That wiki is wrong. (First off, NT 3.51 came out four months before 95, it'd make no sense as an argument that the CD player was too new for 95, yet included in NT 3.51)
The Windows 95 release-to-manufacture disc, files dated 1995-07-11, the /WIN95/WIN95_14.CAB file:
$ cabextract -s -l -F cdp\* win95_14.cab
Viewing cabinet: win95_14.cab
File size | Date Time | Name
-----------+---------------------+-------------
643 | 11.07.1995 09:50:00 | cdplayer.cnt
88064 | 11.07.1995 09:50:00 | cdplayer.exe
20579 | 11.07.1995 09:50:00 | cdplayer.hlp
All done, no errors.
Re:Screenshots from Windows 95
by AshamedCaptain on Friday October 13, 2023 @02:32PM
(#37873894)
https://web.archive.org/web/20051214182952/http://support.mi...
Please also note that I _never_ saw 95 as a CD in retail. I actually took a trip to the US when it was released to search for it, since I got confirmation from my local MS that it was not in EU. Several people do ensure me that there was a retail CD version, but I have never seen it in person myself. I have seen plenty of OEM discs, though.
In the US, the floppy version was very uncommon. I didn't even know it existed for a few years, until I encountered someone that had it.
Re:Screenshots from Windows 95
by crazygringo on Wednesday October 18, 2023 @10:18AM
(#37929061)
Ah ha. Mystery solved, thank you!
Turns out everybody's half-right. :)
> CD Player was included in Windows 98, Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 (as Deluxe CD Player). The program was also made available as part of an upgrade for Windows 95.
https://microsoft.fandom.com/wiki/CD_Player