The 3DO was an attempt by Trip Hawkins (founder of Electronic Arts) at creating a standardized format for video game consoles, similar to what VHS was for home video, right down to licensing out its hardware for various other tech manufacturers to produce in their own styles. Matsushita (under their Panasonic brand) produced the launch model of the console, with models from Creative (of Sound Blaster fame), Sanyo, and GoldStar (later LG) coming later. It initially launched at $699 in the US, but was lowered down to a more sensible $499 in 1994, with prices being competitive with other consoles towards the end of its lifespan.
While it had a lot of potential and even some promising early support from the likes of EA (mostly due to Hawkins' ties to the company), MCA/Universal, Digital Pictures, and Japanese companies like Capcom, SNK, and Konami, its fate was effectively sealed when the Sega Saturn and especially the PlayStation started to hit their strides in 1995 and '96, with the impending launch of the Nintendo 64 being the final nail in the coffin. The 3DO Company sold off the rights to the follow-up console, dubbed the M2, to Matsushita in 1996, who ended up cancelling the project entirely in 1997.
Developer Message#
Present inside all versions of the BIOS is a message from those who worked on the system:
This WHOLLY ODD collection of code brought to you by:
Dale "You mean my house burned down last month and I never noticed?" Luck
-=RJ=- "Hey, I never approved those messages!" Mical
Joe "You were asleep at the time" Pillow
Dave "Strictly corect" Platt
Bryce "Angel of death" "Nesbitl" Nesbitt
Stephen "Not Stephan" Landrum
Andy "I miss my Cats" Finkel
Chris "Whaddya mean you took it out?" McFall
Drew "Don't touch my toys" Shell
Mr. Pockets
Nerf(tm) brand weapons
Phil "I can't hear you" Burk
Stan "I thought you were done" Shepard
Steve "That !@%$#& drive" Hayes
Bill Long
Barry Solomon
And all those who were not in the building at 2am when the cops
showed upIt can be found at the following locations in the BIOS:
Model |
Hex Address |
|---|---|
Panasonic FZ-1 |
150BC |
Panasonic FZ-10 |
79B4 |
Sanyo TRY |
79A4 |
Goldstar |
79A4 |
(Source: aliast, suddendesu)
References#
- The 3DO Multiplayer - History of the REAL 3DO Multiplayer↩︎
- International 3DO System Launch Plans - 3DO Club News, Issue 3, Fall 1994↩︎
- 3DO has arrived. "I called EB this afternoon, and they said they received their first 3DO, but sold it to some guy on a waiting list."↩︎
- Dengeki Oh 1994 #4 電撃王, p. 28↩︎