3DO

Was 3DO released at the right time, or the wrong one? Good question. On one hand, 3DO was released at the 11th hour of a bad "rut" in the PC world. With Windows 95 far in the future, DOS and Windows 3.1 were still the mainstays of 1993 PC gaming, and neither was easy to make a game operate! I remember how I kept an entire folder of alternate AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, which I would copy into the boot files when necessary, for any number of games; the ones that needed extended memory, the ones that needed expanded memory, the ones that needed more conventional memory (which meant some drivers needed to be placed in upper memory, to make room in the lower memory blocks)...is this confusing enough yet? For the game designers --attempting to make games playable out-of-the-box, even for the less seasoned computer user-- this was an even bigger challenge. As a result, there was little attempt to "push the envelope" in PC games, with many being almost-exactly-the-same adventure games, using a 3-year-old adventure game engine.

3DO was an attempt to change all that, with a proposed "standard" of hardware configurations, much like Dolby Sound or VHS video tapes. With no worry of compatibility issues, game designers could feel free to make 3DO-compatible games at will. They would also have more than just a mere "video game" system to sell their games to; initially, the 3DO "standard" was to be used in electronic entertainment systems manufactured by over four separate home appliance manufacturers, An expansion card for PCs, made by Creative "SoundBlaster" Labs, could make computers use 3DO games as well. If successful, 3DO would have become as common to games as Dolby Sound on an audio cassette.

Acceptance of 3DO, however, was a bumpy ride, particularly among the PC users. People don't like to be told their $2,000 PC is going to be upstaged by a $700 entertainment console...as if that was possible. Making matters worse, however, was the fact that Hawkins' endless rants began to create a batch of rude, obnoxious fanboys, whose rude rants were more of a hindrance than helpful. One such fanboy on my then-favorite games BB --let's call him "Eugene"-- got into a tizzy, when I debated his belief that "countless" 3DO games would be out by Christmas, 1993; this being just weeks after the game system had even hit store shelves! Obviously, this was a cliché promise of "dozens of titles by date X," though Eugene believed this sales pitch wholeheartedly; Trip Hawkins said so! Eugene even called me "retarded" for my comments to the contrary, because, claimed Eugene, "I KNOW that a minimum 25 titles will be out by New Year's Eve at the latest." Sad. Here's a little Rhetoric 101 tip, kids; when you want people to see your point, calling them retarded is not a bright plan.

However, Hawkins did not just persuade the naive "Eugenes" of gaming. I soon came across other, more reputable sources, who were quite positive about this intriguing new system. After all, Trip Hawkins helped found Electronic Arts; one of the oldest computer entertainment companies around. How likely was it that he released a bad system? The cheerleading was difficult to ignore. It was even harder for an overly generous relative, who gave me a 3DO that Christmas as a gift. In case you were wondering about Eugene's claim of 25 titles by New year's; 3DO by 12/31/93 had around five games out...and no very good ones. On the bright side, a free "demo CD" showed nice potential in 3DO's hardware.

This gray cloud had a silver lining in later months, with a few very amusing games. Escape from Monster Manor was an inspired haunted house shooter; sort of a mix between the game Wolf3D and a Disney Haunted Mansion Ride. Immercenary (right) was an enhanced Wolf3D-clone, where you fought on virtual city streets surrounded by towering buildings. Off world Interceptor (left) placed two opponents in well-armed monster trucks, as they drove over rough terrain. Then there was Twisted, the interactive game show whose contestants included jovial characters like an overanxious televangelist and a walking PEZ dispenser! To me, 3DO's unique game concepts were its strong point.

3DO hardware was obviously very specific; its asset, as well as its burden. 3DO may not have handled high-tech, next-generation game concepts like Doom very well (and we'll get to that, soon enough), but 3DO hardware excelled when handling video clips, even within a 3D game engine! Your cockpit controls in Shock Wave showed full-motion video of incoming messages within the 3D flight simulator, while flying your ship. Killing Time had FMV "ghosts" who'd appear as you walked freely through the house (imagine 7th Guest with full 3D freedom of movement!). You could even walk closer to/farther from the ghosts to get a better view of the video scene played. This amazing hybrid of full-motion video within a 3D game wasn't attempted in the PC world for years (in some ways, even to this very day), and Killing Time's PC translation hardly did this technology justice. If there was one trait of the 3DO that a 1994 salesman would point out, it was its video technology, which was many years ahead of its time.

If only other traits of the 3DO system were as well thought out. The problem? Try problems. For one, 3DO's first year on shelves relied too much on "revolutionary" Wolf3D clones, right when Wolf3D's successor, Doom, had just been released on PCs...oops! This made intended "jewels" in 3DO's crown (like Jurassic Park Interactive) into total duds. Aforementioned games were far better, though there were too few of them to make any 3DO owner feel at ease. To make things worse, Hawkins' fanboys (including Eugene) remained too stubborn to see the company do anything wrong; this when 3DO needed to be told they were making some serious goofs. The initial $700 price tag (for the Panasonic unit) hardly helped sales, either. When reduced to a less ridiculous $300 --in just a few months-- the big drop in price appeared to be less generosity than merely a sign the 3DO wasn't selling. In truth, it wasn't. Game critics soon coined the cynical term "3D'OH!" Ouch.

Although it was too little, too late, Trip Hawkins began work on an add-on card called M2, which would allegedly give the system everything it lacked. However, by doing so he made it appear that even 3DO's creator had admitted it had to be upgraded, before it was any good. In retrospect, Trip should have concentrated on making this M2 unit available, before he started bragging so much about it. Then the decision was made, to make M2 a  standalone system --not an add-on card for 3DO systems-- and the message seemed clear: 3DO was old news. Companies cancelled 3DO game projects left and right, as they waited to see which Trip-Hawkins game platform to make a game for (if any). Game fans equally waited to see which to buy. This obviously meant less and less revenue for the 3DO company, whose bread and butter was sales of the original 3DO! No 3DO system sales, meant less and less revenue for the M2 project...whatever it was. Eventually, M2 technology had to be sold dirt cheap, and 3DO became a software-only company. Oh, well.

The biggest cause for the demise of 3DO, however, would have to be its fanboy "cult". These cyber-snobs --"Woo-hoo! I spent $700 on a game system!"-- were impossible to discuss anything with. Game magazines reviewed less and less 3DO titles, most likely because they grew tired of flame mail from 3DO cultists, if every game wasn't labeled "flawless." It didn't help matters that some games were not only flawed...they were stupidly flawed. One of my last attempts at a discussion with said cultists was when asking why Shock Wave intentionally (and stupidly) deleted your saved game, after x number of tries. After all, the concept of a saved game is that it's SAVED, right? One cultist's pitiful defense of 3DO, and I quote: "Well, I don't remember game saves being mentioned in the Bill of Rights!" ...HUH???

The sad fact to 3DO's short life is that it was hardly a bad system; it's over-hype that made it "have" to be #1, or else. To Trip Hawkins, being #2 or 3 in game systems was not an option. It was if 3DO had to "go gold" to get on a Wheaties box. As a result, a system which could have received the silver or bronze was never given a decent chance.