3DO

For the company, see The 3DO Company.

3DO
The first 3DO machine, Panasonic FZ-1 R.E.A.L. 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
DeveloperThe 3DO Company
ManufacturerPanasonic, Sanyo, GoldStar, Creative Technology
TypeHome video game console
GenerationFifth generation era
Release date
  • NA: October 4, 1993[1]
  • JP: March 20, 1994
  • EU: September 1, 1994[2]
  • KOR: December 3, 1994
Lifespan1993–1996
Introductory price
  • US$699.99
  • JP¥79,800
  • KOR₩399,000
Discontinued1996
KOR: c. 1998
Units sold
  • Worldwide: Estimated 2 million+
MediaCD-ROM
CPU32-bit custom ARM CPU (ARM60) @ 12.5 MHz[3]
Memory2 MB RAM, 1 MB VRAM
Storage32 KB SRAM
Display320×240 @ 60 Hz, 384×288 @ 50 Hz; 16-bit palettized color (from 24-bit) or 24-bit true color.
GraphicsPanasonic FZ-1 "Madam" graphics accelerator
SoundPanasonic FZ-1 "Clio" DSP: 16-bit stereo @ 44.1 kHz, 4-Channel Dolby Surround;
Online servicesPlanned but canceled[4]
Best-selling gameGex, over 1 million[5][6][note 1]
SuccessorPanasonic M2 (canceled)

3DO is a video gaming hardware format developed by The 3DO Company and conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins.[8][9][10] The specifications were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group, and were licensed by third parties; most hardware were packaged as home video game consoles under the name Interactive Multiplayer, and Panasonic produced the first models in 1993 with further renditions released afterwards by manufacturers GoldStar, Sanyo, Creative Labs, and Samsung Electronics.

Centered around a 32-bit ARM60 RISC-type processor and a custom graphics chip, the format was initially marketed as a multimedia one but this had changed into a solely video gaming within a year of launching.[10] Despite having a highly promoted launch (including being named Time magazine's "1993 Product of the Year"), the oversaturated console market and the system's mixed reviews prevented it from achieving success comparable to competing consoles from Sega and Sony, rendering its discontinuation by 1996. In 1997, The 3DO Company sold its "Opera" hardware to Samsung,[11] a year after offloading its M2 successor hardware to Panasonic.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NGen12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "3DO comes to the High Street - in a juggernaut!". Wokingham Times. September 1, 1994. p. 12. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023. The latest contender for the next generation of games formats, the Japanese giant Panasonic, is to launch its CD-based Real FZ-1 3DO Interactive Multiplayer today (Thursday).
  3. ^ "Panasonic 3DO FZ-1 manual". Archive.org. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "3DO – 1993–96 – Classic Gaming". Classicgaming.gamespy.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  5. ^ "At the Deadline". GamePro. No. 85. IDG. October 1995. p. 174.
  6. ^ "Tidbits...". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 76. Sendai Publishing. November 1995. p. 19.
  7. ^ "75 Power Players: The Evangelist". Next Generation. No. 11. Imagine Media. November 1995. p. 56. Global sales stand at around 750,000, with 300,000 sold in the US.
  8. ^ "NG Special: 3DO". Next Generation. No. 7 (published July 1995). 1995. p. 37.
  9. ^ "Trip Hawkins: Interactive Messiah?". 3DO Magazine. 1994 [Winter 1994]. p. 11.
  10. ^ a b "3DO: Hardware". Edge Special Edition. 1995. pp. 54–58.
  11. ^ Writer, CBR Staff (April 29, 1997). "SAMSUNG BUYS OUT 3DO'S HARDWARE SYSTEMS BUSINESS FOR $20M". Tech Monitor. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.


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