3DO
<company, games, standard> A set of specifications created and owned by
the 3DO company, which is a partnership of seven different companies. These
specs are the blueprint for making a 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and are
licensed to hardware and software producers.
A 3DO system has an ARM60 32-bit RISC CPU and a graphics engine based around two
custom designed graphics and animation processors. It has 2 Megabytes of DRAM, 1
Megabyte of VRAM, and a double speed CD-ROM drive for main storage.
The Panasonic 3DO system can run 3DO Interactive software, play audio CDs
(including support for CD+G), view Photo-CDs, and will eventually be able to
play Video CDs with a special add-on MPEG1 full-motion video cartridge. Up to 8
controllers can be daisy-chained on the system at once. A keyboard, mouse, light
gun, and other peripherals may also some day be hooked into the system, although
they are not currently available (December 1993). The 3DO can display
full-motion video, fully texture mapped 3d landscapes, all in 24-bit colour.
Sanyo and AT&T will also release 3DO systems. Sanyo's in mid 1994 and AT&T in
late 1994.
There will be a 3DO add-on cartridge based on the PowerPC to enable the 3DO to
compete with Sony's Playstation console and Sega's Saturn console, both of which
have a higher specification than the original 3DO. The add-on is commonly known
as the M2 or Bulldog. It should hit the shops by Christmas 1995 and will
(allegedly) do a million flat shaded polygons per second.
3DO Home.
Usenet newsgroup: rec.games.video.3do.
(1994-12-13)
Nearby terms:
3Com Corporation « 3DNow! « 3DNow! Professional «
3DO
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