3DO Interactive Multiplayer
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The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a
home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
developed by
The 3DO Company The 3DO Company (formerly THDO on the NASDAQ stock exchange), also known as 3DO, was an American video game company. It was founded in 1991 by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, in a partnership with seven other companies. After 3DO's flagsh ...
. Conceived by entrepreneur and
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
founder
Trip Hawkins William Murray "Trip" Hawkins III (born December 28, 1953) is an American entrepreneur and founder of Electronic Arts, The 3DO Company, and Digital Chocolate. Career A fan of the Strat-O-Matic Football pen and paper games, Hawkins started his f ...
, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company itself, but a series of specifications, originally designed by
Dave Needle David Lewis Needle (December 17, 1947 – February 20, 2016) was an American computer engineer. He was a key engineer and co-chief architect in the creation of the Amiga 1000 computer with Jay Miner, Dave Morse, and R. J. Mical. He was one of ...
and
Robert J. Mical Robert J. "RJ" Mical (born 26 January 1956) is an American computer programmer and hardware designer who has primarily worked in video games. He is best known for creating the user interface, Intuition (Amiga), Intuition, for Commodore's Amiga ...
of New Technologies Group, that could be licensed by third parties.
Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
produced the first models in 1993, and further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by GoldStar (now
LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
), and in 1995 by
Sanyo , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiari ...
. Despite having a highly promoted launch (including being named ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine's "1993 Product of the Year"), the console received mixed to negative reviews, and an oversaturated console market prevented the system from achieving success comparable to competing consoles from
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
and
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
. By 1996, 3DO abandoned the standard and manufacturers ceased production of units.


History

The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was originally conceived by
The 3DO Company The 3DO Company (formerly THDO on the NASDAQ stock exchange), also known as 3DO, was an American video game company. It was founded in 1991 by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, in a partnership with seven other companies. After 3DO's flagsh ...
, founded in September 12, 1991 by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
founder
Trip Hawkins William Murray "Trip" Hawkins III (born December 28, 1953) is an American entrepreneur and founder of Electronic Arts, The 3DO Company, and Digital Chocolate. Career A fan of the Strat-O-Matic Football pen and paper games, Hawkins started his f ...
. The company's objective was to create a next-generation, CD-based video game/entertainment standard which would be manufactured by various partners and licensees; 3DO would collect a royalty on each console sold and on each game manufactured. To game publishers, the low royalty rate per game was a better deal than the higher royalties paid to
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
and
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
when making games for their consoles. The 3DO hardware itself was designed by
Dave Needle David Lewis Needle (December 17, 1947 – February 20, 2016) was an American computer engineer. He was a key engineer and co-chief architect in the creation of the Amiga 1000 computer with Jay Miner, Dave Morse, and R. J. Mical. He was one of ...
and R. J. Mical (designers of the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
and
Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a hybrid 8/16-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal disp ...
), starting from an outline on a restaurant napkin in 1989. Trip Hawkins was a long-time acquaintance of Needle and Mical and found that their design very closely fit his philosophy for architecture and approach, so he decided that: "Rather than me start a brand new team and starting from scratch it just made a lot of sense to ... join forces with them and shape what they were doing into what I wanted it to be." The 3DO Company lacked the resources to manufacture consoles, and instead licensed the hardware to other companies for manufacturing. Trip Hawkins recounted that they approached every electronics manufacturer, but that their chief targets were
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
and
Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
, the two largest consumer electronics companies in the world. However, Sony had already begun development on their own console, the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
, and ultimately decided to continue work on it rather than sign with 3DO. According to former Sega CEO
Tom Kalinske Thomas Kalinske (born July 17, 1944) is an American businessman, best known as having worked for Mattel from 1972 to 1987, where he was credited with reviving the Barbie and Hot Wheels brands, launching Masters of the Universe, then being promoted ...
The 3DO Company was engaged in very serious talks for Sega to become involved with the 3DO. However, it was passed on by Sega due to concerns over cost. Panasonic launched the 3DO with its FZ-1 model in 1993, though Goldstar and Sanyo would later manufacture the 3DO as well. Companies who obtained the hardware license but never actually sold 3DO units include
Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
,
Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...
, and
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
, who went so far as to build prototype AT&T 3DO units and display them at the January 1994
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
. Licensing to independent manufacturers made the system extremely expensive. The manufacturers had to make a profit on the hardware itself, whereas most major game console manufacturers, such as Sega and Sony, sold their systems
at a loss ''…At a Loss'' is the third album by American sludge metal band Buzzoven, released on May 5, 1998, by Off the Records. The album was reissued in 2010 on vinyl and CD through Emetic Records. Track listing "Left Behind" ends at 7:34 with the ...
, with expectations of making up for the loss with software sales. The 3DO was priced at , far above competing game systems and aimed at high-end users and early adopters. Hawkins has argued that 3DO was launched at , and not "higher myths that are often reported". In a later interview, Hawkins clarified that while the suggested retail price was , not all retailers sold the system at that price. Goldstar, Sanyo, and Panasonic's later models were less expensive to manufacture than the FZ-1 and were sold for considerably lower prices. For example, the Goldstar model launched at . In addition, after six months on the market, the price of the FZ-1 had dropped to , leading some to contend that the 3DO's cost was not as big a factor in its market failure as is usually claimed. Hawkins' belief was that the 3DO system could become a dominant standard in a similar way to that achieved by the VHS video cassette format, with several companies being able to promote the standard effectively against individual competitors with their own technologies, such as Sony and
Betamax Betamax (also known as Beta, as in its logo) is a consumer-level analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video, commonly known as a video cassette recorder. It was developed by Sony and was released in Japan on May 10, 1975, ...
, in the context of VHS. It was also believed that companies would be able to more effectively compete by being able to leverage a common standard, as opposed to having to attract developers to individual formats, with Hawkins noting that this would be "tough for Atari and Sony". Indeed, Hawkins believed that the failure of NEC to establish its
TurboGrafx The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thou ...
system, and yet being "much bigger than Sony", illustrated the difficulties faced by new entrants to the console market and thought that Sony, in following the business model of Sega and Nintendo, "would have had a better chance if it had partnered with some of the others". Meanwhile, other products were not regarded as competitive threats: the Atari Jaguar was perceived as "primitive" and "slightly better than a 16-bit system", and the Philips CD-i was regarded as "really obsolete by today's standards". Both 3DO and Philips, seeking to pioneer the broader concept of interactive entertainment, aimed to sell in the order of one million units during 1994 and into 1995. Hawkins claimed that the console was
HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
-capable, and that the company could use its technology for a
set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
. It was believed the platform would appeal to cable companies seeking to provide digital interactive services, with broadcasts being accompanied by digital information, eventually leading to the development of video-on-demand services on what was described as a "client-server interactive network", with an interactive networking trial having been announced in collaboration with
US West US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...
in Omaha, Nebraska for the autumn of 1994. ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' reported in January 1994 that 3DO "is poised for an avalanche of software support to appear in the next 12 months", unlike the
Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...
and
Pioneer LaserActive The is a converged device and fourth-generation home video game console capable of playing LaserDiscs, Compact Discs, console games, and LD-G karaoke discs. It was released by Pioneer Corporation in 1993. In addition to LaserActive games, sep ...
. The magazine predicted that "If 3DO's licensees can get enough machines and software out in the market, this could very well become the interactive gamer's entry level machine" and possibly "the ideal plug and play solution for those of us who are tired of playing circuit board roulette with our personal computers". Electronic Arts promoted the console in two-page advertisements, describing it as a "technological leap" and promising "twenty new titles ... over the next twelve months". The launch of the platform in October 1993 received a great deal of attention in the press as part of the "
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
wave" in the computer world at the time. '' Return Fire'', ''
Road Rash Road rash is a colloquial term for skin injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces, often as a consequence of cycling and motorcycling accidents. It may also result from running, inline skating, roller skating, skateboarding, and longboardi ...
'', ''
FIFA International Soccer ''FIFA International Soccer'' is a 1993 List of association football video games, association football video game developed by EA Canada's Extended Play Productions team and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for the Sega Mega Dr ...
'', and ''
Jurassic Park Interactive ''Jurassic Park Interactive'' is an action video game based on the 1993 movie '' Jurassic Park''. It was released in North America on May 10, 1994 exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer by Universal Interactive Studios. ''Jurassic Park I ...
'' had been slated for launch releases but were pushed to mid-1994 due to the developers' struggles with the then-cutting-edge hardware. Moreover, the 3DO Company made continued updates to the console hardware almost up to the system's release, which resulted in a number of third-party titles missing the launch date, in some cases by less than a month, because the developers weren't left enough time to fully test them on the finalized hardware. The only 3DO software available at launch was the third-party game '' Crash 'n Burn''. Panasonic also failed to manufacture an ample supply of the console in time for launch day, and as a result most retail stores only received one or two units. By mid-November, the 3DO had sold 30,000 units. The system was released in Japan in March 1994 with an initial lineup of six games. The Japanese launch was moderately successful, with 70,000 units shipping to 10,000 stores. However, sales soon dropped and by 1995 the system was known in Japan as a host for
pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
releases. The 3DO's claim to the title of most advanced console on the market was lost with the 1994 Japanese launches of the
Sony PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...
and
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
. The 3DO Company responded by emphasizing their console's large existing software library, lower price (both the Panasonic and Goldstar models were by this time), and promised successor: the M2. To assure consumers that the 3DO would still be supported, the M2 was initially announced as an add-on for the 3DO. It was later revealed that the M2 would be an entirely separate console, albeit one with 3DO
backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especiall ...
. Eventually the M2 project was cancelled. Unlike Panasonic, Goldstar initially produced only 3DO hardware, not software. This made it difficult to manage competitive price drops, and when the price of the Goldstar 3DO dropped to in December 1995, the company took a loss of more than on each sale. Goldstar tried switching to the usual industry model of selling hardware at a loss and profiting on software, but though a handful of Goldstar games were published for the 3DO, Goldstar's software development operation arrived too late to allow them to turn a profit on the 3DO. This lack of a profitable business model, combined with Panasonic acquiring exclusive rights to the M2 technology, were cited as the two chief reasons for Goldstar dropping support for the 3DO in early 1996. During the second quarter of 1996 several of the 3DO's most loyal software supporters, including the software division of The 3DO Company themselves, announced they were no longer making games for the system, leaving Panasonic as the only company supporting active software development for the 3DO. The 3DO system was eventually discontinued at the end of 1996, with a complete shutdown of all internal hardware development and divestment of the M2 technology. The 3DO Company restructured themselves around this same time, selling off their hardware division to become a multi-platform company focused on software development and online gaming. The initial high price is considered to be one of the many issues that led to the 3DO's failure, along with lack of significant funding that larger companies such as Sony took advantage of. In an interview shortly after The 3DO Company dropped support for the system, Trip Hawkins attributed its failure to the model of licensing all hardware manufacturing and software to third parties. He reasoned that for a console to be a success, it needed a single strong company to take the lead in marketing, hardware, and software, and pointed out that it was essentially a lack of coordination between The 3DO Company, Panasonic, and the 3DO's software developers which had led to the console launching with only one game ready.


Licensed systems

A number of different manufacturers produced the 3DO system. The Panasonic versions are the best known and most common. * Panasonic FZ-1 R·E·A·L 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (Japan, Asia, North America and Europe) The first 3DO system, which was initially priced at in the U.S. and in Japan. The price was reduced to $399.99 in the fall of 1994. * Panasonic FZ-10 R·E·A·L 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (Japan, North America and Europe) Released on November 11, 1994 (a year after the FZ-1), it is a redesigned slimmer and lighter model that replaced the FZ-1 in Panasonic's portfolio. The FZ-10 featured a top loading CD tray and an internal memory manager. The controller is also smaller and lighter than the one included with the FZ-1 as it lacks a headphones connector. * Panasonic N-1005 3DO CD Changer "ROBO" (Japan only) An FZ-1 custom console, fitted with a five disc CD drive. * GoldStar GDO-101 Alive 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (South Korea) Released in mid-1994, this model is similar in physical appearance to the Panasonic model. * GoldStar GDO-101M 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (North America and Europe) A version of the GDO-101 for foreign markets. * GoldStar GDO-203P 3DO Alive II (South Korea only) Replaced the GDO-101 in late 1995, but was discontinued shortly thereafter, making it the rarest model. Had a centered, top-loading CD tray. * Sanyo IMP-21J TRY 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (Japan only) Released in March 1995, this model has the pickup head on the tray (resembling a laptop optical drive). It was made in moderate quantities before it was discontinued. * Creative 3DO Blaster A PC ISA expansion card with a double-speed CD-ROM drive and a controller that enables compatible Windows-based PCs to play 3DO games. *Arcade American Laser Games utilized 3DO-based hardware for a number of arcade titles.


Hardware

The original edition of the console, the FZ-1, was referred to in full as the ''3DO REAL Interactive Multiplayer''. The console had advanced hardware features at the time: an ARM60
32-bit In computer architecture, 32-bit computing refers to computer systems with a processor, memory, and other major system components that operate on data in 32-bit units. Compared to smaller bit widths, 32-bit computers can perform large calculation ...
RISC CPU, a custom graphics processor with a math co-processor, and a custom DSP at 16 bits with a 20bit ACU . It also featured 2 
megabyte The megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Its recommended unit symbol is MB. The unit prefix ''mega'' is a multiplier of (106) in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one megabyte is one million bytes o ...
s (MB) of
DRAM Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...
, 1 MB of
VRAM Video random access memory (VRAM) is dedicated computer memory used to store the pixels and other graphics data as a framebuffer to be rendered on a computer monitor. This is often different technology than other computer memory, to facilitate b ...
, and a double speed
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
drive for main
CD+G CD+G (also known as CD-G, CD+Graphics and TV-Graphics) is an extension of the compact disc standard that can present low-resolution graphics alongside the audio data on the disc when played on a compatible device. CD+G discs are often used for ...
s or Photo CDs (and
Video CD Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
s with an add-on
MPEG The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is an alliance of working groups established jointly by International Organization for Standardization, ISO and International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC that sets standards for media coding, includ ...
video module). The 3DO included the first light synthesizer in a game console, converting CD music to a mesmerizing color pattern. The 3DO is one of few CD-based units that feature neither
regional lockout A regional lockout (or region coding) is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. A regional lockout may be enforced ...
nor
copy protection Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy prevention and copy restriction, describes measures to enforce copyright by preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media. Copy protection is most commonly found on ...
, making it easy to use illegal copies or homebrew software.Although there is no regional lockout for 3DO systems, a few Japanese games cannot be played on non-Japanese 3DO consoles due to a special
kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
font which was not present in the English language console firmware. Games that have compatibility issues include ''Sword and Sorcery'' (which was released in English under the title '' Lucienne's Quest''), '' Twinkle Knights'' and a demo version of '' Alone in the Dark''.


Technical specifications

;Processor * 32-bit RISC CPU @ 12.5 MHz ( ARM60) using VY86C060-20FC / VY86C06020FC-2 (native stock speed of 20FC chips is @ 20 MHz.) * * ;Display * Resolution 640×480 (interpolated), 320×240 (actual) 60 Hz for NTSC version, and 768×576 (interpolated), 384×288 (actual) 50 Hz for PAL version with either 16-bit palettized color (from 24-bit) or 24-bit truecolor. * Dual pixel engine (CEL engine) capable of producing 9–16 million
pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
s per second (36–64 megapix/s interpolated), distorted, scaled, rotated and texture mapped. * Custom
math co-processor A coprocessor is a computer processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (the CPU). Operations performed by the coprocessor may be floating-point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, cryptography o ...
(physically located inside MADAM) ;System board *   200MByte/s (50 million words a second) Bus clocked at 50MHz * 36 DMA channels * 2 MB of main RAM * 1 MB of
VRAM Video random access memory (VRAM) is dedicated computer memory used to store the pixels and other graphics data as a framebuffer to be rendered on a computer monitor. This is often different technology than other computer memory, to facilitate b ...
* 2 expansion ports * 32 KB SRAM ;Sound * 16-bit stereo sound * Stereo CDDA playback. * 44.1 kHz sound sampling rate * Supports 4-Channel
Dolby Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in audio noise reduction, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and HDR imaging. Dolby licenses its technologies to ...
Surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...
* Custom 20-bit
digital signal processor A digital signal processor (DSP) is a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing. DSPs are fabricated on MOS integrated circuit chips. They are widely used in audio si ...
(DSP) 20-bit accumulator with 16-bit parameter registers for extended precision, embedded in the CLIO chip. * 13 DMA channels of digital input, to be sampled, and distorted by the DSP. ;Media * Double-speed 300  kB/s data transfer CD-ROM drive with 32 KB RAM buffer * Multitasking 32-bit
operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...


Connectivity


Audio and video

* RF switch An RF connector can be used with older TVs that lack direct video inputs. The 3DO output is compatible with most existing video console switches, including those made for the NES/SNES, Sega Master System/Genesis, & NEC Turbo Grafix RF. This provides a relatively low quality but universally compatible video signal. * Composite RCA The 3DO features standard composite video and audio ports (yellow/red/white
RCA connector The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The name ''RCA'' derives from the company Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. The connectors male plug an ...
s) that are compatible with off the shelf cables also used on VHS players and certain other video devices and games consoles, as well as older computer video monitors. * S-Video The 3DO also offers an
S-Video S-Video (also known as separate video, Y/C, and erroneously Super-Video ) is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video, typically at 525 lines or 625 lines. It encodes video luma and chrominance on two separate channe ...
connector for enhanced picture quality on more advanced televisions.


Power

All 3DO consoles have integrated power supplies. Some models (Panasonic 3DO FZ-1, Sanyo TRY 3DO, and Goldstar 3DO) have hardwired power cords, others (Panasonic 3DO FZ-10) use an
IEC 60320 C7 IEC 60320 Appliance couplers for household and similar general purposes is a set of standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) specifying non-locking connectors for connecting power supply cords to electrical appliances ...
"figure 8" power cord. All North American model specifications are AC 120 V 60 Hz 30 W.


Basic accessories

Most 3DO systems shipped with a standard controller, as well as A/V and power cables. The 3DO controllers were unusual in that the system base unit contained only one controller port and the controllers could be physically daisy chained together via a port on the back of each controller. Up to eight controllers could be linked together in this fashion. All controllers for each 3DO console are compatible with one another. In addition, standard 3DO controllers released with the Panasonic FZ-1 also contained a headphone jack and volume control for silent play. The GoldStar (LG) model also included a controller with this feature. Third party controllers were produced by a number of companies including
Logitech Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...
. World International Trading Corporation also released an adapter that allows
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...
controllers to be used with the 3DO.


Light gun

The only light gun released for the 3DO was the
Gamegun The Gamegun (styled GAMEGUN on its packaging) is the only light gun released for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer video game console. It was released in 1994 by American Laser Games, developers of full motion video-based shooter games. The Gamegun ...
, a product of third-party developer American Laser Games. Despite this, no fewer than 10 games with light gun support were produced for the system. Most of these were arcade ports from American Laser Games (including ''
Mad Dog McCree ''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990. The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities t ...
''), but
Virgin Interactive Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwo ...
and
Digital Pictures Digital Pictures was an American video game developer founded in 1991 by Lode Coen, Mark Klein, Ken Melville, Anne Flaut-Reed, Kevin Welsh and Tom Zito. The company originated from an attempt to produce a game for the failed VHS-based NEMO (vid ...
also released 3DO light gun games. The 3DO Gamegun uses the same design as the Gamegun released for the
Sega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...
: an orange "
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
"
revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
. Select Gameguns house a controller port so that another Gamegun may be daisy-chained for two-player gameplay, which is supported in most of American Laser Games's 3DO titles. Though no light gun was released for the 3DO in Japan, the Japanese localizations of '' Demolition Man'' and '' Corpse Killer'' retain light gun support, and could be played by Japanese gamers using imported Gameguns.


Mouse

Panasonic and Logitech both released the 3DO mouse. The Panasonic FZ-JM1 and Logitech 3DO mouse are identical aside from their markings. Fewer than 20 games supported its use, some of which were optimized for the standard controller or light gun rather than the mouse. Of the 3DO games which were optimized for use with the mouse, the best known are ''
Myst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's charact ...
'' and ''
Lemmings A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
''. The Panasonic mouse was also bundled with Konami's ''
Policenauts is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Konami. It was written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and originally released for the PC-9821 in 1994. A hard science fiction story, ''Policenauts'' is set in the mid 21st century and follo ...
'' Limited Edition in Japan which came with a Policenauts mouse pad.


Other

Home Arcade Systems released a steering wheel for the 3DO which is supported by several racing titles, including ''
The Need for Speed ''Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed'' is a racing video game developed by EA Canada, originally known as Pioneer Productions, and published by Electronic Arts, released for the 3DO in 1994, and ported to MS-DOS in 1995. Another versio ...
''. The Panasonic FZ-EM256 is a 256 KB Expandable Memory Unit that plugs into the 3DO expansion port on the back of the console. It was released in 1994 and sold in Japan only. The Panasonic 3DO Karaoke Mixer allows 3DO owners to play a standard music CD, turn the vocals down, plug in one or two microphones and sing over the music. This unit was not released in all markets.


Games

Some of the best-received titles were ports of arcade or PC games that other systems of the time were not capable of playing, such as '' Alone in the Dark'', ''
Myst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's charact ...
'' and ''
Star Control II ''Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters'' is a 1992 video game, the sequel to '' Star Control''. It was developed by Toys for Bob ( Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III) and originally published by Accolade in 1992 for MS-DOS. This game features exoplan ...
''. Other popular titles included ''Total Eclipse'', ''
Jurassic Park Interactive ''Jurassic Park Interactive'' is an action video game based on the 1993 movie '' Jurassic Park''. It was released in North America on May 10, 1994 exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer by Universal Interactive Studios. ''Jurassic Park I ...
'', '' Gex'', '' Crash 'n Burn'', '' Slayer'', '' Killing Time'', ''
The Need for Speed ''Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed'' is a racing video game developed by EA Canada, originally known as Pioneer Productions, and published by Electronic Arts, released for the 3DO in 1994, and ported to MS-DOS in 1995. Another versio ...
'', ''
Road Rash Road rash is a colloquial term for skin injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces, often as a consequence of cycling and motorcycling accidents. It may also result from running, inline skating, roller skating, skateboarding, and longboardi ...
'', and ''
Immercenary ''Immercenary'' is a 1995 role-playing shooter video game developed by Five Miles Out and published by Electronic Arts in North America and Japan exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. Set in 2004, players assume the role of PIC (Projec ...
''. The 3DO version of arcade title ''
Samurai Shodown ''Samurai Shodown'', known in Japan as is a fighting game series by SNK. The series began in 1993 and is known for being one of the earliest in the genre with a primary focus on weapon-based combat. Plot The stories in the series take place ...
'' was the only port with faithful graphics for some time, and the 3DO '' Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' was the first port with its CD-quality audio. Since its release coincided with the arrival of the modern
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
, the 3DO also had some of the earliest members of the genre as exclusives, such as '' Escape from Monster Manor'', the previously mentioned ''Killing Time'', and '' PO'ed'', as well as ports of ''
Wolfenstein 3D ''Wolfenstein 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Apogee Software and FormGen. Originally released on May 5, 1992, for DOS, it was inspired by the 1981 Muse Software video game '' Castle Wolfe ...
'' and ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...
''. However, the 3DO library also exhibited less successful traits of home consoles at the time. The 3DO was one of the first CD-ROM consoles, and some early titles on the 3DO frequently attempted to use
interactive movie Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but m ...
-style gameplay. Such titles rendered all or nearly all of their graphics in full motion video, which necessitated that any interactive influence from the player be limited to a greater extent than other games of the time. Some games followed a single unfolding of events simply by correctly timed prompts executed by the player. ''
Night Trap ''Night Trap'' is a 1992 interactive movie developed by Digital Pictures and published by Sega for the Sega CD. Presented primarily through full-motion video (FMV), ''Night Trap'' tasks the player to observe teenage girls having a sleepover vi ...
'', '' D'', ''
Mad Dog McCree ''Mad Dog McCree'' is the first live-action laserdisc video game released by American Laser Games. It originally appeared as an arcade game in 1990. The game gained considerable attention for its live-action video style, bearing similarities t ...
'', and '' The Daedalus Encounter'' are among the more famous examples of full motion video driven games.


Reception

Reviewing the 3DO, ''
GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' gave it a "thumbs sideways". They commented that "The 3DO is the first CD-ROM system to make a real jump forward in graphics, sound, and game design." However, they questioned whether it would soon be rendered obsolete by the upcoming
Jaguar CD The Atari Jaguar CD is a CD-ROM peripheral for the Jaguar video game console. Atari announced a CD-ROM drive for the Jaguar before the console's November 1993 launch. Codenamed Jaguar II during development, the Jaguar CD was released on Septem ...
and "Project Reality" (later released as the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
)Though the Jaguar CD and Nintendo 64 would not be released until 1995 and 1996 respectively, at the time the media thought they would both be released in mid-1994. and felt there were not yet enough games to justify a purchase, recommending that gamers wait several months to see if the system would get a worthwhile library of games. The 3DO was awarded Worst Console Launch of 1993 by ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...
''. In a special Game Machine Cross Review in May 1995, ''
Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' would score the 3DO Real console a 26 out of 40. '' Next Generation'' reviewed the 3DO in late 1995. They noted that due chiefly to its early launch, it had a larger installed base and more high quality games than the newly launched
Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...
and
Sony PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...
, making it a viable alternative to those systems. However, they debated whether it could remain a serious contender in the long run, in light of the successor M2's imminent release and the Saturn and PlayStation's superior hardware. They deemed the 3DO hardware overhyped but still very good for its time, especially praising the DMA engine. They gave it 2 out of 5 stars, concluding that it "has settled out as a solid system with some good titles in its library and more on the way. The question that must be answered though is this: Is having a 'good system' enough?" Citing a lack of decent exclusives and an "astronomical asking price", in 2009 video game website
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
chose the 3DO as its 22nd greatest video game console of all time, slightly higher than the
Atari Jaguar The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it competed with the 16-bit Sega Genesis, the Super NES and th ...
but lower than its four other major competitors: the
SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
(4th best), the
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
(5th), the PlayStation (7th), and the Sega Saturn (18th). On
Yahoo! Games Yahoo! Games was a section of the Yahoo! website, launched on March 31, 1998, in which Yahoo! users could play games either with other users or by themselves. The majority of Yahoo! Games was closed down on March 31, 2014 and the balance was clos ...
the 3DO was placed among the top five worst console launches due to its one-game launch lineup and high launch price. Gaming retrospectives have also accused the 3DO of having an abundance of poor quality
interactive movie Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but m ...
s. Trip Hawkins' business model for selling the 3DO was widely derided by industry figures.


Legacy

The 3DO Company designed a next-generation console that was never released due to various business and technological issues. The M2 project, which began as an accelerator add-on for the 3DO, was to use dual
PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
602 processors in addition to newer 3D and video rendering technologies. Late during development, the company abandoned the console hardware business and sold the M2 technology to Matsushita.


See also

* 1993 in video games * 3DO Rating System *
List of commercial failures in video games The list of commercial failures in video games includes any video game software on any platform, and any video game console hardware, of all time. As a hit-driven business, the great majority of the video game industry's software releases have bee ...
* List of 3DO Interactive Multiplayer games * Panasonic Jungle


Notes


References


External links


3DO modding
*
PARM60 CPU datasheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:3do Interactive Multiplayer 1990s toys CD-ROM-based consoles Fifth-generation video game consoles Home video game consoles LG Electronics products Panasonic consoles Products introduced in 1993 Products and services discontinued in 1996 Sanyo products Regionless game consoles