It was supposed to be a coup. Sony proudly announced that it was collaborating with Nintendo to produce a version of the Super NES with an integrated CD drive on May 28, 1991, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago.
The two Japanese companies had been secretly collaborating on the Nintendo PlayStation project since 1989, and with CD-ROM hype at an all-time high, Sony’s announcement ought to have been the highlight of the trade show.
But there was trouble brewing in the background. Since approving the alliance, Nintendo had started to worry more about Sony’s intentions, believing that it was using the project to try to take over the games industry.
Nintendo was right to be suspicious. The project’s architect, a Sony engineer named Ken Kutaragi, saw the collaboration as the first step toward realizing his goal of persuading Sony to begin producing game consoles.
Did Nintendo reject Sony?
Assuming as much, Nintendo made the decision to start the attack. The day after Sony made its announcement, Nintendo said it was no longer collaborating with Sony and had switched to its Dutch rival Philips.
The public humiliation Nintendo had inflicted on Sony astounded it. Nintendo’s attempt to drive Sony out of the video game industry, however, backfired.