3DO: Difference between revisions

The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was originally conceived by [[The 3DO Company]], founded in September 12, 1991 by [[Electronic Arts]] founder [[Trip Hawkins]]. 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 [[video game publisher|game publishers]], the low {{US$|3}} royalty rate per game was a better deal than the higher royalties paid to [[Nintendo]] and [[Sega]] when making games for their consoles. The 3DO hardware itself was designed by [[Dave Needle]] and [[R. J. Mical]] (designers of the [[Amiga]] and [[Atari Lynx]]), starting from an outline on a restaurant napkin in 1989.<ref name=Retro122>{{cite news|last=Matthews|first=Will|url=https://archive.org/stream/retro_gamer/RetroGamer_122#page/n17/mode/2up|title=Ahead of its Time: A 3DO Retrospective|date=December 2013|work=[[Retro Gamer]]|publisher=[[Imagine Publishing]]|issue=122|pages=18–29}}</ref> 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."<ref name=Retro122/>▼

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]] and [[Panasonic]], the two largest consumer electronics companies in the world.<ref name=Retro122/> However, Sony had already begun development on their own console, the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]], and ultimately decided to continue work on it rather than sign with 3DO.<ref name=Retro122/> According to former Sega CEO [[Tom Kalinske]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://revrob.com/sci-tech/264-tom-kalinske-talks-about-his-time-overseeing-sega-as-its-ceo-in-the-90s-reveals-that-sega-passed-on-virtual-boy-technology-considered-releasing-3do|title=Tom Kalinske Talks About His Time Overseeing Sega As Its CEO In the 90s; Reveals That Sega Passed On Virtual Boy Technology, Considered Releasing 3DO|last1=Vinciguerra|first1=Robert|website=The Rev. Rob Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025155922/http://revrob.com/sci-tech/264-tom-kalinske-talks-about-his-time-overseeing-sega-as-its-ceo-in-the-90s-reveals-that-sega-passed-on-virtual-boy-technology-considered-releasing-3do|archive-date=October 25, 2015|access-date=21 September 2015}}</ref> 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]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/b/bf/GamePro_US_059.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://retrocdn.net/images/b/bf/GamePro_US_059.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=New 3DO Hardware Deals |date=June 1994|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=59 |page=184}}</ref> [[Toshiba]],<ref name=GPro60>{{cite magazine|url=https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AGamePro_US_060.pdf&page=172|title=3DO News|date=July 1994|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=60|page=170}}</ref> and [[AT&T]], who went so far as to build prototype AT&T 3DO units and display them at the January 1994 [[Consumer Electronics Show]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 1994|title=No Business Like Show Business|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_057_April_1994/page/n9/mode/2up |magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=57|page=8}}</ref>▼

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 [[freebie marketing|at a loss]], with expectations of making up for the loss with software sales. The 3DO was priced at {{US$|699}},<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nichols|first=Peter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/03/arts/home-video-974793.html|title=Home Video|date=December 3, 1993|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 9, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/09/business/market-place-investors-can-only-guess-which-video-game-device-will-conquer.html?sq=video+game+industry+1995&scp=10&st=nyt |title=Market Place; Investors can only guess which video game device will conquer. | work=The New York Times | first=John | last=Markoff | date=September 9, 1993 | access-date=April 23, 2010}}</ref> far above competing game systems and aimed at high-end users and early adopters. Hawkins has argued that 3DO was launched at {{US$|long=no|599}}, and not "higher myths that are often reported".<ref>Ramsay, M. (2012). [[Trip Hawkins]]. ''Gamers at Work: Stories Behind the Games People Play'' (pp. 1–15). New York: Apress.</ref> In a later interview, Hawkins clarified that while the [[suggested retail price]] was {{US$|long=no|699}}, not all retailers sold the system at that price.<ref name=Retro122/> Goldstar, Sanyo, and Panasonic's later models were less expensive to manufacture than the FZ-1 and were sold for considerably lower prices. For example, the Goldstar model launched at {{US$|long=no|399}}.<ref name=gamespy/> In addition, after six months on the market, the price of the FZ-1 had dropped to {{US$|long=no|499}},<ref>{{cite magazine|date=May 1994|title=3DO Prices Drop|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_058_May_1994/page/n169/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=58|page=168}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 1994|title=3DO System Down to {{US$|long=no|500}}!|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_57/page/n17/mode/2up|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=Sendai Publishing|issue=57|page=18}}</ref> leading some to contend that the 3DO's cost was not as big a factor in its market failure as is usually claimed.<ref name=Retro122/>▼

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]], 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]] 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.<ref name="pcw199407_hawkins">{{ cite magazine | title=Giant killer? | magazine=Personal Computer World | date=July 1994 | last1=Cole | first1=George | pages=410–414 }}</ref>▼

Hawkins claimed that the console was [[HDTV]]-capable, and that the company could use its technology for a [[set-top box]].<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=112 | title=Atari Jaguar Unveiled—Stalks 3DO | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1993 | access-date=28 March 2016 | pages=10–11 }}</ref> 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]] in Omaha, Nebraska for the autumn of 1994.<ref name="pcw199407_hawkins"/> ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' 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]] and [[Pioneer LaserActive]]. 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".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Miller |first1=Chuck |last2=Dille |first2=H. E. |last3=Wilson |first3=Johnny L. |date=January 1994 |title=Battle Of The New Machines |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=64–76}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=113 | title=The Face of the Future | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1993 | access-date=29 March 2016 | type=advertisement | pages=32–33}}</ref>▼

The launch of the platform in October 1993 received a great deal of attention in the press as part of the "[[multimedia]] wave" in the computer world at the time. ''[[Return Fire]]'', ''[[Road Rash]]'', ''[[FIFA International Soccer]]'', and ''[[Jurassic Park Interactive]]'' had been slated for launch releases but were pushed to mid-1994 due to the developers' struggles with the then-cutting-edge hardware.<ref name=Retro122/> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=December 1993|title=Problems in 3DO Land!|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_53/page/n15/mode/2up|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=Sendai Publishing|issue=53|page=16}}</ref> The only 3DO software available at launch was the third-party game ''[[Crash 'n Burn (1993 video game)|Crash 'n Burn]]''.<ref name=Retro122/><ref name=YGa/> 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.<ref name=NGen12/> By mid-November, the 3DO had sold 30,000 units.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/20/business/3do-sales-called-pleasing.html|title=3DO Sales Called Pleasing|date=November 20, 1993|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 25, 2019}}</ref>▼