3DO ZONE Forums

I'm reading the newst issue of Game Informer and they say that only three games were out on release day. Alone in the Dark, Myst & Star Control II. Now correct me if I'm wrong but weren't there five games?

Crash 'n Burn was, wasn't it?

Total Eclipse wasn't a day-one title? I was always under the impression it was.. but then again, I never looked into it.

Austin wrote:Total Eclipse wasn't a day-one title? I was always under the impression it was.. but then again, I never looked into it.

It was on the UK release, but in the US, you got crash and burn.

I is gonna check. hold on.

3DO Experience wrote:I'm reading the newst issue of Game Informer and they say that only three games were out on release day. Alone in the Dark, Myst & Star Control II. Now correct me if I'm wrong but weren't there five games?

Do you have a link to the article? Or a scan? Are they talking launch window release titles?

There is no way Myst was, it had only been out for about a month or so on the pc before the 3DO was released in the States.

Does anyone know when Escape From Monster Manor was released? Some sites say 1993, some say 1994.
I'm fairly certain it was 1993, but I might be wrong.

If the back of the box is any indication, then Myst probably wasn't released until '94 or '95. Look at the copyrights: http://www.covergalaxy.com/forum/attach ... ck-001.jpg

*edit: @bitrate--both copyrights state 1993 on the back of the Monster Manor box: http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bi ... _front.jpg

OK, now this is really starting to confuse me. Do they have their information entirely incorrect? Who here bought a system on day-one, and what came with it?

Star Control II--was it really a launch game? I found a scan with a copyright date of 1994. Unless there have been box variations, why would there be a '94 copyright date if it launched with the system in '93?

http://www.giantbomb.com/star-control-i ... 1-1286341/

And what about Alone in the Dark? Same issue here. The box scan I found states 1994 on the back of it: http://www.elisoftware.net/images/c/ce/40421-29038B.jpg

I know Crash 'n Burn, Monster Manor, and Total Eclipse are '93, for sure.

Austin wrote: Star Control II--was it really a launch game? I found a scan with a copyright date of 1994. Unless there have been box variations, why would there be a '94 copyright date if it launched with the system in '93?

Star Control II wasn't a launch game.


Off the top of my head some of the games that (I think) arrived within the first couple of months of 3DO's launch were Battle Chess, Dragon's Lair, Lemmings, Rebel Assault, Stellar 7, some Software Toolworks titles, the Life Stage, and of course the games already mentioned.

Trev wrote: Star Control II wasn't a launch game.

Off the top of my head some of the games that (I think) arrived within the first couple of months of 3DO's launch were Battle Chess, Dragon's Lair, Lemmings, Rebel Assault, Stellar 7, some Software Toolworks titles, the Life Stage, and of course the games already mentioned.

The GameInformer writer must have ripped it straight from Wikipedia, assuming it to be the launch lineup (or knowing it wasn't but not caring).

Straight from Wikipedia:

"Some of the best-received titles were ports of arcade or PC games that other cartridge-based systems of the time were not capable of playing, such as Alone in the Dark, Myst and Star Control II. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_3DO

So, the Edge Magazine from October 1993 reckons you could only play Crash 'N Burn and the demo disk on the launch day (October 1st 1993)

Austin wrote:The GameInformer writer must have ripped it straight from Wikipedia, assuming it to be the launch lineup (or knowing it wasn't but not caring).

Straight from Wikipedia:

"Some of the best-received titles were ports of arcade or PC games that other cartridge-based systems of the time were not capable of playing, such as Alone in the Dark, Myst and Star Control II. "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panasonic_3DO

HA! That's great, he didn't even change the order of the games!

I don't have a scan or a link. The issue I was looking at belonged to someone I know. I actually posted from the café I was in while reading it.

I don't think Monster Manor was out on day one because I didn't get the system until after it was out, but I could be wrong.

You should always treat wikipedia as a compilation of _information_, and never as a compilation of irrefutable fact. Whilst alot of it is probably more or less correct, it is controlled by virtually anyone, and prone to misinformation.

If that was indeed the case, relying on wikipedia for journalistic research is not only foolish, its unprofessional.

I thought that five US launch titles was Crash 'N Burn, Escape from Monster Manor, The Life Stage: Virtual House, Stellar 7: Draxon's Revenge and Mad Dog McCree...

Austin wrote:I know Crash 'n Burn, Monster Manor, and Total Eclipse are '93, for sure.

Actually, a while back I had quite the discussion with a guy over Total Eclipse's release date, and he explained to me that though the game was copyrighted in 1993, it wasn't actually released until January 1994. For proof he showed me an old bulletin thread from January 1994, where everyone was all excited about its upcoming release, followed by a bunch of posts on January 8, 1994 saying it had just showed up in the stores.

Yeah, a friend of mine gave me the issue. The fact that the NES, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64 systems have (A) grade launches, but yet they give the Dreamcast a B+ while bitching that most of the games in the launch are showcases of "Alluring Graphics" outside of Soul Calibur, really shows how stupid these assclowns are. Especially when you look at the fact that the N64 only launched with two games! One so-so in Pilotwings and Mario 64. I hate Mario 64, but even if I call that an A+ launch title, it's ridiculous that the N64 gets higher marks on ONE game versus the several great launch titles for the Dreamcast. Then they complain that the Dreamcast only had Sega only games on it's release. So, let me get this straight; Mario 64 is a better game than Panzer Dragoon and Daytona USA? Then, they turn around and give the Nintendo DS a D when it had Mario 64 at launch as well? But I thought that "One" game can make the whole launch amazing?The Turbografx 16 gets a (C+) with classics like Alien Crush, R-Type, The Legendary Axe and Dungeon Explorer? Genesis a (B) with that is considered by many to be the greatest Baseball game of all time in Tommy Lasorda Baseball, then there was Altered Beast, Thunder Force II, and Space Harrier II? Then there is the BS with the 3DO. Launch consisted of Dragon's Lair and Crash N' Burn was the pack in with the Panasonic FZ-1 3DO unit at launch. A buddy of mine got the system the day it released. I thought he was insane because of how expensive it was until I played it! I am also pretty sure that Total Eclipse was also a pack in for the Goldstar 3DO. I know for a fact that Star Control II and Alone in the Dark were not launch titles for the 3DO because my buddy pre-ordered them from Software Etc. after he had bought the 3DO system. I am almost positive that Escape from Monster Manor was also a launch title, contrary to what Wikipedia tells you, however, I am not 100% positive. Those guys are idiots. Somebody call Trip Hawkins!

Sorry they upset you so much. They really don't seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to older systems. A lot of the readers know they are full of BS, but they are good at games they get to review and when they have interviews (the Mario Bros. movie article was really good).

I stopped getting Game Informer a while back. (I really only read it cause it was free w/the GameStop discount card) Imho, they feature some of the oddest (and sometimes absolutely awful games) as their cover features.

T2KFreeker wrote:I am almost positive that Escape from Monster Manor was also a launch title, contrary to what Wikipedia tells you, however, I am not 100% positive.

I was thinking Escape from Monster Manor was a launch day title too, but like you, I am not sure.
A bit more digging is in order I guess.

3DO Experience wrote:Sorry they upset you so much. They really don't seem to know what they are talking about when it comes to older systems. A lot of the readers know they are full of BS, but they are good at games they get to review and when they have interviews (the Mario Bros. movie article was really good).

I wouldn't say it upset me, I just don't understand where their heads are at is all. I just wonder if any if these people actually trued any of these games out before they ran their mouths. In the end, obviously not.

So, a trawl of rec.games.video.3do

Crash & Burn was the only game available on October 1st 1993

Within a month it had: Stellar 7 , Battlechess, Mad Dog Mcree

Monster Manor was around Christmas.

Awesome 3DOKid.

So, it looks to be 4 games available by the beginning of November 1993?

I wonder what the number had reached by Christmas 1993?

Nice one! So Crash 'n Burn was it on launch, huh? Interesting.

https://groups.google.com/group/rec.gam ... 28330&sa=N


It's pretty interesting. The flaming wars between Jag and 3DO, people wondering where all the games are, news and info online in 1993/4 18/19 years ago!!

I like this one, the first posting of the 3DO FAQ!
https://groups.google.com/group/rec.gam ... 24ab?hl=en#

Reading these is like traveling back in time ... Its so odd to see people talking about 3DO not in the past tense.

Got my copy of Game Informer yesterday (not a bad magazine, incidentally, at least not so far as the reviews go). Reading the article under discussion, I don't see any grades that are terribly off, though the grading is suspiciously in line with the consoles' popularity among hardcore gamers.

The major problem I see is that several consoles have a grade and list of titles but no rationale for the grade. I understand that space is limited, but it's not like they covered every video game console anyway; the Neo Geo, Odyssey 2, and Sega CD are just three of the most prominent omissions. So why waste space on a console with a grade you won't (or can't?) justify?

By the way, did you all spot the following footnote? "Which games were actually available on day one was often unclear, and this article would not be possible without consulting Leonard Herman's Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames, Wikipedia, and various internet sources." Not exactly an honest admission, but it's not hard to figure out from that that their research for the article was very limited.

Honestly, though. How can you do even five minutes online research without finding that Crash and Burn was a 3DO launch title? That info seems to be everywhere.

I am amazed to learn that it was the only launch title, though.

3DOKid wrote:https://groups.google.com/group/rec.gam ... 28330&sa=N


It's pretty interesting. The flaming wars between Jag and 3DO, people wondering where all the games are, news and info online in 1993/4 18/19 years ago!!

I like this one, the first posting of the 3DO FAQ!
https://groups.google.com/group/rec.gam ... 24ab?hl=en#

Now this stuff was pretty cool to read. Thanx' Kid!

Martin III wrote: By the way, did you all spot the following footnote? "Which games were actually available on day one was often unclear, and this article would not be possible without consulting Leonard Herman's Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames, Wikipedia, and various internet sources." Not exactly an honest admission, but it's not hard to figure out from that that their research for the article was very limited.

I've seen Game Informer occasionally here in the UK. Although I never see video game mags at the airports while I've been in the US.

However, reading between the lines here, what i see is that "Game Informer" is not as fastidious with its facts as it could be possible. Right?

3DOKid wrote:I've seen Game Informer occasionally here in the UK. Although I never see video game mags at the airports while I've been in the US.

However, reading between the lines here, what i see is that "Game Informer" is not as fastidious with its facts as it could be possible. Right?

Let me break it down like this; Game Informer is published under Game Stop. I have had to get into arguments over this before. The magazine really does have an affinity to give games they really want to sell well high ratings. If it's a COD, it automatically gets a higher score than anything else in the mag, just as an example. They manage to get stupid things wrong to by trying to change gaming trends like calling a game like "Rage" an RPG. I guess I see what aspects they see might make it like an RPG, but let's be honest, it would be more truthful to call the game a FPS with RPG elements. Rage is an RPG like Castlevania Symphony of the Night is. Really lame. Also, in their "Retro Reviews", if it was an oldschool Nintendo game, you can expect high marks, especially if iy has the word "Mario" in it, no matter what. Other stuff on other systems they tend to be way over critical. It's really bad for stuff like 3DO, Jaguar, or Turbografx. Really sad, to be honest. The magazine is trash, plain and simple.