The Game On Expo is back Aug. 5-7 at the Mesa Convention Center, and with it comes a rare chance to see an almost-forgotten piece of console gaming history.

Sony is undoubtedly a power player in gaming today with four PlayStation consoles and two handheld systems under its belt. But that all started from a failed collaboration with Nintendo in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Originally, this partnership took the form of a CD peripheral for the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and this led to a prototype console from Sony that played Super Famicom (Japanese Super NES) cartridges as well as software for the SNES CD — the “PlayStation.” Needless to say, the collaboration fell apart and Sony took its ball and went home, and now they do many things Ninten-don’t, to borrow a phrase from my youth …

But the story didn’t end there for the Nintendo PlayStation. Last year a working prototype surfaced, and a Game On Expo panel 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 6, will explore the saga in detail.

For more information on attending Game On Expo and the guests and programming you can expect there, check out the event’s official website.