As long term readers are aware, one of my hobbies is hitting thrift stores, antique malls, and other such places and seeing what all I can find that may be of use, interesting, or otherwise something I’d want. The past few months have been somewhat dry beyond the usual odds and ends, but back on the 12th I had a find that was just too perfect, and was something I’ve been wanting for over 20 years but never wanted to spend the money on, or found in the wild.
A 3DO interactive multiplayer.
Many of you might ask, what in the hell is that? Well, it was an attempt by Trip Hawkins (the founder of Electronic Arts) at creating a multimedia specification, similar to VHS, that would use CD-ROM technology for movies, games, and other interactive entertainment uses. The idea was a standard would be established, and software for this standard could be produced at a low cost compared to other platforms, with players being made by various companies under license, much like VHS.
The console failed in the market over it’s 3 year or so life, from 1993 to 1996, with 3DO becoming a game production studio for other platforms before it failed in the early 2000’s.
The console left an impact on me though – I remember many of its games being featured in Game Players magazine in 1994 and 1995 – the time period I was a subscriber and monthly reader of the magazine. I was inundated by game after game that looked amazing (that is, until the Sony PlayStation was released) and just had to have one.
So, flash forward to the 12th. I’m in Goodwill’s bargain barn (again) killing time. I’m digging around a bin when I look over in a mess of cables and I see some gray and black plastic poking out. It caught my eye as I had seen this at the shop – a 3DO system in need of repair.
I walked over, and began to dig it out. I didn’t look at the front first, though, the machine was tail-up leaning in the bin. I saw the AV ports and knew this was something to at least check out – maybe an old TiVO style box but probably not. Before I could dig it out I felt the controller and saw what it had on it.
GoldStar
I was beyond excited. Sure enough not only did I have a GoldStar produced 3DO, but I also had a controller. Hell yeah! I quickly added it to the cart of random junk I had (I honestly can’t remember what else I got beyond a book and a VHS tape that day) before realizing I should go test it – I’d get it even if it was broken, but I figured I should go on and try it out.
Of course, no TV was handy but that didn’t matter, I could at least see that it does things. I plugged it in, and powered it on. It worked. I pressed eject. It opened up, showing that it had the game Road Rash inside. Awesome, I have a game to play on it. Then, it hit me – the CD drive has an “access” light on it, like many older drives did – I could see if it was reading via that. I closed the disc drive and noticed the light blink. I could also hear the laser changing positions, and from all accounts, it looked like the system was properly reading the disc and loading the game.
When I got home, needless to say, I plugged in the unit and powered it up. About a minute later, I was playing Road Rash on the 3DO. It worked, and worked perfectly. Even the backup battery is still good, but I don’t know how long that will last.
One last thing, though, was the fact that 3DO games aren’t common – hell, only 2 million of the systems sold and many of those are dead now, so it’s not at all a common system. Turns out, though, you can just burn CD’s and they will run in the system. Not the best thing to do, but give the situation it’s better than nothing. The only problem is, discs I burned wouldn’t work.
In reading online, I eventually learned one person had success by turning the console on it’s side. I tried it and sure enough, it worked. I was playing a “backup copy” of a game. Cool, that means I can now play some games I want until I can find copies of em. Excellent.
Finally, after 20+ years of wanting a 3DO, I can finally play Return Fire and Star Control II all I want, on the system I want. This is one of the best finds since the HD-DVD player. I just love obsolete junk, don’t I?
*Disclaimer: I don’t condone software piracy. Just stating the facts with the system and its ability to play copied software, even if that requires it to be turned on its side.
Oh, you might be wondering the cost of the console when I got to the counter.
$3.99
Oh yes, I’m very happy.
Four bucks is a STEAL. You can still find games for the system, but they generally run a bit pricey for key titles unless you luck out on eBay or a game trade site and get a deal on a bulk lot.
Tell me about it! I’ve not had much luck in the near year I’ve had the system in actually finding games out in the wild – at least, when I’ve had the money. The few we got in at work were kind of “whatever” titles that I could pass on, so that’s probably a good reason why I haven’t used the console much.
It’s worth noting it DOES play burned titles.. if you tilt it on its side (strange, eh?) so at least I have that option, but I really don’t like having to buy CD-R’s. haha.
…and I forgot I mention it playing burned games in the article thus making half my comment pointless. GO ME! haha.