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This is the 3DO section. I have a
growing selection of 3DO Games and Consoles, as well as a few bits and pieces of
hardware. Click any of these links to take you to the appropriate
section.
The 3DO Interactive
Multiplayer (most commonly referred to as 'the 3DO') was a line of video game
consoles released in 1993 and 1994 by Panasonic, Sanyo and Goldstar. The
consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO
Company, and were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New
Technology Group. The system was conceived by entrepreneur and EA Games founder
Trip Hawkins.
Despite a highly-promoted launch and a host of cutting-edge technologies, the
system's high price ($699.95 USD at release) and an over-saturated console
market brought 'the 3DO' to a speedy demise.
The consoles had very advanced hardware features at the time: an ARM60 32-bit
RISC CPU, two custom video co-processors, a custom 16-bit DSP and a custom math
coprocessor. They also featured 2 megabytes of DRAM, 1 megabyte of VRAM, and a
double speed CD-ROM drive for main storage, Up to 8 controllers could be
daisy-chained on the system at once. In addition to special 3DO software, the
system was able to play audio CDs (including support for CD+G), view Photo CDs,
and Video CDs with an add-on MPEG video card (released in Japan only). However,
few titles utilized the console's full potential.
A noteable feature of the console is that it is one of few CD-based consoles
that feature neither regional lockout nor copy protection, scoring it points
amongst import gamers and software pirates alike, though reports have suggested
that the Goldstar model isn't particularly durable when used for either of those
purposes.
It was often said that the 3DO software library exhibited many of the worst
aspects of home video gaming at the time. This was the dawn of CD-ROM gaming, so
cutscenes of pixelated video footage dominated many titles at the expense of
good gameplay. The most well-recieved titles were commonly ports of games from
other systems, such as Alone in the Dark, Myst, Out of This World, and Star
Control II.
Other notable titles
include Need for Speed, Jurassic Park Interactive, Crash N' Burn, Slayer,
Killing Time, and the first console port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which
exceeded the original with its CD-quality audio. Game series that started on 3DO
by Electronic Arts, Studio 3DO and Crystal Dynamics established themselves on
other 32-bit consoles.
In addition to the consoles, a 3DO Blaster ISA peripheral card for PCs which
offered all the features of the home console was manufactured by Creative
Technology.
The 3DO Company also designed a next-generation console called the M2, which was
to use a PowerPC 602 processor, but the company abandoned the console business
and sold the technology to Matsushita who never brought the system to the
market.
By the early 1990s, the video game market had become overcrowded. Philips, Sega,
Nintendo, Commodore, SNK, and Atari each had a video game system on the market.
By 1995, most of these systems had fallen out of the loop and were discontinued.
Nintendo's SNES and Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis were the most successful systems.
Many consider the final blow to be the overwhelming popularity and affordability
of the Sony PlayStation, which not only forced out other CD-based systems like
the CD-i, but also laid Sega's Saturn to rest by the end of 1998.
Despite heavy promoting
on the YTV variety show It's Alive, and the potential expandability behind the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer, third-party support was lacking, and the 3DO system
was discontinued in 1995. The 3DO Company then became a software publisher,
producing such games as the Army Men franchise, until it filed for bankruptcy
and liquidated its assets in 2003.
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