3DO Games — The $700 Dream Machine
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, launched in October 1993 at an eye-watering $699, was one of the most technologically ambitious and commercially disappointing game consoles of the 1990s. Conceived by Trip Hawkins — founder of Electronic Arts — the 3DO was designed as an open hardware standard that multiple manufacturers could produce, similar to VHS in home video. Panasonic, Goldstar (LG), and Sanyo all produced 3DO hardware, while the platform itself was licensed by The 3DO Company.
The 3DO used a 32-bit ARM60 processor at 12.5 MHz combined with two custom graphics chips capable of texture-mapped 3D graphics — genuinely impressive for 1993, when competitors were still releasing 16-bit systems. Its CD-ROM drive could store 650 MB of data, enabling full motion video and large game worlds that cartridge-based systems could not match. Yet the $699 launch price limited its market significantly, and when Sony’s PlayStation arrived in 1994 at half the price with superior hardware, the 3DO’s commercial fate was sealed. Production ended in 1996 after approximately 2 million units sold worldwide.
Tietokonemuseo Ata’s games:
A
Alone In The Dark CIB
Alone In The Dark SW
Alone In The Dark 2 SW
B
Blade Force CIB
E
Escape From Monster Manor CIB
F
Fifa Soccer B
Flying Nightmares CIB
J
Jurassic Park CIB
K
Killing Time CIB
L
Lost Eden CIB
M
Myst CIB
N
Need For Speed CIB
P
PGA Tour 96 CIB
Po’ed CIB
R
Rebel Assault CIB
Road Rash CIB (2)
S
Scramble Cobra CIB
Space Hulk SW
Starblade CIB
Syndicate SW
Syndicate B
T
Tom Kite Shot Making L