Panasonic 3DO anyone?

[dark]

Lately I've become more and more interested in this system. I don't own one, but I'm finding myself perilously close to buying one off ebay or similar site just to check it out.

I know the game library is pretty sucky, but the 3DO and I actually have a silly history.

When I was about 8, I went to an electronics store similar to Best Buy (it was a chain that is now out of business). They had a 3DO kiosk set up with the pack in car driving game Crash n Burn on it. The system itself looked so sophisticated and cool with its CD drive tray and its 3D graphics. I played this game, one of the first 3D car racing games I had ever seen, and it was so amazing I knew I had to somehow own this game and system. (Did I mention I liked, and still do like, car racing games?)

Anyway, long story short, the system cost $699 at the time and my parents were anti-video game (the psx would ultimately become my first game system about 4 years later). The system faded from the public eye, and from my own thoughts as well. I didn't even see it for sale much around the time I started getting into console gaming around 1996. And as a kid, I had no disposable income to decide to buy it on my own at that time either. I have literally not played the game or system since that day in 1993.

So now, 20 years later after recently buying a Sega Saturn on a whim, I've been thinking about it. And I think I'm going to buy one and try it out, and finally play Crash n Burn thoroughly and any other games that seem somewhat interesting (don't see too many other interesting titles however).

Anyone here ever play one much? I'm interested in it for probably very superficial reasons. I think I've narrowed it down to three.

1) I want to play Crash n Burn
2) I like the way the first gen 3DO console looks
3) Nostalgia and the fact that "this is the one that got away" - the gaming experience that cost a premium at the time, that made a significant impact on my young self, that I've never played since.

[Jinx]

[redacted]

[FightingVipers]

The 3do is worth owning i have a Goldstar/Lg variant, i have a copy of crash and burn, its been years since i used it its packed away at my parents place in the UK.
It has similarities to the Saturn as in it was misunderstould and it never got a chance to really show what it could do, it was hard to program for just like the Saturn and PS1 again sealed its fate as it did with the Saturn.

[dark]

I bought a mislabeled 3DO FZ-1 testing unit that was described as broken off ebay.

The testing unit has a switch on the back that lets you either play encrypted or non-encrypted games. I hope it's not actually broken and that the switch was set to non-encrypted (wouldn't run commercial titles then, just betas). I'll be messing around with it after it comes in the next couple of days. It looks like this:

[WildCard]

It is a cool console. I managed to save up mowing lawns and doing odd jobs as a kid to buy one of the FZ-10 models in 94' I think ?

It pretty much blew away everything else available at the time with the exception of FMV wasn't quite as good as the CD-I if I recall correctly. there were some really good games but ALOT of crap. Most of the good games got later ports to other systems though.

It really was a bit ahead of its time and the crazy prices, $699 at launch and the later "cheaper" FZ-10 like I bought was ~$300 kept the installed user base relatively small. Of course by the time of the PS1 and Saturn the hardware was no match for the "next gen" systems and without a large user base any upgrades (al la the M2) or new console was doomed.

Nice find though, I kinda regret selling my 3DO collection off a couple of years back.

[Meringues]

I got my first 3DO around the same time I got the PS1, you could get them a little cheaper then, only owned a couple of games for it until around 2002 ish when I started collecting for it, I don't have that great a collection but I grab the odd game every now and then.

Its not really that great of a system for 3D but 2D can be really good, its port of Street Fighter II Turbo is excellent.

[dark]

I sold my testing unit without fixing it, so now I'm on the lookout for a new console. I've done some more research on the system and the library and I'm really intrigued by the rare $$ Sanyo model - it looks pretty neat in my book.

[Jinx]

[redacted]

[dark]

I think it is actually less reliable. It has the same removable disc drive as the Goldstar model, and the Goldstar model is known to be kind of flakey and not as good as the Panasonic FZ-1. I think Panasonic FZ-10 (top loader) might be the most reliable, as the FZ-1 sometimes gets problems with the moving parts for the tray drive.

[Dreamcastgaga]

I came across a boxed one the other day, expensive though about $250 or so I think, although it was Super Potato. Seems to be pretty rare compared to the Panasonic versions.