The Super NES CD-ROM (often shortened to SNES CD) was a planned video game system created in the early 1990s by Nintendo through partnerships with Sony and Philips. The goal was to improve the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), which used cartridges, by adding the ability to use compact discs (CDs) for storing games and other content.
Working with Sony and Philips, two different projects were developed. One was an accessory for the SNES made by Philips that could play CDs, and the other was a separate console created by Sony called "PlayStation." Games for both projects would be stored on CDs using two different formats. However, Nintendo left both partnerships in 1991 and 1993, causing both projects to be cancelled. Few or no working models were made. These events led Sony to create its own console and Philips to receive licenses for some Nintendo-themed games on its CD-i platform. Many of these games were not successful and did not receive good reviews. Nintendo did not use optical media, like CDs, for its systems until the release of the GameCube in 2001.
History
In 1990, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was introduced as Nintendo's entry into the fourth generation of video game consoles, also called the 16-bit era. It became a global success, selling more units than its competitors, the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and was the most popular console of that generation.
During the 1990s, compact discs (CDs) became more popular as a way to store music and video games. They were seen as alternatives to the traditional cartridge format, which was commonly used at the time. CDs offered benefits such as larger storage space, the ability to play full-motion videos, and high-quality audio, including audio from CDs. Add-on devices using CD technology were created, including NEC's TurboGrafx-CD/PC Engine CD-ROM² in 1988 and Sega's Sega CD/Mega-CD in 1991. In response, Nintendo worked with Sony to develop its own CD-based system to compete with these devices.
Sony engineer Ken Kutaragi became interested in video games after watching his daughter play on Nintendo's Famicom console. Without official approval, he secretly designed the S-SMP audio chip for the upcoming Super NES console. At the time, Sony was not focused on the video game industry, and most of his superiors did not support the project. However, Sony executive Norio Ohga allowed the project to continue.
Encouraged by this collaboration, Kutaragi proposed adding a CD-ROM drive to the Super NES. Nintendo was hesitant because CD-ROMs had slow loading times, but it allowed Sony to begin development after Kutaragi claimed the drive would be used for multimedia purposes, not just games.
Development started in late 1988. The project resulted in a Sony-branded console called the PlayStation, which could support both Super NES cartridges and a new CD-based format called the Super Disc. Early plans also included the use of the Super FX coprocessor from Argonaut Games for 3D graphics, as seen in games like Star Fox.
Under the proposed agreement, Sony would control the Super Disc format, its software licensing, and the rights to music and movie content on the platform. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi found these terms unacceptable. He was already concerned about Sony's demands for developers to use its expensive audio tools and worried about Sony's growing influence in music, film, and software. Yamauchi suspected Nintendo was being used to help Sony launch its own console and began seeking another partner.
Yamauchi turned to Philips, a rival of Sony, and sent Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa and executive Howard Lincoln to negotiate a better deal. As reported by David Sheff in Game Over, the deal aimed to "give Nintendo back its control over software and gracefully f–k Sony." Unbeknownst to Sony, Nintendo's plan to partner with Philips was announced publicly in a May 1991 news report.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in June 1991, Sony unveiled the PlayStation, a hybrid console compatible with the SNES and CDs. The next day, Nintendo announced its partnership with Philips, surprising the audience and later being called "the greatest ever betrayal" in the industry.
Despite these events, Nintendo and Sony continued negotiations. Hundreds of PlayStation prototypes were made, and software development began. In early 1992, a deal allowed Sony to produce SNES-compatible hardware, while Nintendo kept control and profits from games. However, the relationship between the companies had already become strained. Although Sony executives believed partnering with Nintendo was the safer choice, Kutaragi convinced the company to abandon the SNES CD-ROM project and instead develop a standalone next-generation console, which became the PlayStation in 1994. This new console was not compatible with the SNES and had more powerful hardware than any other console available at the time. Sony ended all ties with Nintendo in May 1992.
Meanwhile, Nintendo's partnership with Philips led to the development of a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES, featuring a 32-bit coprocessor and a new CD format called the Nintendo Disc (ND). However, Nintendo canceled the project quietly in September 1993, ending all CD-based Super NES hardware development.
Proposed devices
The PlayStation was a planned video game console made by Nintendo and Sony. It used a special CD-ROM format called Super Disc, which only Sony could use. The console could also play games from the Super NES through a built-in cartridge slot.
Early plans included a special chip called the Super FX coprocessor to help the console display basic 3D graphics. However, this chip was not included in any of the prototypes made.
Between 200 and 300 units of the SNES-based PlayStation were created before the project was canceled. These units had the model number SFX-100. As of 2025, only two of these units are known to exist.
Photos of the prototype were found in the 2000s and shared online. They were also shown in an article from 2009 about the original PlayStation. In 2015, one of the prototypes was discovered by a former employee of a company called Advanta. This unit was later studied by a hardware expert named Benjamin Heckendorn. His analysis showed the prototype had two Super NES controller ports, a cartridge slot, a CD-ROM drive, and other ports for connecting to TVs and audio devices. The unit could play Super Famicom cartridges and a test cartridge, but the CD drive and audio features did not work. A third-party power supply was used to power the unit since the original one was missing. The console came with a special Super Famicom controller.
Some people tried to create games for the console, but no games used the CD drive. In 2016, a working piece of software called a boot ROM was found by a retro gaming website.
In 2016, Benjamin Heckendorn fixed some parts of the prototype, which helped the CD drive and audio work. He also made a custom power supply to replace the missing original one. He showed that the system could play Super Famicom games and audio CDs.
The prototype was sold in 2020 for $360,000 to a businessman named Greg McLemore, who plans to create a museum for rare gaming hardware.
In 2025, another prototype was found in the possession of a person named Kutaragi. This unit was in better condition than the first one discovered nearly ten years earlier.
The Super NES CD-ROM System was another planned add-on for the Super NES, made by Nintendo and Philips. It used a special CD-ROM format called Nintendo Disc (ND), which was different from Sony’s Super Disc. The add-on connected to the Super NES through a port on the bottom of the console. It used a special type of CD case to protect discs, similar to early computer CD drives. The CD drive could read CDs at two speeds: 1x for audio and 2x for games.
Nintendo added a new 32-bit processor called SCCP to the add-on, which was faster than the Super NES’s 16-bit processor. This processor worked with a custom chip called HANDS to improve sound and handle CD data. The add-on required its own power supply and had copy-protection features to stop piracy.
The technical details of the Super NES CD-ROM System included a dedicated cartridge with extra hardware, a power cord to connect to the console, and compatibility with both Super NES games and CD-based games.
Legacy
After the original agreement with Sony ended, Nintendo continued working with Philips. This agreement allowed Philips to use Nintendo's characters in a few games for its CD-i multimedia device. However, the agreement did not lead to a CD-ROM add-on for the Super NES, as Nintendo canceled the project in late 1993. The Nintendo-themed CD-i games were not well received, and the CD-i device is considered a commercial failure. These games later became popular among some fans on the internet, especially because of the hand-drawn scenes in certain games. These scenes were used in jokes and online images during the 2000s, including those shared on websites like YouTube.
After Nintendo ended its collaboration with Sony in 1991, Sony continued the project alone. In 1992, Sony stopped working with Nintendo and redesigned the project into a separate console that used CDs instead of cartridges. This console had more powerful hardware than other consoles at the time. Around this time, Sony briefly partnered with Sega to share costs and risks for the CD-ROM drive and future console. However, Sega ended the partnership, stating Sony lacked knowledge of the industry, and instead focused on developing the Sega Saturn. Kutaragi, inspired by his work with Nintendo and Sega, pushed Sony to continue developing its own next-generation console after leaving both companies.
The main game planned for the SNES CD platform launch was Secret of Mana by Square. The game’s content was reduced to fit a cartridge and released on that medium instead. No other hardware from the Nintendo and Philips Super NES CD-ROM project was completed. However, the NEC V810 CPU from the proposed add-on was later used in two other products: NEC and Hudson Soft’s PC-FX console, released in Japan in 1994, and Nintendo’s Virtual Boy 3D stereoscopic console, released in Japan in 1995 and North America in 1995.
Sony released the PlayStation in Japan in December 1994 and in North America and Europe in September 1995. The console became a global success, competing with other CD-based systems like the Sega Saturn, 3DO, and PC-FX, as well as Nintendo’s cartridge-based Nintendo 64. By the mid-to-late 1990s, Sony sold three times as many PlayStation consoles as the Nintendo 64 and Sega Saturn, making Sony a major force in the video game industry.
The failed partnership with Sony is often described as a mistake by Nintendo, as it allowed Sony to become a strong competitor. Journalists have suggested that if Nintendo had not broken the deal, Sony’s position might have been weaker. Nintendo continued to believe that cartridges had faster load times and better anti-piracy features. As a result, Nintendo did not release an optical disc-based console until the GameCube in 2001.