they page, I'm not sure how that would even work. Especially as games wouldn't fit on one 3.5" disk. Maybe the CD/HD/ZIP versions could.

Some of them were upgradable to cope with larger games.

http://videogamedevelopmentdevices.wikia.com/wiki/Super_Wild_Card_DX

all of that is rumor, without actual specs all of it has as credible as sludge to me

I'm glad you feel that way. You missed the point entirely, which is that the Play Station didn't offer anything that you haven't seen already on the SNES. All of the upgrades came later. Exactly which CPU they chose is irrelevant for this discussion, the leaked official documentation gives enough hints. The documentation never includes part numbers anyway as they want you to only use tools and documentation that they provide.

For example Sony say that the PS1 has an R3000 in it, but it is actually a different part from a different manufacturer done in a completely different process. It's not even 100% compatible to the R3000. Sony modified it you say? Sure it was modified, but it is pretty darn compatible to a modifiable CPU from LSI that can run R3000 code (but in no way is an R3000). When SN systems added support in PsyQ for things the PS1 CPU inherritted from LSI's CPU that the R3000 didn't have, Sony threw a fit and demanded the header file was removed. A lot of people still are adamant it's an R3000, but people who know better get to laugh at those people (and if you think that is being picky then imagine someone arguing that the xbox one has an intel cpu in it).

 

[cdoty]

I don't think they page, I'm not sure how that would even work. Especially as games wouldn't fit on one 3.5" disk. Maybe the CD/HD/ZIP versions could.

Some of them were upgradable to cope with larger games.

http://videogamedevelopmentdevices.wikia.com/wiki/Super_Wild_Card_DX

The SNES CD has 256k of ram, according to Byuu, so they would have had to load in parts of the game. From Byuu's tests, maybe only 128k was planned. http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=13907

I'm guessing the SNES copiers actually had 16, 32, and later 48 megabit of ram in them.