OK kids, listen up. Nintendo is passe - who cares about a smurfy chump in overalls? And Sega is for undergrown adults with nothing better to do than guide hedgehogs through tunnels in a fruitless quest for gold rings. Leave those cheesy 16-bit wanna-be systems in the trash heap next to the Pong unit. 3DO has arrived.
Well, not really arrived ... but if industry buzz counts for anything, this company already has it made. Backed by Matsushita, MCA, Time Warner, Kliener Perkins and about 400 salivating developers; the San Mateo, Calif.-based 3D0 is in the final stages of creating what founder Trip Hawkins likes to call an "interactive multiplayer." But just between you and me, it'll be the coolest game box in town. It might also be that magic appliance that brings multimedia to the masses.
Hawkins is the dreamer behind software gaming house Electronic Arts. He has since "distanced" himself from his former company to build a gaming standard that informed-folk say will blow everything else out of the water. The product was announced in early January (too late for our press date), but don't expect to see anything in the stores until 1993's Christmas buying season.
3DO's system is not a box, but rather a set of chips and specifications that will be licensed to developers. (Remember, Nintendo didn't make millions just selling boxes, it made millions selling licensing fees to developers.) And who will be first out with a licensed box? The smart money is on Matsushita - the largest consumer electronics company in the world and the folks who gave us the VHS standard.
Those who have seen mock-ups of 3DO games describe the experience as nothing short of living inside a movie. "Imagine Flight Simulator in full-blown photo-realistic color," they enthuse. "Or how about John Madden Football with video from actual Superbowls?"
Even better, how about a game culled from Columbia or MCA's latest release, or educational software from National Geographic's latest documentary? Stephen Spielberg reportedly shot extra footage of his upcoming film "Jurassic Park" just so he could make an interactive 3DO video game.
And guess what? This box can connect to your computer. It can even connect to your cable feed. (Imagine - you can subscribe to the Interactive Gaming Channel - once there is such a beast.) And it'll cost less than $700 - to start! That means by 1995 or so, it'll cost about the same as a VCR. At that price, even the schools can afford one. No wonder Matsushita, and MCA are so interested.
ELECTRIC WORD
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Yeah, but will it improve the food? Get yer seat-back service here!
