Special Feature: A Short History on Video Game Development Kits

Questions about the PlayStation 5 are currently swirling around social media corners and message boards, to no surprise. The gaming audience will never stop being intrigued by new hardware, and it’s clearly the reaction Sony wants after providing small drips of information to the press throughout the year — especially Wired. One of the more interesting questions is related to the dev kit, a mock-up for which matched the image from the leaked patent. Some gaming types are hoping the final system will resemble the kit, while others are — you guessed it — fearing that it will resemble the kit. This might be pointless, since final consoles don’t usually resemble dev kits.

The “might” is important in that last sentence, though. It’s true that most consoles look different from the dev kits — some especially so; but there are others that do resemble the final platforms. The comparisons are interesting enough that they’re worth going through, but I’m only going back as far as the fifth generation (consoles that launched in the mid-90s), since this post would be too long otherwise.

The PlayStation (PSOne) dev kit didn’t resemble the final console in the least, but instead fittingly resembled a desktop from the mid-90s. Note that I’m not referring to the Nintendo PlayStation prototype, created when Sony originally planned to work with Nintendo to create an enhanced version of the Super Nintendo that played CD-ROMs. The Nintendo 64 had two kits: The main one was the SGI Indy, a blue rectangular device, while the Doctor V64 could also be used. The main system had to be placed on top of the latter kit to work, similar to the Japan-only (though it wasn’t initially intended to be that way) 64DD drive.

The Sega Saturn kit also didn’t resemble the final system, but it’s worth noting how big a behemoth it was. It is, however, delectably retro for fans of 90s electronics aesthetics.

The Dreamcast, GameCube, and Xbox dev kits had one key thing in common: They all resembled desktops in some fashion. This was fitting for the Dreamcast, which contained an optimized iteration of Microsoft’s Windows CE, though the main kit was slightly smaller and cuter than the average desktop. The Xbox kit fully resembled a desktop and ran on Windows NT, expected for Microsoft’s first gaming system. The GameCube had two main kits: The first was a big blue system, the color for which was a nod to the system’s original “Dolphin” name. The upgraded kit further resembled a PC, though also contained a small image of a dolphin with Nintendo’s logo on it.

Development Kits For PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and Dreamcast Side By Side
by ingaming

The PlayStation 2’s dev kit actually bears a good resemblance to the final system, though includes two noticeable differences. For one, there’s a special section protruding from the system, which likely contains the dev tools. The second noticeable aspect is how much larger it was compared to the final system. You’ll notice the trend of dev kits being larger than the final systems, thanks to all the hardware necessary for development hardware. Only one out of these four resembled the final system.

The early Xbox 360 dev kit was similar to the original Xbox’s kit, in how it resembled a desktop with slight modifications. The later kit resembled the final system, but with a special protrusion coming from the side. The Nintendo Wii’s dev kit was reminiscent of the first GameCube kit, in how it was larger and considerably less aesthetically pleasing compared to the final system. Instead of being blue, however, it came in a sleek black color. The PlayStation 3 dev kit fittingly resembled a mid-00s Blu-ray player. This batch is around 0.5 for 3.

The Wii U was the first console of the current-generation, though whether it counts as that is the point of much debate that I’m not wading into any further. The kit resembled the Wii’s in being a box that came in a sleek black color, but the highlight is the GamePad, which looks like a Chinese knockoff upon first glance. The PS4 kit was a bulky black and silver system that looked nothing like the final product, though is aesthetically pleasing. The Xbox One version is more interesting, because while the kit, which contained a white top on a black base, didn’t resemble the original XB1, it did resemble the Xbox One S.

The only current-gen console that can be compared to its dev kit is the Nintendo Switch. Images of the kit were well circulated around the time the system was revealed, which looks almost identical to the final console. The only difference is that the Joy-Cons come in black, which might explain why black variants haven’t been officially released to the public.

You’ll notice that I didn’t mention dedicated handhelds above, which deserve their own paragraph. The early Game Boy Advance kit was a circuit board that hooked up to a SNES controller. The original DS dev kit involved the main system hooking up to a bulky blue box, though later kits resembled the main system. The 3DS kit, meanwhile, resembled the final system, albeit with a silver clamshell and black internal shell surrounding the screens. The PSP and Vita dev kits looked almost identical to the final systems. Handhelds won’t be much of a thing outside novelty systems and alternate options like the Switch Lite going forward. The main Switch is a hybrid system, while Sony appears to be done with handhelds.

It’s clear here that most dev kits don’t end up resembling the final systems, so there’s around a 75-percent chance that the final PlayStation 5 won’t resemble the dev kit. This could also apply to Microsoft’s Project Scarlett when images of its kit eventually surface, though the XB1 resembled its dev kit more than the PS4 resembled its kit. But it’s always fun to note the how much the designs can vary between the kits and final consoles, which should continue to be the case from here on.