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3DO

The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (most commonly referred to as 'the 3DO') was a line of video game consoles released in 1993 and 1994 by Panasonic, Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group. The system was conceived by entrepreneur and EA Games founder Trip Hawkins.

Despite a highly-promoted launch and a host of cutting-edge technologies, the system's high price ($699.95 USD at release) and an over-saturated console market brought 'the 3DO' to a speedy demise.

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The consoles had very advanced hardware features at the time: an ARM60 32-bit RISC CPU, two custom video co-processors, a custom 16-bit DSP and a custom math coprocessor. They also featured 2 megabytes of DRAM, 1 megabyte of VRAM, and a double speed CD-ROM drive for main storage, Up to 8 controllers could be daisy-chained on the system at once. In addition to special 3DO software, the system was able to play audio CDs (including support for CD+G), view Photo CDs, and Video CDs with an add-on MPEG video card (released in Japan only). However, few titles utilized the console's full potential.

A noteable feature of the console is that it is one of few CD-based consoles that feature neither regional lockout nor copy protection, scoring it points amongst import gamers and software pirates alike, though reports have suggested that the Goldstar model isn't particularly durable when used for either of those purposes.

It was often said that the 3DO software library exhibited many of the worst aspects of home video gaming at the time. This was the dawn of CD-ROM gaming, so cutscenes of pixelated video footage dominated many titles at the expense of good gameplay. The most well-recieved titles were commonly ports of games from other systems, such as Alone in the Dark, Myst, Out of This World, and Star Control II.

Other notable titles include Need for Speed, Jurassic Park Interactive, Crash N' Burn, Slayer, Killing Time, and the first console port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which exceeded the original with its CD-quality audio. Game series that started on 3DO by Electronic Arts, Studio 3DO and Crystal Dynamics established themselves on other 32-bit consoles.

In addition to the consoles, a 3DO Blaster ISA peripheral card for PCs which offered all the features of the home console was manufactured by Creative Technology.

The 3DO Company also designed a next-generation console called the M2, which was to use a PowerPC 602 processor, but the company abandoned the console business and sold the technology to Matsushita who never brought the system to the market.

By the early 1990s, the video game market had become overcrowded. Philips, Sega, Nintendo, Commodore, SNK, and Atari each had a video game system on the market. By 1995, most of these systems had fallen out of the loop and were discontinued. Nintendo's SNES and Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis were the most successful systems. Many consider the final blow to be the overwhelming popularity and affordability of the Sony PlayStation, which not only forced out other CD-based systems like the CD-i, but also laid Sega's Saturn to rest by the end of 1998.

Despite heavy promoting on the YTV variety show It's Alive, and the potential expandability behind the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, third-party support was lacking, and the 3DO system was discontinued in 1995. The 3DO Company then became a software publisher, producing such games as the Army Men franchise, until it filed for bankruptcy and liquidated its assets in 2003.

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Primal Rage

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Notes: 
This game is brand new and sealed
Box: 
yes
£30.00
Manual: 
yes
£30.00

The No.1 arcade game that ruled the Earth is unleashed! Features the first ever full stop-motion animation, a colossal fighting engine for incredible hit combos and a massive number of normal moves, special moves and spectacular fatalities. One mother hubbard of a game!

Powers Kingdom

Box: 
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£10.00
Manual: 
yes
£10.00

Welcome to Powers Kingdom. This is the story about another world, another time. There was a beautiful world guarded by Goddess Erald. Darkness feared the Goddess Erald, and there was no way darkness could enter this world. Until.

Phoenix 3

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Box: 
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£20.00
Manual: 
yes
£20.00

Side scrolling adventures in vivid video. Flame broil the insurgent alien horde with five devastating weapons. Razor sharp 3D flight operations in ten different star systems. Deploy five onboard offensive weapons systems with deadly efficiency.

Poed

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Box: 
yes
£12.00
Manual: 
yes
£12.00

Po'ed pushes first person action games to new heights! Fly through twenrty-five spectacular 3D environments while battling vicious alien creatures. Select from a vast arsenal of weapons, including the Power Drill and Meat Seeker. And prepare yourself for the most action packed, fast paced, adrenaline pumping 3D gaming experience of your life!

PGA Tour 96

Box: 
yes
£6.00
Manual: 
yes
£6.00

Play on three US PGA Tour Courses - TPC at River Highlands, TPC at Summerlin and TPC at Sawgrass golf courses. Hole fly-by's and reverse angle repay for all round on the course coverage. Play in tournament, match play and skins competitions. Digitized sounds and commentary enhance the on course atmosphere.

Pataank

Box: 
yes
£14.00
Manual: 
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£14.00

PaTaaank (puh-TONK) is the first 3D pinball experience that puts YOU in the game! PaTaaank delivers the exhilaration of an amusement park ride with the challenges of an action packed pinball game. You get all the non-stop action from a first person 'point of view' - you are the pinball!

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Box: 
yes
£6.00
Manual: 
yes
£6.00

Pebble Beach Golf Links, 3DO recreates the legendary golf course in breathtaking detail from Pebble Beach's spray splashed fairways, to the pounding surf on the seventh hole, to the greens which drop dramatically down to the sea. The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is held here every year and has become popular as a site for the US Open through it's unrelenting Pacific Ocean Conditions.

Off World Interceptor

Box: 
yes
£10.00
Manual: 
yes
£10.00

This ain't no kiddie game. Off world interceptor takes all 32 bits screaming to the redline. Take gut churning jumps across brutal alien landscapes as you rundown the toughest criminals the galaxy has to offer. You'll need a strong stomach. Sick and twisted minds have produced a new milestone in gratuitous full motion video. So dust off the barf bag and enjoy.

Panzer General

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Notes: 
This is the big box version.
Box: 
yes
£16.00
Manual: 
yes
£16.00

The illusion is complete: The year is 1939 and you are a German general with a fresh command in Poland. Anything can happen. Lead well and your experienced units could turn into an overwhelming force plowing through Norway, France, North Africa and the Eastern Front. You could even be on the shores of England by 1940 - or in America by 1945. In addition to the campaign game, you can play over 35 progressive scenarios independently as either the Allied or Axis side.

Oceans Below

Notes: 
This is the big box version.
Box: 
yes
£14.00
Manual: 
yes
£14.00

Adjust your air flow and check your pressure gauge. Splash! The water is warm and visibility good. Slowly you descend into an exotic undersea world, the water teeming with colourful fish and spectacular reef formations. Today you've decided to explore a sunken ship. Tomorrow maybe you'll slice through the water on a Manta Ray, or dare to face a Great White Shark! Oceans below contains over 200 video segments and over 125 photographs, covering underwater animal and plant life, plane wrecks, ship wrecks and more.

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