Editing 3DO (section)

=== Launch and performance ===
The launch of the platform in October 1993 received a great deal of attention in the press as part of the "[[multimedia]] wave" in the computer world at the time. ''[[Return Fire]]'', ''[[Road Rash]]'', ''[[FIFA International Soccer]]'', and ''[[Jurassic Park Interactive]]'' had been slated for launch releases but were pushed to mid-1994 due to the developers' struggles with the then-cutting-edge hardware.<ref name=Retro122/> Moreover, the 3DO Company made continued updates to the console hardware almost up to the system's release, which resulted in a number of third-party titles missing the launch date, in some cases by less than a month, because the developers weren't left enough time to fully test them on the finalized hardware.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=December 1993|title=Problems in 3DO Land!|url=https://archive.org/details/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_53/page/n15/mode/2up|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=Sendai Publishing|issue=53|page=16}}</ref> The only 3DO software available at launch was the third-party game ''[[Crash 'N Burn (1993 video game)|Crash 'N Burn]]''.<ref name=Retro122/><ref name=YGa/> Panasonic also failed to manufacture an ample supply of the console in time for launch day, and as a result most retail stores only received one or two units.<ref name=NGen12/> By mid-November, the 3DO had sold 30,000 units.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/20/business/3do-sales-called-pleasing.html|title=3DO Sales Called Pleasing|date=November 20, 1993|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=May 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526093407/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/20/business/3do-sales-called-pleasing.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The system was released in Japan in March 1994 with an initial lineup of six games. The Japanese launch was moderately successful, with 70,000 units shipping to 10,000 stores.<ref name=GPro60/> However, sales soon dropped and by 1995 the system was known in Japan as a host for [[pornography|pornographic]] releases.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ogasawara|first=Nob |date=May 1995|title=International News|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d6/EGM_US_070.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://retrocdn.net/images/d/d6/EGM_US_070.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|publisher=Sendai Publishing|issue=70|page=82}}</ref>

''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' reported in January 1994 that 3DO "is poised for an avalanche of software support to appear in the next 12 months", unlike the [[Atari Jaguar]] and [[Pioneer LaserActive]]. The magazine predicted that "If 3DO's licensees can get enough machines and software out in the market, this could very well become the interactive gamer's entry level machine" and possibly "the ideal plug-and-play solution for those of us who are tired of playing circuit board roulette with our personal computers".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Miller |first1=Chuck |last2=Dille |first2=H. E. |last3=Wilson |first3=Johnny L. |date=January 1994 |title=Battle Of The New Machines |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214005055/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |archive-date=December 14, 2019 |access-date=November 2, 2017 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=64–76}}</ref> Electronic Arts promoted the console in two-page advertisements, describing it as a "technological leap" and promising "twenty new titles ... over the next twelve months".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 1993 |title=The Face of the Future |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=113 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319021149/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=113 |archive-date=March 19, 2016 |access-date=29 March 2016 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=32–33 |type=advertisement}}</ref>

The 3DO's claim to the title of most advanced console on the market was lost with the 1994 Japanese launches of the [[PlayStation (console)|Sony PlayStation]] and [[Sega Saturn]]. The 3DO Company responded by emphasizing their console's large existing software library, lower price (both the Panasonic and Goldstar models were {{US$|long=no|299}} by this time), and promised successor: the [[Panasonic M2|M2]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=December 1995|title=The "Other" System|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_077_December_1995/page/n203/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=77|pages=204–6}}</ref> To assure consumers that the 3DO would still be supported, the M2 was initially announced as an [[peripheral|add-on]] for the 3DO.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=November 1994|title=3DO Powers Up|url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_064_November_1994/page/n279/mode/2up|magazine=[[GamePro]]|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|issue=64|page=272}}</ref> It was later revealed that the M2 would be an entirely separate console, albeit one with 3DO [[backward compatibility]]. Eventually the M2 project was cancelled.