The History ofThe 3DO CompanyDavid MullichNOVEMBER 25, 2013

Trip HawkinsDesigned his own major at Harvard University in Strategy and Applied Game TheoryDirector of Strategy and Marketing at Apple ComputerFounded Electronic Arts in 1982Created the Producer model of game production, based on music industry producers

One Console To Rule Them AllProblem: Electronic Arts was frustrated with having to support multiple console platformsSolution: Develop one great platform develop a new technology, surpassing the technical capabilities of existing Nintendo and Sega consoles, which everyone would want to support

The 3DO Interactive MultiplayerVision to create a next-generation CD-Base video game system Amiga engineers were brought aboard to design the platformMediaCD-ROMCPUARM60 32-bit RISC CPU at 12.5MHz GPUTwo accelerated video co-processors Memory2 MB RAM, 1 MB VRAM

The 3D Era4th GENERATION GRAPHICS5th GENERATION GRAPHICS

San Mateo Software GroupElectronic Arts board of directors thought console development was such a different business, it should be spun off as a separate companyFounded as SMSG in 1991, as a subsidiary of Electronic ArtsRenamed The 3DO Company, it became a separate company in 1993 in partnership with 7 companies, includingElectronic ArtsLGMatsushita (now Panasonic)AT&TMCATime Warner

Trip Hawkins Departs EA For 3DOTrip was looking for someone to run 3DO but was having difficulty finding the right person He and others came to the conclusion that he was the one who had the best vision for what the company should be and that he should run itTrip became president of 3DO, remained chairman of EA, and named Larry Probst president of EAHe kept an office at both companies and spent half time at each for the first year to 18 months When 3DO started developing software, a conflict of interest developed, and Trip had to resign entirely from EA.

BUSINESS MODEL3DO collected a royalty on each console sold and $3 royalty sold by game (low compared Nintendo and Segas >$10 royalty)The licensing method accounts for why the 3DO became available from no less than four separate manufacturers. To game publishers, the low $3 royalty rate per game was a better deal than the higher royalties paid to Nintendo and Sega when making games for their consoles.

GAMES3DO started developing software to help kickstart hardware sales. It developed a few games to showcase what the hardware could do and then a few more in genres that werent be covered by their software licensees. Some of the best-received titles were ports of arcade or PC games that other cartridge-based systems of the time were not capable of playing, such as Alone in the Dark, Myst and Star Control II.

GAMESSince its release coincided with the arrival of the modern first-person shooter, the 3DO also had some of the earliest members of the genre as exclusives, such as Escape from Monster Manor, as well as ports of Wolfenstein 3D and DoomOther popular titles included Total Eclipse, Jurassic Park Interactive, Gex, Crash 'n Burn, Slayer, Killing Time, The Need for Speed and Road Rash

3DO LAUNCHESOctober 4, 1993. The 3DO Multiplayer launched at an initial price of $699. (Released in Japan on March 20, 1994 and in Europe in 1994)Panasonic produced first models in 1993. Further versions were produced in 1994 by Sanyo and GoldStar (now LG Corp)Time Magazine 1994 Product of the Year

People Magazines Most Beautiful People of 1995

IN COMPUTER-GAME CIRCLESand on the street toohe's a knockout. With his strong bones and thick, brown hair, electronic-entertainment magnate William "Trip" Hawkins III, 41, cuts a charismatic swath through Silicon Valley Four years ago he staked part of his estimated $100 million fortune in 3DO, a Redwood City, Calif., company that he hopes will revolutionize home game playing with a new format that operates on TV sets.

Fifth Generation Consoles3DOATARI JAGUARSEGA SATURNSONY PLAYSTATIONNINTENDO 64October 1993November 1993May 1995September 1995September 1996$699.99$249.99$399.99$299.99$199.992 million250,0009.4 million102 million32.9 million

PROBLEMSExtremely High Console PriceOver-Saturated Console MarketLimited 3rd Party Developer SupportLack of ExclusivesStigma of Interactive Movie Style Gameplay

Flaws With The Business ModelThe biggest failure was the hardware business model, which gave the licensees control of pricing, marketing and distribution of the consolesBecause of the low royalty rate, manufacturers had to make a profit on the hardware itself, whereas most major game console manufacturers, such as Sega and Sony, sold their system almost as a freebie, with expectations of making up for the loss with software sales

Software GlitchesThe 3DO library also exhibited less successful aspects of home gaming at the time. It was launched at the dawn of CD-ROM gaming, and early titles on 3 frequently attempted to use interactive movie-style gameplay featuring poor quality full-motion video and limited interactivityNight Trap, Mad Dog McCree, and The Daedalus Encounter are some of the more notorious titles from this era

M2The M2 project, which began as an accelerator add-on for the 3DO,[1 was to use dual PowerPC 602 processors in addition to newer 3D and video rendering technologies , making it 2-3 times more powerful than the Nintendo 64 in terms of polygon graphics Due to various business and technological issues, the company abandoned the console hardware business and sold the M2 technology to Matsushita in 1995 Unwilling to compete against fellow electronics giant Sonys PlayStation , Matsushita shortly thereafter re-branded for the kiosk marketThe M2 also survived as a short-lived arcade board for Konami, and is still used today in ATMs and Japanese coffee vending machines

Abandoning The Hardware BusinessPoor console and game sales trumped the low royalty rate and proved a fatal flaw As it became clear, that the hardware business was failing, then the company sold the hardware technology and shifted completely to software development for other platformsThe technology itself was successful for the companies that bought it. Matsushita has used the IP it bought in many products. Samsung bought our hardware division, then sold it to WebTV, who later sold it to Microsoft. Much of that technology wound up on the Xbox, and many people on the hardware team contributed to it.

Redefining The CompanyAs changed its business to develop and publish games for other game consoles and PC, 3DO began acquiring development studios

Army MenCombat Strategy Game24 titles in franchise (19 with 3DO)1998: Army Men2002: Army Men:RTSFranchise sold to Global Star Entertainment

High Heat BaseballSports Strategy Game6 titles in franchise 1998: High Heat Baseball 19992003: High Heat Baseball 2004Franchise sold to Microsoft (but no sequels made)

Might & MagicFantasy RPG8 titles in franchise (4 with 3DO) 1998: Might & Magic VI2002: Might & Magic IXFranchise sold to Ubisoft

Heroes of Might & MagicFantasy Strategy16 titles in franchise (8 with 3DO) 1996: Heroes of Might & Magic II2002: Heroes of Might & Magic IVFranchise sold to Ubisoft

Meridian 59First Graphic 3D MMORPGDec 15, 1995: Initial release by developer Archetype InteractiveJune 1996: Archetype acquired by 3DOSep 26, 1996: Released CommerciallyNamed Fantasy RPG of the Year in 1996Aug 31, 2000: 3DO shuts down gameRe-released by Near Death Studios

Publishing WoesThere was always a lot of internal dissension about the companys objectives and product linesAlthough 3DO acquired some excellent studios, they never seemed to be able to integrate them well and to get everyone to play as a teamHowever, 3DO might have been a very different company if it had started from day one as a software business.

Bankruptcy3DO filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in May 2003The companys brand names and intellectual property rights were sold to Microsoft, Namco, Crave and Ubisoft Trip Hawkins went on to create mobile game publisher Digital Chocolate in 2003 (before stepping down as CEO in 2012) and his new start-up, educational software publisher If You Can