Major electronic industry players are supporting 3DO's 64-bit M2 technology

May 11, 1995

Major computer and electronic entertainment industry players are supporting 3DO’s next-generation 64-bit M2 technology, which was unveiled last week during East and West Coast press and analyst briefings hosted by The 3DO Company. The image, graphics, and CPU processing power of the M2 technology is the result of 10 custom graphics and sound processors designed by 3DO, and an IBM PowerPC 602(TM) microprocessor specially created with 3DO interactive applications in mind.

 The new M2 system architecture was designed by the world’s leading processor, graphics, and audio system designers, and represents a quantum leap in advanced CD entertainment technology. Executives from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI), LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (formerly GoldStar), Electronic Arts, Williams Entertainment, Universal Interactive Studios, Interplay Productions, and Spectrum HoloByte have all expressed support for the next-generation 64-bit architecture.

 “We have worked closely with IBM, Motorola, and 3DO over the past year to develop the M2 technology to provide new levels of performance and photorealism in interactive entertainment,” said Hiroyuki Tachibana, Director, Interactive Media Division at Matsushita.

“We are very pleased with the image quality, speed, processing power, and overall performance of this technology. Our commitment to delivering M2 products is very strong.”

“The M2 technology blows away everything we’ve seen or are going to see from the competition,” said Jim Ireton, Vice President of the HiMedia Group at LG Electronics. 

“LG Electronics is already investing significant time and resources into making M2 the next standard in the advanced gaming market. We support the M2 technology 100 percent.”

Several leading interactive entertainment software developers are also supporting the M2 technology. “Consumers are becoming more sophisticated and are increasingly demanding more realism in their entertainment software. The M2 technology has features that we believe will be able to provide the foundation for creating dramatically new, intensely compelling games,” said Luc Barthelet, Vice President of Technology at Electronic Arts.

“M2 promises to deliver exceptional performance in a home game system,” said Justin Heber, Vice President of Business Development for Williams Entertainment, a division of arcade giant WMS Industries.

“The technical challenges of bringing major arcade titles to home systems will be substantially reduced with this new technology.”

“One of the biggest frustrations of a game creator is watching a great concept crushed by inadequate system performance,” said Mark Cerny, Vice President of Technology at Universal Interactive Studios.

“With the M2 technology, that will no longer happen; we are entering an era where the primary limitation will be our imaginations.”

 “Interplay’s ongoing mission is to continue as one of the leading, innovative software publishers, producing high-quality interactive entertainment titles and staying on the forefront of emerging multimedia technologies. The M2 technology and its revolutionary design and groundbreaking features provide us with an excellent vehicle to deliver our software to consumers and meet our goals to stay on the leading edge of this fast-paced industry,” said Dick Lehrberg, Interplay Productions’ Executive Vice President.

“The M2 technology features, like Gouraud shading, filtered textures, 30 frame per second animation, and Onyx-level performance, will take gamers into a new level of immersion,” said Steven Weinstein, Vice President of Research and Development for Spectrum HoloByte.

 “We plan to take advantage of the M2 technology in developing for this new platform.”

3DO company executives have previously announced a three-phase rollout of the M2 technology over the next several months, beginning with last week’s technology unveiling. During Phase II, the company will announce hardware and software partners, product configurations, and M2 launch titles. Phase III will provide specific launch details, including price, availability, distribution, and hardware and software marketing plans.