The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer was a line of video game consoles first released in 1993 by Panasonic, Sanyo and Goldstar, who manufactured the consoles according to specifications created by the 3DO Company.
Although the consoles were clearly ahead of their time, featuring a host of cutting-edge technologies, the 3DO was also one of the most expensive systems ever released (US$700 on release), particularly in a market that was already saturated with other consoles such as the Sega Mega Drive and the Nintendo SNES. The success and quality of subsequent 5th generation systems like the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64, combined with the 3DO's lack of third-party support, limited library of titles and refusal to reduce pricing until almost the end of the product's life eventually led to the console's demise at the end of 1996, after selling 6 million units.
Games
The 3DO was a CD-based console, and to take advantage of this, many games simply featured cutscenes of video footage at the expense of good gameplay. The majority of successful games for the 3DO were merely ported form other systems, such as Out of This World and Myst. However, the first console port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo exceeded the original with its CD-quality audio. Other popular games released for the 3DO included:
The 3DO console featured advanced hardware for its time, with two custom video co-processors, an ARM60 32-bit RISC CPU, a custom 16-bit DSP and a custom math coprocessor. It also featured1 MB of VRAM, 2 MB of DRAM and a double speed CD-ROM drive for main storage. This enabled users to play audio CDs (including support for CD+G), view Photo CDs and play Video CDs with an add-on MPEG video card. However, few titles utilised the console's full potential. Although the console only has one controller port, up to 8 controllers could be daisy-chained on the system at once.
The 3DO was also one of the few CD-based consoles that did not include copy protection or regional lockout features, which made it popular with players who enjoyed playing import games and software pirates alike.
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