Platform / 3DO Interactive Multiplayer

The Panasonic FZ-1 R.E.A.L. model of the 3DO, the first and possibly most recognizable version.

Welcome to the REAL world.
What are you playing with?

—Slogans for the machine itself

The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, or just 3DO for short, was a 32-bit console released by the now-defunct 3DO Company in 1993. The platform was an attempt to create a standardized video game console format. The 3DO Company was founded by Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts, which he left to form 3DO.

The system was unique in that it wasn't manufactured by the parent company. Instead, The 3DO Company licensed the blueprints of the console to various manufacturers, which provided their own versions, similar to the then-popular VHS standard for home video. While this may have been seen as an innovative business model at the time, it heavily contributed to the console's high price since it not only added an extra middleman that increased the cost, but also meant that the system couldn't rely on the razor and blades business model ^ExplanationA business model of releasing the main unit at a (relatively) low cost so people will buy complementary items, in this case games, and thus generate profits that way. Sony and Microsoft actually sell their consoles for less than what they cost to produce, but make the money back and then some on game licenses and subscription fees that most console manufacturers utilize. Panasonic was the first licensee with the 3DO REAL, with GoldStar (LG) and Sanyo providing their own versions later, 3DO ALIVE and 3DO TRY — the latter only releasing in Japan — and Creative Labs releasing the 3DO Blaster, an expansion card for PCs which has the actual 3DO hardware on it and only required a CD-ROM Drive and a Sound Blaster 16 or equivalent card, not relying on the PC's processor and graphics card at all.

As history has not been entirely kind to the 3DO, it's easy to overlook how it was legitimately primed to take the world by storm. The console was fairly beefy for its time period, heavily outstripping both the Super NES and Sega Genesis in processing power at the height of their console war. The 3DO was also one of the first consoles capable of rendering textured 3D graphics natively, giving it an edge as the industry-wide 3D transition approached. The Super NES and Genesis could only render rudimentary 3D graphics, and at very low framerate without the assistance of enhancement chips in their cartridges. Even with the use of chips such as the Argonaut-developed Super FX for the Super NES or Sega's SVP, rendering 3D was still taxing on their respective hardware. The 3DO also received a lot of media coverage and pledged support from third-party developers thanks to light licensing costs. People were ready and willing to accept a new competitor into the video game industry. However, it never took off. You thought that the PlayStation 3's $599 US dollars in 2006 was ridiculous? The 3DO launched with a price of $699 in 1993 — that's equivalent to $976 in 2006 and nearly $1,500 in 2023 when adjusted for inflation. Though some stores sold the system for a bit under MSRP and later models ended up as cheap as $199, its launch price is still one of the most expensive of all time for consoles. The system also had a very anemic lineup of games in its infancy, launching with a single title and not receiving any notable games for several months afterward.

While the launch wasn't great and the system ultimately failed, the overall third-party support was still solid. As the 3DO Company was expecting their profits to come from console sales, their licensing fee was an extremely paltry $3 per game sold. Crystal Dynamics, 3DO themselves, and Electronic Arts released some well-regarded titles for the console, and it even saw the debut of the Gex and Need for Speed series. However, this didn't save it from the hype for the superior Sega Saturn and PlayStation systems just around the corner, nor did it solve the issues the manufacturing partners faced in profiting of their licenses. The 3DO format died a quick death after a much-hyped 64-bit add-on/successor console called the "M2" ended up being unceremoniously cancelled by Panasonic, though Konami did acquire the rights to use the hardware in several arcade titles.

The 3DO Company tried to rebrand itself as a third-party developer (much like the Sega of today) after their console failed, but a lack of quality control due to a failed game development strategy led to them going bankrupt in 2003.

Videos of various games with commentary by former 3DO Company employees ewhac and gammadev can be found here.

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Specifications:

Processors

• CPU: 32-bit ARM60, 12.5 Mhz, with math coprocessor.
• GPU: Two custom video coprocessors.
• Sound: Custom DSP.

Memory

• 2MB main memory.
• 1MB video memory.
• 32K battery-backed saved game memory.

Display

• 640*480 interlaced or 320*240 progressive resolution.
• 24-bit color.
• RF, Composite, or S-video support.

Sound

• 16-bit stereo or Dolby surround sound.

Accessories

• While all models of the 3DO were designed with only one controller port, the controllers are designed to work around this by having second controller ports built into each one, allowing up to eight controllers to be daisy-chained together.
• Panasonic FZ-1 3DO controllers also came with a built in headphone jack and volume control.
• The standard game pad has three action buttons (ABC), two shoulder buttons (L and R) and two menu buttons (X and P)^note The Panasonic and Goldstar models came with different controllers (that are cross-compatible) with slight differences to the same basic design. It's debatable which one is better but neither one is particularly good, fortunately adaptors can be found on eBay that will let you use a controller that doesn't suck. Unfortunately despite looking like it uses the same 9 pin connector from the Genesis, Atari 2600/7800, Amiga, etc... those controllers will not work without an adaptor. A six button controller (the REAL Pad Soldier) was also made for Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but it didn't actually add any new buttons - instead, it simply had the LXR buttons arranged atop the ABC buttons in order to mimic the standard Street Fighter button setup.
• One Light Gun was released for the console, the Game Gun, which worked with 10 games. Certain models of it also allowed to two player support by daisy chaining the guns together.
• The 3DO mouse, co-released by Panasonic and Logitech. Fewer than 20 games support its use.
• Home Arcade Systems steering wheel, designed for several racing games on the console, including The Need for Speed.
• Memory Expansion Unit: A Japan-only upgrade that plugs into the Expansion Bay in the console's back. It also came with a Storage Manager start-up disc that is needed to use it.
• Panasonic 3DO Karaoke Mixer: A peripheral that allows 3DO owners to play a standard music CD, turn the vocals down, plug in one or two microphones and sing over the music.

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Games:

Exclusive titles:

• Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S (A Fighting Game based on that season of Sailor Moon)
• Blade Force
• Crash 'n' Burn
• Demolition Man
• Doctor Hauzer
• Dragon Tycoon Edge (a Japanese-only RPG)
• Immercenary
• Jurassic Park
  • Jurassic Park: Interactive
• Royal Pro Wrestling
• Seal of the Pharaoh
• Shadow: War of Succession
• Sid Meiers CPU Bach
• Slayer
• Twisted: The Game Show
• Way of the Warrior
• Yu Yu Hakusho (a Fighting Game based on YuYu Hakusho)

Multi-Platform games that started on the 3DO:

• D
• Gex^note The best selling game on the 3DO with around a million copies. Considering there were only around 2 million 3DOs to begin with that's actually a really impressive accomplishment, very few games that aren't pack-ins come anywhere close to a 50% attachment ratio.
• Killing Time
• The Need for Speed
• Off-World Interceptor
• Return Fire
• Road Rash ^note Despite the identical title, this is a Reformulated Game from the Mega Drive version.
• Shockwave: Invasion Earth 2019
  • Shockwave: Operation Jumpgate
  • Shockwave 2: Beyond the Gate
• Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels
• Total Eclipse

Ports

• Alone in the Dark (1992)
  • Alone in the Dark 2
• Another World
• Ballz: The Director's Cut
• Battle Chess
• Brain Dead 13
• Cannon Fodder
• Corpse Killer
• Creature Shock
• Cyberia
• Dragon's Lair
• Doom
• Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise and Fatty Bear's Fun Pack
• Flashback
• The Horde
• The Incredible Machine
• John Madden Football
• Lemmings
• Mad Dog McCree
• Myst
• Night Trap
• Novastorm
  • Microcosm
• Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors ^note  Meant to be released in the third quarter of 1995 alongside the PC version, following the Sega CD version in April of that year
• Plumbers Don't Wear Ties ^note  Was originally thought to be exclusive but after years of searching, it turns out there was originally a PC version that had gotten an extremely limited release that only resurfaced around 2017
• Policenauts
• Primal Rage
• Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon, and Putt-Putt's Fun Pack
• Quarantine
• Rise of the Robots
• Samurai Shodown
• Sewer Shark
• Space Ace
• Starblade
• Star Control 2
• Star Wars: Rebel Assault
• Super Real Mahjong
  • Super Real Mahjong PIV
  • Super Real Mahjong PV
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo
• Syndicate
• Theme Park
• Wing Commander: The Kilrathi Saga:
  • Super Wing Commander
  • Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
• Wolfenstein 3-D

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Tropes:

• Awesome, but Impractical: The 3DO Blaster by Creative Labs is a thorough encapsulation of this. The concept is definitely worth a look on its premise alone, being that it's an entire game console contained on a computer expansion card that even allowed for a resizable window on your desktop of the game back when this was unheard of. Unfortunately, a concept this nifty came at a huge cost — the card retailed for $400, only worked with a specific set of CD-ROM drive models which locked anyone without them out of the card or be forced to pay another $100, and this was on top of the already high cost of a computer to begin with so most users weren't about to fork out another big sum of money for either the console or card ^note In general, a computer user would be more willing to prioritize being able to play computer games anyway, which was a better and cheaper investment to make over the expansion card.
• Competing Product Potshot:
  • One ad for the console took snipes at the Super NES and Sega Genesis, dismissing them as baby toys compared to it.
    If you're not playing on a 3DO System, what are you playing with?
    It's time to put away your toys!
  • Another series of ads divided up gamers into passive (Super NES), aggressive (Genesis), and 3DO players. One of those ads featured a boss walking into several employees' offices, arrogantly saying "You're working late tonight!", and spitting in their faces.
    Passive employee: (silently wipes the spit off his face)
    Aggressive employee: I can't! I've got therapy!
    3DO-playing employee: Can we try that with a knock?
• Meaningful Name: It was the first game console built around polygons, the next step for the progress of interactive media. So we have audio, video, and three-dee-oh.
• Product Facelift: Because the 3DO was conceived as a standard for a console, 3DO licensed out the specs for other companies to produce rather than producing the hardware themselves. The original 3DO models were made by Panasonic, but the following year newer models were released by Sanyo and GoldStar, as well as an add-on by Creative Labs that added 3DO compatibility to a PC.

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