Console Debate #2: 3DO

[Tulpa | 3,582]

Yeah, although to be fair, the Playstation was out for a month when he got his 3DO (which had been out for almost two years by that point.) It became pretty apparent as the months passed which was more desirable, though, even with the 3DO's head start.

[Link | 2,817]

Not gonna give it a 1, because maybe there is A redeeming feature, somewhere, but I’ll put it like this. In 2005 my boss gave me a 3DO and a handful of games, for nothing. 

I gave them back the next day.

[TDIRunner | 2,809]

I have two consoles, probably two dozen games, and a crap load of different style controllers and accessories for it.  I enjoy playing some of the games, but admittedly most of the good games are available on other consoles.  I had a friend who bought one right after the initial price drop and I was pretty jealous of him at the time.  However, once the PS1 game out and I got one, I knew I had the better console.  

Road Rash, Need for Speed and PO'ed are great games that lots of people talk about.  However, one that I hardly ever hear anyone mention is Casper.  That game is a lot of fun and the graphics have aged pretty well.  It's also a simple enough game that the controller doesn't hinder it the way it does with other games like PO'ed.  

Am I glad I own the console?  Yes. 

Would I buy it with today's prices?  No.

 

These pictures are NOT my collection, but from one of the more insane collections I've ever seen.  These pictures aren't even the tip of the iceberg.  

 

[AstralSoul | 506]

Never played one, never even seen one in person. Looking at the list of games and watching a short documentary about it, I can safely say it does not interest me in the least.

[glazball | 176]

I went with 4/10 because it is below average, but there are a few games with some charm.  Overall the 3DO has aged horribly and rarely gets any attention from me.

[Tanooki | 4,973]

You know the game that stands out to me that had the most charm was just an amazing conversion of a DOS game.  Star Control II.  They enhanced the visuals and immensely so the audio.  They're so adored by fans, when the source was made free ages ago and the 'Ur Quan Masters' project was moving along they ripped those assets from the 3DO game  and added them as an optional package and it thrilled many.  It was that rarer case where the console upgraded the aesthetics package of the PC game.  (Super) Wing Commander on the system too offered a bit of a boost too, just not anywhere as nice as the SC2 work.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

3 hours ago, Tanooki said:

You know the game that stands out to me that had the most charm was just an amazing conversion of a DOS game.  Star Control II.  They enhanced the visuals and immensely so the audio.  They're so adored by fans, when the source was made free ages ago and the 'Ur Quan Masters' project was moving along they ripped those assets from the 3DO game  and added them as an optional package and it thrilled many.  It was that rarer case where the console upgraded the aesthetics package of the PC game.  (Super) Wing Commander on the system too offered a bit of a boost too, just not anywhere as nice as the SC2 work.

Actually, the original creators lost the original source and the 3DO source is all they had left.  So the reason we have any version that will run natively on newer systems is solely because this version exists.  The enhanced sounds/speech (visuals were the same, IIRC, fancier visuals were added onto the recovered code) were unique to this version and thus were able to be carried forward because of it.

I stand by my rating on this system, and based on some of the fond recollections I've been reading, I think some folks rated it too low.  I don't believe any of us would buy such a system today, especially at what prospecting collectors have driven everything up to, but this was a very neat machine for its time with some games that were absolutely fantastic to play on it.  Yeah, it has some turds too, but most every first gen CD based system did since they were testing the waters, throwing everything against the wall and figuring out what stuck.  The high price tag in the day didn't help it survive, but I don't think that crippled it at being good for what it was.  And hey, what other system of the day had such a selection of erotica available for it? 

[Tanooki | 4,973]

Well Voyeur was fun on my CDi   3DO I base my low score on lack of unique personality vs the asinine pricing removing any balanced value it would have had coming in along the lines of a SegaCD, Turbo Duo or PS1/Saturn style MSRP.  They screwed themselves hard on that one, even if they did get some solid licensed titles, few could afford the hardware to do them.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,104]

Is pricing really the 3DO company's fault, though?  You have to remember that they had a very unique arrangement with manufacturers where they licensed their technology out to whoever wanted to make it.  Who set the price for each version of the console?

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

If most folks who are  tanking the 3DO but talking about liking the software ware doing so because of the price of the system, I fully expect to see the Neo Geo sink like a boat anchor as well, as I recall it and its software being even more obscenely priced when it was on shelves.  The guy I knew who had one got it as a combo birthday/Christmas present from his parents who got it, an extra controller, and 2-3 games (I remember Samurai Shodown and Jurassic Park specifically) for around $700.  He decided he'd rather have his own PC after about a week, so they returned it (amazing being able to do that in those days) and he bought another friends' highly overpriced 386SX20 system for the same money.  I definitely wouldn't have paid that sort of money for one then or now, but that didn't affect my ability to enjoy the system.  If we're rating primarily on cost of system, I see a lot of stuff circling the absolute sewer simply because they launched with stupid price tags.

[peg | 380]

My primary memory of the 3DO was seeing one on display back when it launched or shortly after, it was running Battle Chess.  I was absolutely shocked with how good the graphics and animations were.  Keep in mind I had been playing the NES and PC versions of the game before that, so that is what I was comparing it to.  I wanted one so bad but it was never going to happen. 

 

As of today, in 2020 I'm pretty sure it sucks now.  There are virtually no games I could actually see myself playing that are exclusives or worth the time.  I'd give it a 2/10 but I've never played it for more than a few minutes.

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by peg

[Bighab | 58]

I never got one at launch due to the insane price tag. I did buy one around 2001 and had a small collection of about 10 games at the time. Wing Commander 3 Heart of the Tiger and Return Fire were a lot better than the PSX versions. I loved Super Wing Commander(system exclusive) AD&D DeathKeep and Slayer I had high hopes for but they were utter crap. Wolfenstein 3D was the best version at the time. The 3DO version of DOOM was unplayable IMO. Strahl I enjoyed but I'm a sucker for those old interactive movie games. I couldn't justify the shelf space and sold it off around 10 years ago. Do I miss it? Yea a little bit. But after looking at the recent price tags on systems and games I'll probably never play one again.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I'll pass on giving it a rating since I only played a few times on a display unit at Best Buy. But my general feeling is that it is terrible and was an abject failure.

I see a lot of 2s and 3s, but no 1s. So if this isn't the worst console of all time, what is?

[Dr. Morbis | 2,104]

1 hour ago, DoctorEncore said:

I see a lot of 2s and 3s, but no 1s. So if this isn't the worst console of all time, what is?

You'd have to put qualifiers on that; like, does the system have to have had a wide general release at retail?  Depending on the prerequesites involved, there are arguably dozens and dozens of worse systems than the 3DO; the issue is that 99.9% of the general public has never played any of them...

[MagusSmurf | 577]

It had over 200 games released for it and some of the ones I recognize have pretty decent reputations.

The Jaguar, 5200, 7200, 32x, Virtual Boy, and the PC-FX all came from established console makers but have well under 100 each. N-Gage is also under 100. The bulk of 3DO games could be total garbage and the console would still probably come out better than some of those.

[nrslam | 477]

20 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

I see a lot of 2s and 3s, but no 1s. So if this isn't the worst console of all time, what is?

Memorex VIS, easy.  Unless you include handhelds, then it might be the R-Zone.  To my shame, I own both of those turds.

Either make the 3DO look great.

[mbd39 | 2,041]

20 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

I'll pass on giving it a rating since I only played a few times on a display unit at Best Buy. But my general feeling is that it is terrible and was an abject failure.

I see a lot of 2s and 3s, but no 1s. So if this isn't the worst console of all time, what is?

 

RCA Studio II? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_Studio_II

Philips CD-i also seems worse.

 

 

 

[TDIRunner | 2,809]

Yeah, I don't see how anyone could rate it as the worst console of all time considering all of the other contenders out there.  It might be the worst console that most people have heard of, but certainly not worst of all time.

[Estil | 1,282]

Is the 3DO anything like a GTO?  Or HBO?  

But yeah, the 3DO and the other 90s "luxury consoles" (see my past topic on that) ran into the same roadblock as the Apple Newton (google/wiki)...too much tech too soon.  That is, making it cutting edge tech, above and beyond the regular consoles of that gen (GEN/SNES) costs BIG bucks that most can't afford, and even those who can might (like I do) wait and see if it "catches on" and well, you can guess what the end result ends up being.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

17 minutes ago, TDIRunner said:

Yeah, I don't see how anyone could rate it as the worst console of all time considering all of the other contenders out there.  It might be the worst console that most people have heard of, but certainly not worst of all time.

That's a good way to put it. So maybe the worst big name console? I'd say it has enough name recognition to be compared to the big boys. As you mentioned, there are many, many failed experiments and other disaster consoles, but most people have never heard of them. Most avid retro gamers do know about the 3DO and CDi which have to be in the running.

 

[SilverspoonGaming | 336]

The 3DO.  One of the few systems from my childhood that I havent re-bought in the last 12 or so years of collecting.  I consider myself extremely lucky to have had one when I was younger, because somehow my mom bought one for the xmas of 1994 i believe, so by that time, it had to have tanked in price.

I had Madden and Doom for it that xmas, and never got another game for it.  I longed for Foes of Ali, Demolition Man, Gex, and Samurai Showdown, but still never ended up with any other games for it, and got rid of it around 2001.  I honestly dont think that I ever saw a system or a game on store shelves in the 90's.

I remember playing Doom and loving it, and playing Madden a bit, and being amazed by the graphics for a football game of that time.  Id say within 6 months or so, I never touched it again.

These days I have about 10 games, none of which I am excited to play, but I hunt for the 3DO and Jaguar on Ebay daily as they are kinda my white whale consoles, but the price is just too high on them.

[Homer | 17]

I'm giving it a 6. EA really messed up.  The price was just too high tough, I think it was like $699. If priced right, I bet the console would have had a chance. It was two years ahead of Sony and it was console to beat for games like Road Rash, Super Street Fighter and Samurai Shodown.

 

[WhyNotZoidberg | 590]

can't vote.

 

7/10. I gave the Jag and CD-i a 6 so I have to be consistent. I have a 3DO fetish. It's one of my all-time favorites.

While it's true that FMV games are mostly crap and somehow a semi-generation of consoles went and tried to shove it down everyone's throat that this was the future of gaming, along with "multimedia experiences", the system was capable of much more.
 

There were many games that were ports of PC/Amiga games like Syndicate, Out of this World, Cannon Fodder and the Wing Commander games, yes, but also a lot of games started out on the 3DO and were then ported to the PSX and Saturn. While this does limit the number of proper exclusives on the console, it's a clear sign that these games were good enough to hit the more mainstream market given the chance. Road Rash, Need for Speed and Return Fire especially, but also solid little titles like BattleSport and Total Eclipse. I would go and say that most of these ports were half assed and as a result the 3DO versions are often superior.

 

On 11/14/2020 at 2:39 PM, ThePhleo said:

I honestly cannot think of a SINGLE good game on the system that wasn’t available on other platforms...

Well you might not enjoy them today, but Crash n Burn, Guardian Wars, Phoenix 3, Immercenary, Escape from Monster Manor, Strahl, Twisted, Zhadnost, Captain Quazar, AD&D Slayer are a few.

Edited May 11, 2021 by WhyNotZoidberg