Post
by spiffyone » Wed May 30, 2012 7:59 pm
Hi everyone,
Just joined, but I've read through some topics in the past and have read the old 3DOkid blog. Also, I've seen the picks for the "top games vids" and I still disagree with some of placements of some games (Star Control II is #1, not NFS, IMHO) but, y'know...OPINIONS!
And in case someone notices, yes, I am the same spiffyone from other game centric forums (AtariAge, etc.).
I've owned a 3DO since...late '95? '96? It was a hand me down gift from my older brother, who bought the system (an FZ-10) and a bunch of games (including Samurai Shodown and Gex) off of a friend for a little under $150, so it was probably around the time that the price had dropped to $199. I recall him wondering which he should get between a Saturn, PS1 and 3DO, and he got the 3DO because it was inexpensive in comparison, which is funny seeing as how the system had (and still has) the reputation of being a "rich man's game console". Anyway, I've grown to appreciate what my brother and family did for me when younger, and have gotten back into retro gaming, in part, to capture some of those memories in fleeting fashion.
I've always had the inkling that had the 3DO Multiplayer been pushed under the standard model used by the console market, rather than the business model that Trip tried, the system might've been what PS1 was about a year or two before there even was a PS1. Obviously not as powerful, but easy to develop for, uber power at the time of release, etc. It was the $699 launch price for the Panasonic FZ-1, due to the business model used, that sunk the system. You only get one first impression, so goes the saying, and "$699" was the wrong first impression to make ("$299" is a great impression to make, as Sony did in the first E3 in '95, which they seemingly forgot all about when announcing the PS3 at "$599").
My favorite games on the system include Star Control II, Star Fighter, Alone in the Dark, and NfS (though, again, I'm not as high up on it as some here). Star Fighter in particular interests me. I'm not a techie or anything, but it does stand out in that it really does push the console in directions not seen in other games. And it does make me wonder: how far could they have pushed it?