View source for News Article: 1992-12-19: COMPANY NEWS - Start-Up Will Challenge Nintendo and Sega From The New York Times

<pre>December 19, 1992

AWARD WINNING ALONE IN THE DARK NOW AVAILABLE FOR 3DO FROM INTERPLAY

A small Silicon Valley company plans to introduce a high-end video game system that is attracting extraordinary attention because it is backed by both Japanese consumer electronics companies and Hollywood.

The fledgling company, 3DO, of San Mateo, Calif., was started by Trip Hawkins, founder of Electronic Arts, the computer software game company. It will introduced its new game system Jan. 7 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. New Hardware Standard

The company is trying to create a new video-game-hardware standard and has financial backing from the Matsushita Electric Industrial Company and Time Warner Inc., an industry executive familiar with 3DO's plans said.

MCA Inc., the Hollywood studio Matsushita owns, is apparently one of the high-powered companies that have been signed up to develop software for the system.

3DO will not manufacture the game machines but will instead license the design to other companies. Matsushita will be the first company to make the new systems, which are expected to be priced as high as $800, according to the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The video-game market is now dominated by two smaller Japanese companies, Nintendo and Sega. But the executive said 3DO apparently hoped to jump into the market by offering a system with superior graphics and sound as well as by keeping a looser grip on software that is developed for its machine.

While top-of-the-line Nintendo and Sega systems use 16-bit microprocessors, the 3DO system will use the same 32-bit microprocessor that Apple Computer is using in its Newton personal digital assistant. That chip is being developed by VLSI Technology of San Jose and Acorn Computer of Britain.

Each box will come with a high-speed CD-ROM player and will be able to play CD audio disks and display Eastman Kodak's photo CD digital picture images in addition to running game software. Elaborate 3-D Graphics

While the system will feature elaborate three-dimensional graphics and animation, the first version will not offer full motion video. Despite widespread industry rumors that the 3DO system would be able to work with cable TV, the first version will not.

The initial version of the system may face an uphill struggle if it is priced substantially higher than competing Sega and Nintendo systems, even if it has greater performance and features, analysts said.

"I can't see your average middle American shelling out this kind of money for something the kids will play with and break," said Andrew Seybold, who publishes the Seybold Outlook.

3DO recently held a developers conference that drew more than 400 software programmers. The company has signed up 50 developers and has 30 software-development systems in the field. 3DO made an effort to make sure its developers were not developing for either Microsoft Windows or Nintendo, the executive said.</pre>

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[[Category:News Article]]
[[Category:The New York Times]]
[[Category:3DO]]
[[Category:Trip Hawkins]]
[[Category:Electronic Arts]]
[[Category:Winter CES 1993]]
[[Category:Panasonic]]
[[Category:Time Warner Inc]]
[[Category:MCA Inc]]