Recently, I managed to obtain something interesting for collectors: a development Pippin. It’s a « prototype » model very close to the final version. Apart from an inscription that uses the old name (Power Player), it is technically identical to a standard Pippin.
Visually, the only visible difference is the front face: the left part does not mention the console’s name, and the PowerPC logo has been attached. Internally, it contains a development ROM (KINKA Pre-release) that I will try to dump. I got it for a relatively low price (basically, I traded it for a Pippin bought for less than €50 in Japan) for a good reason: it doesn’t start up completely. More precisely, it boots up, but doesn’t seem to recognize the CD drive. I tried it with several other models (the same one, a faster one, etc.) with no results. Apparently, the SCSI bus doesn’t seem to respond: the CD drive opening command doesn’t work.
The prototype (top)
PowerPlayer
The ROM
The ROM
Nevertheless, it remains a major object in my collection.
