Days ago, the Video Game History Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving video games, unearthed the prototype of an NES game that Sony never published. During the 1980s, the Japanese tech giant began its venture into the gaming industry through a subsidiary company called CSG Imagesoft Inc. Sony’s plan was to publish three games developed by Japanese studios in the North American market, but in the end, only one of them saw the light of day. Super Dodge Ball, originally developed by Technos, was the only one localized and published in America by CSG Imagesoft Inc., while Super Sushi Pinball and Super Rescue were never released. Until now, only promotional images of these games had been preserved.
Super Sushi Pinball
The NES Game Sony Never Released
The VGHF reached out to Ed Semrad, who was editor-in-chief of the iconic Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine. Ed, who still keeps a massive collection of cartridges in his basement, had numerous demos and prototypes from his days as a writer. During a visit to this treasure trove of rarities, they came across the cartridge containing the prototype of Super Sushi Pinball—the only known copy in the world, at least to date. Thanks to this remarkable find and Ed’s generosity, the game has been digitized, and its ROM is now available online for everyone to experience.
Super Sushi Pinball is essentially a localized version of Super Pinball, a game developed by Soft Machine and published in Japan by Coconuts Japan Entertainment Co., Ltd. The primary difference between the original title and this version is its sushi theme, depicted in the opening and closing scenes that tell the story of the creation of this classic dish of Japanese cuisine. Interestingly, this theme doesn’t extend to the pinball tables themselves, which are the same as in the original game and have no connection to the renowned dish.
