Editing 3DO (section)

==History==

=== Conception ===
The 3DO format was the brainchild of [[Electronic Arts]] (EA) founder [[Trip Hawkins]]; while at EA, he found himself frustrated with the limitations of developing software for different platforms that were incompatible with each other. Hawkins was inspired to create his own platform from his repeated recollection of a [[cartoon]] he saw on a wall at his previous employer, [[Apple Computer]]: it consisted of two [[vulture]]s on a branch, with one suggesting to the other that they kill something instead of waiting to [[scavenge]].<ref name="Intro - WSJ">{{cite news |last1=Turner |first1=Richard |title=Video-Game Innovator Lures Corporate Giants To `Interactive' Media |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=January 7, 1993 |page=A1 |id={{ProQuest|398317848}} |language=en}}</ref> Hawkins formed a unit within EA to work on the platform, but when it was spun off as [[The 3DO Company]] on September 12, 1991, he found no one willing to oversee it; he ultimately relinquished his role as [[chief executive]] of EA to oversee it himself while remaining at EA as its [[chairman]].<ref name="Intro - WSJ" /><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> The 3DO name itself was an abbreviation of "three-dimensional optics", though it was also a play on the words "audio" and "video".<ref name="Intro - WSJ" /> The 3DO 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 [[RJ Mical]] (designers of the [[Atari Lynx]]), starting from an outline on a restaurant napkin in 1989.<ref name=Retro122/> 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: "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 company demonstrated a prototype unit at the Winter [[Consumer Electronics Show]] in January 1993, where attendees marveled at the console's graphical capabilities;<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bryant |first1=Adam |title=Alphabet Soup, With a Dash of Hype |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/08/business/alphabet-soup-with-a-dash-of-hype.html |access-date=March 1, 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 8, 1993 |page=D1}}</ref> industry analysts considered them unprecedented compared to those of contemporary consoles and personal computers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weber |first1=Jonathan |title=Is 3-D the Next Step in Home Entertainment? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-is-3-d-the-next-st/166946634/ |access-date=March 1, 2025 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 8, 1993 |page=D2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Peter H. |title=Brave New 32-Bit World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/09/science/personal-computers-brave-new-32-bit-world.html |access-date=March 1, 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=February 9, 1993 |page=C7}}</ref>

=== Licensing model ===
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 Matsushita (then-owner of [[Panasonic]]),<ref name="Intro - WSJ" /> 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, though Sega ultimately passed on it 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|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> In contrast, Matsushita agreed to partner with the company as it was seeking reassurance for its investment in [[MCA Inc.]], which owned [[Universal Pictures]] and had yet to see substantial success since its acquisition by Matsushita in 1990.<ref name="Intro - WSJ" /> Matsushita launched the 3DO with its Panasonic FZ-1 model in 1993, though Goldstar (now [[LG]]) 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|access-date=April 2, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920220016/https://retrocdn.net/index.php?title=File%3AGamePro_US_060.pdf&page=172|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[AT&T Corporation|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 [[Razor and blades model|at a loss]], with expectations of making up for the loss with software sales. The 3DO was priced at {{US$|699}},<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nichols|first=Peter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/03/arts/home-video-974793.html|title=Home Video|date=December 3, 1993|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 9, 2017|archive-date=June 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624015503/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/03/arts/home-video-974793.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/09/business/market-place-investors-can-only-guess-which-video-game-device-will-conquer.html?sq=video+game+industry+1995&scp=10&st=nyt | title=Market Place; Investors can only guess which video game device will conquer. | work=The New York Times | first=John | last=Markoff | date=September 9, 1993 | access-date=April 23, 2010 | archive-date=July 27, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727115233/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/09/business/market-place-investors-can-only-guess-which-video-game-device-will-conquer.html?sq=video+game+industry+1995&scp=10&st=nyt | url-status=live }}</ref> far above competing game systems and aimed at high-end users and early adopters. Hawkins has argued that 3DO was launched at {{US$|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>

=== Competition ===
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. 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 [[CD-i|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 | archive-date=March 16, 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316202150/http://cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=112 | url-status=live }}</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"/>

=== Launch and performance ===
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|archive-date=May 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526093407/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/20/business/3do-sales-called-pleasing.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name=GPro60/> However, sales soon dropped and by 1995 the system was known in Japan as a host for [[pornography|pornographic]] releases.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ogasawara|first=Nob |date=May 1995|title=International News|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d6/EGM_US_070.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d6/EGM_US_070.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=Sendai Publishing|issue=70|page=82}}</ref>

''[[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 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214005055/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |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 |date=December 1993 |title=The Face of the Future |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=113 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319021149/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=113 |archive-date=March 19, 2016 |access-date=29 March 2016 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=32–33 |type=advertisement}}</ref>

The 3DO's claim to the title of most advanced console on the market was lost with the 1994 Japanese launches of the [[PlayStation (console)|Sony PlayStation]] and [[Sega Saturn]]. The 3DO Company responded by emphasizing their console's large existing software library, lower price (both the Panasonic and Goldstar models were {{US$|long=no|299}} by this time), and promised successor: the [[Panasonic M2|M2]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=December 1995|title=The "Other" System|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_077_December_1995/page/n203/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=77|pages=204–6}}</ref> To assure consumers that the 3DO would still be supported, the M2 was initially announced as an [[peripheral|add-on]] for the 3DO.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=November 1994|title=3DO Powers Up|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_064_November_1994/page/n279/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=64|page=272}}</ref> It was later revealed that the M2 would be an entirely separate console, albeit one with 3DO [[backward compatibility]]. Eventually the M2 project was cancelled.

=== End of 3DO ===
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 {{US$|long=no|199}} in December 1995, the company took a loss of more than {{US$|long=no|100}} on each sale.<ref name=EGM80>{{cite magazine|date=March 1996|title=Goldstar Drops 3DO|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/c/c7/EGM_US_080.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://retrocdn.net/images/c/c7/EGM_US_080.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|issue=80|page=18}}</ref> 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.<ref name=EGM80/> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=July 1996|title=3DO's Downhill Slide Begins |url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_084_July_1996/page/n17|magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=84|pages=16–17}}</ref>

The 3DO system was eventually discontinued towards the end of 1996, with a complete shutdown of all internal hardware development and divestment of the M2 technology to [[Panasonic]]. 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=November 1996|title=Tidbits|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/8/89/EGM_US_088.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://retrocdn.net/images/8/89/EGM_US_088.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|issue=88|page=21}}</ref> After The 3DO Company sold its "Opera" hardware to [[Samsung]] in 1997,<ref name=":0" /> the 3DO platform had achieved more attention in South Korea, where LG had opened a '3DO Plaza' in [[Seoul]] on its 1994 launch and many games had been localized.<ref>{{Cite news |orig-date=5 May 1995 |title=LG Makes a Bet On Parlor Games |work=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}</ref> It competed there against Samsung's local version of the [[Sega Genesis]] and [[Hyundai]]'s "Comboy" [[Super Nintendo]].{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

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.<ref name=gamespy/> 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.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 1996|title=The World According to Trip |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-022/page/n7/mode/2up|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=22|pages=6–12, 159, 161, 163, 165}}</ref>