September 06, 1995
The 3DO Company today announced plans to diversify and expand its business beyond the dedicated game systems market.
The strategy is intended to reduce company risks, improve cash flow and increase 3DO’s independence from a single market or partner. In addition, 3DO stated that it is continuing to negotiate new partnering arrangements for its next-generation 64-bit M2 technology in the consumer game market.
“We see demand for the M2 technology in applications that complement the dedicated game market, such as PCs, arcade systems and digital video disc players,” said Trip Hawkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of The 3DO Company.
“Due to the growing interest in our M2 technology and the potential diversification of our business, it is not surprising that it is taking us longer than we originally expected to complete our M2 business plan and negotiate final partnering arrangements. We expect to complete our M2 plans in the coming months and believe the net result will be a stronger business for 3DO in the long term.”
The company’s current 32-bit business is well positioned for the holiday season with more than 700,000 units distributed worldwide and a distribution channel of over 10,000 outlets in the United States. 3DO systems are offered by Panasonic and Goldstar at suggested retail prices of $299, with up to more than $100 in bundled software, making the system cost effectively as low as $199. In addition, the 3DO platform has an award-winning and diverse library of software titles including hits such as GEX, FIFA International Soccer and Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger.
Building on its current business, 3DO today unveiled three areas of focus for its future business strategy: 64-bit consumer systems; software publishing including the Internet; and the PC market.
The first area of focus for the company is its next-generation 64-bit M2 technology, designed to bolster gaming performance by a factor of seven to ten over the new 32-bit systems.
To decrease business risk and increase its cash reserves, 3DO is pursuing consumer opportunities for the M2 architecture focusing on a key partner approach that will drive the business to success in major markets and territories. In addition, the company is looking to obtain licensing fee income and performance commitments to support 3DO’s expenses and cash needs.
“The year 1996 will start a transition from the 32-bit market to the 64-bit market,” said Hawkins.
“To ensure that we have a successful launch in the coming year, we are diligently evaluating consumer hardware partners for our M2 technology that will provide effective marketing, distribution and software titles worldwide.”
3DO continues to make good progress in completing its M2 technology. The first M2 development systems were provided to key software companies in July and 64-bit applications are now underway for the M2 platform.
In order to increase revenues and reduce dependence on third- party developers’ release schedules, 3DO has placed greater emphasis on its software development and publishing operation. Studio 3DO is currently working on more than ten 64-bit M2 titles that are targeted to hit the market next year.
Studio 3DO has one of the industry’s largest software development groups focused on creating 32-bit and 64-bit interactive games. Top talent includes four of the co-founders of Electronic Arts, film industry artists specializing in visual and audio effects, and computer graphics designers from leading PC and workstation firms.
Studio 3DO is scheduled to release several titles for the holiday season including the highly anticipated Killing Time, BladeForce, Captain Quazar and BattleSport.
In addition, the company is planning to move into the growing area of Internet applications. 3DO’s expertise in entertainment software, consumer architecture, and its experience in the U S WEST broadband network trial provides a solid foundation for the company to create software for the Internet. 3DO is part of the recently launched U S WEST market trial, the largest of its kind in the country, in which a potential audience of more than 50,000 households in the Omaha area will be able to receive multimedia services.
“The Internet represents an exciting new frontier for consumer entertainment,” said Hawkins. “We want to exploit our technologies in architecture and software to deliver products for mass consumers over the Net.”
To decrease the company’s reliance on the consumer market, 3DO is making plans to diversify its technology into PC applications. The company intends to leverage its R&D capabilities to deliver PC products, such as accelerator’s for 3-D graphics and MPEG.
3DO’s advanced multimedia R&D sets the stage for the company to be a leader in the upcoming 64-bit market and in a strong position to transfer its expertise to the current PC industry. The company has already created development tools, 3-D technology and video streaming capabilities that can be readily applied to PC products.
“Historically, we have been viewed solely as a company in the dedicated game market,” said Hawkins.
“We believe we have technology and expertise that can be transferred to the PC business, giving us a share of the growing PC market while continuing to maintain our position in the advanced gaming market.”
NOTE: This is a copy of an old 3DO related Press Release – reformatted and originally copied from various old Google Group forum posts.