Panasonic 3DO-JGC Retrospective

The Panasonic 3DO (and Sanyo, and Goldstar) was an innovative piece of technology that never really hit the right mark. Conceived by Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was at least memorable in many regards. While it may be a curiosity today, the system has some hidden gems that beg to be explored.

Released in 1993 in the U.S. and 1994 in Japan, excitement for the console was initially quite high among gamers.

Despite the initial buzz around the new console, sales were slow. A very high price (around $700 U.S.) was an immense barrier for those wishing to buy one. Even more expensive than the Neo Geo, the console struggled to find a market. However, the 3DO did boast some notable features. As one of the first 32-bit consoles, it offered great graphics, CD-ROM capabilities, on-board memory for saving, MPEG video (with an add-on), and S-video. As a premium console, it did appeal to buyers that wanted something a cut above the SNES/SFC and Genesis/Mega Drive. Unlike the Neo Geo, the software was fairly competitive in terms of pricing.




Around the world, the 3DO struggled to find a true killer app that would define its existence. For the West, games like "Need for Speed", "Gex", and several futuristic racers were more suited to American tastes. In Japan, with its more discerning tastes, many of these games failed to find an audience. The Japanese 3DO library is mostly a mix of FMV. digital comic, and puzzle-style games. Ports of games such as Night Trap and Policenauts were common on the system. Far from being a smash, the 3DO struggled to find its niche in a competitive market.

Despite struggling to produce a hit, the 3DO did have some games that would gain some fame. Of note was the game "D" produced by WARP. In the 1990's, WARP and designer Kenji Eno became famous for their warped (pun intended) "D" series of games. Although "D" was later released on both the Saturn and Playstation, it was initially released on the 3DO. Despite the game aging fairly poorly today, "D" was met with mostly positive acclaim upon its release.

Another famed 3DO released was the only home console version (at least at the time) of Super Street Fighter 2 X (known as Super Street Figther 2 Turbo in the West). A great port of the last version (not including hyper) of SF2, the game convinced quite a few people to buy a 3DO. Also, a stellar port of Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown) was released on the console. A bizarre Sailor Moon fighting game also exists for the platform.

For fans of Japanese games, the 3DO had little to offer. Despite the above mentioned games, very few AAA Japanese games found their way to the platform. One exception was "Sword and Sorcery". Known as "Lucienne's Quest" outside of Japan, the JRPG is one of the most desirable games on the platform. Developed by Micro Cabin, many see the game as one of the reasons to seek out a 3DO.

Despite selling very modestly in Japan and the U.S., several models of the 3DO were released in its lifetime. Panasonic would succeed the FZ-1 (top-left) with the FZ-10 (bottom-left) in 1994/95. Other models exist by Korean company Goldstar (top-right) and Sanyo (bottom-right). These models are fairly hard to find today, especially the Sanyo models. Unlike other consoles of the time, 3DO was merely a hardware specification, which allowed other companies to licence the console for production. Unfortunately, this kept costs high and would help seal the fate of the 3DO by 1995/96.

The 3DO was killed by a combination of its high-price, lack of AAA software, and increased competition of the mighty PlayStation and even the Saturn.Like the Atari Jaguar, the 3DO occupies a weird place between the 16-bit consoles and 32-bit consoles. Despite its less than stellar software library, I do enjoy playing my FZ-1 from time to time. The console is fairly cheap today (although it is going up), as are most games ($15-25). The M2 was a planned successor to the 3DO and almost made it to production in 1997/1998. However, the system was abruptly cancelled and remains a "what if" possibility despite prototypes being completed.