3DO is a video gaming hardware format developed by The 3DO Company and conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins. The specifications were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group, and were licensed by third parties; most hardware were packaged as home video game consoles under the name Interactive Multiplayer, and Panasonic produced the first models in 1993 with further renditions released afterwards by manufacturers GoldStar, Sanyo, Creative Labs, and Samsung Electronics.
Descent is a first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Productions in 1995 for MS-DOS, and later for Macintosh, PlayStation, and RISC OS. It popularized a subgenre of FPS games employing six degrees of freedom and was the first FPS to feature entirely true-3D graphics. The player is cast as a mercenary hired to eliminate the threat of a mysterious extraterrestrial computer virus infecting off-world mining robots. In a series of mines throughout the Solar System, the protagonist pilots a spaceship and must locate and destroy the mine's power reactor and escape before being caught in the mine's self-destruction, defeating opposing robots along the way. Players can play online and compete in either deathmatches or cooperate to take on the robots.
Rowan Software was a British software company focused on the development of computer games. The company was founded by Rod Hyde in 1987 and based in Runcorn, Cheshire. Rowan was best known as a publisher of flight simulators for the PC.
Panasonic M2, earlier known as 3DO M2, is a multimedia terminal and cancelled video game console. It was initially developed by The 3DO Company as a peripheral chip for the 3DO hardware before turning into a standalone successor system. In January 1996, the technology was acquired by Matsushita (Panasonic) who continued development as their own game console before cancelling it altogether in 1997. The M2 technology was then incorporated into commercial-oriented devices including a Konami arcade board and in interactive kiosks.
Flight Unlimited is a 1995 aerobatic flight simulator video game developed and published by LookingGlass Technologies. It allows players to pilot reproductions of real-world aircraft and to perform aerobatic maneuvers. They may fly freely, race through floating rings against a timer or take lessons from a virtual flight instructor. The instructor teaches basic and advanced techniques, ranging from rudder turns to maneuvers such as the tailslide, Lomcovák and Immelmann turn.
Terminal Velocity is a shooter video game originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by 3D Realms for DOS and Windows 95, and MacSoft for Mac OS. It is an arcade-style flight combat game, with simpler game controls and physics than flight simulators. It is known for its fast, high-energy action sequences, compared to flight simulators of the time.
Return Fire is a 1995 video game developed by Silent Software, Inc. for 3DO and ported to the Microsoft Windows and PlayStation in 1996. It is a sequel to Fire Power (1987) and was followed by Return Fire 2 (1998). An expansion pack, Return Fire: Maps O' Death, was released for the 3DO in 1995. Return Fire is a vehicular shooter from a 3D bird's eye view, in which the player's goal is to capture the enemy flag and return with it to their base. It was met with critical acclaim for its unusual gameplay concept, enjoyable multiplayer mode, and classical soundtrack, and is remembered as one of the 3DO's "best games" in its Home of the Underdogs entry.
Wing Commander is the first game in Chris Roberts' space flight simulation Wing Commander franchise by Origin Systems. The game was first released for MS-DOS on September 26, 1990, and was later ported to the Amiga, CD32 (256-color), Sega CD and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and re-released for the PC as Wing Commander I in 1994. An enhanced remake Super Wing Commander was made for the 3DO in 1994, and later ported to the Macintosh.
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger is the third main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulation video game series, developed and released by Origin Systems in December 1994. It was a departure from previous games in the series in that it uses extensive live action full-motion video to add an interactive movie-style presentation to the space combat gameplay, emphasized by its advertising slogan, "Don't watch the game, play the movie!". The game's more than two hours of video featured a number of prominent movie stars including Mark Hamill as Colonel Christopher "Maverick" Blair, Malcolm McDowell as Admiral Tolwyn, John Rhys-Davies as James "Paladin" Taggart and Thrakhath nar Kiranka, and Tom Wilson as Todd "Maniac" Marshall.
Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom is the fourth main game in the Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulator video game series, produced by Origin Systems and released by Electronic Arts for the PC in 1996 and the Sony PlayStation in 1997.
PO'ed is a 1995 first-person shooter video game developed and published by Any Channel for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. It follows a chef attempting to escape a hostile, alien world. A PlayStation port was published in May 1996 by Accolade. A remastered version of the game developed by Nightdive Studios, titled PO'ed: Definitive Edition, was released on May 16, 2024 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
The Need for Speed is a 1994 racing game developed by EA Canada, originally known as Pioneer Productions, and published by Electronic Arts for 3DO. It was later ported to other platforms with additional tracks and cars, including to MS-DOS, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Microsoft Windows in 1996, on which it was subtitled SE.
EF2000 is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Digital Image Design (DID) and published by Ocean Software in 1995 for the PC DOS. It is the sequel to DID's earlier software title, TFX. An expansion pack, EF 2000: TACTCOM, was released in 1996. A compilation, EF 2000: Evolution, that included the main game and the expansion was released in 1996. An updated version, Super EF2000, was released exclusively for Windows 95 in 1996 in Europe. In 1997, a compilation titled EF2000 V2.0 was released in North America that included the original DOS versions of EF2000 and TACTCOM and also the Windows exclusive Super EF2000. In June 1997, the graphics were boosted when DID released the "Graphics+" patch, which added Rendition Vérité hardware support and Glide API for 3dfx graphics card support to EF2000.
Star Fighter or Star Fighter 3000 is a 3D flight-based shoot-em-up developed and published by UK company Fednet Software, and released in 1994 for the Acorn Archimedes. The gameplay is mission based and involves elements of strategy and planning. The player can order wingmen to fly in formation and attack specific targets.
Overlord is a combat flight simulator by Rowan Software. It was released in 1994 for Amiga and PC MS-DOS platforms.
AV-8B Harrier Assault is a combat flight simulator/realtime strategy game developed by Simis and first published by Domark in 1992. An updated version using SVGA graphics was released later the same year, alternatively known as SVGA Harrier. In 1994, a modified version of the SVGA version was released for the classic Mac OS under the new name Flying Nightmares, which was later ported to 3D0.
Microcosm is a 3D rail shooter video game developed and published by Psygnosis in 1993. It was originally developed for the FM Towns, and ported for the Sega CD, Amiga CD32, 3DO, and MS-DOS. Microcosm featured realistic FMV animation, with the graphics being rendered on Silicon Graphics workstations. The game is either in first-person or third-person view depending on the gaming system.
VR Stalker is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Morpheus Interactive and originally published by American Laser Games for the 3DO.
Shanghai: The Great Wall, known outside Japan as Shanghai: Triple-Threat, is a video game developed by Success and published by Activision. It is part of the Shanghai series. It was released in Japan for X68000 and 3DO in 1994 and FM Towns, PC-98, PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1995; the PlayStation port was published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Only the 3DO and Sega Saturn versions were released outside Japan in 1995.
Mirage is a video game developed by The Dream Designers for Windows 3.1 and published by Atlantis Interactive in 1995. A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was planned but never released.
