"Play Station" Prototype From Nintendo And Sony Partnership Being Auctioned, Currently At $350,000

The so-called "Nintendo Play Station" console, which was a fable system and the subject of video game lore, is now available to buy on an auction site. The website Heritage Auctions has listed the Nintendo PlayStation console, and this is said to be the first time one of the units has been available at a public auction. Only 200 of these were ever made, and some or all of the other units were reportedly destroyed, but not this one.

The folks at Heritage Auctions say the console operates normally, and they played a few rounds of Mortal Kombat on it as a test. It's now up for auction, and the current highest bid is an impressive $350,000. You can bid in increments of $500, and also bear in mind there is a 20 percent "buyer's premium" attached.

"By far, this is arguably one of the most notorious, mysterious, and controversial artifacts of the video game industry," reads the auction description. "This prototype has been around the world and back again, admired and appreciated by video game enthusiasts from all over. Even though this is the closing of this portion of its narrative, it will continue to remain a pivotal piece of video game history no matter where it ends up."

The Nintendo PlayStation was publicly unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1991, but Nintendo backed out of the arrangement with Sony and, at that very same event, announced it would be entering into a partnership with Philips, which would result in the infamous Philips CD-i (and its notorious Zelda titles). The 200 existing prototypes for the Nintendo PlayStation were said to be destroyed.

The falling out between Nintendo and Sony is reportedly part of what drove Sony to get into the gaming market to begin with. Both companies have enjoyed great success in gaming, with Sony's PS4 recently surpassing the Wii with more than 100 million in sales. Nintendo's newest console, the Switch, is also a sales juggernaut that keeps growing.

Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey has claimed publicly that he's one of the bidders.

Updated with current bid price