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ICS Sparky: Good evening, Trip Hawkins!
The3DOCo: Hello, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here, live from the E3! We're showing over 40 new 3DO titles were at the show and getting great reactions. We even have an Orbitron, the device used in Lawnmower Man, to allow you to play our new Studio 3DO title "BladeForce" and you can spin around upside down! We're also showing the press and developers our first working demos of M2 software. Again, on M2 we're getting rave reviews. M2 is 10 times faster than competitive products that haven't even been released yet, and you can really see how good it is from our demos. People are blow away.
ICS Sparky: Trip Hawkins is President and CEO of the 3DO Co and, as he said, is at the E3 in LA. Let's get started with some audience questions!
ICS Sparky: AuricRoco asks
Question: How would you compare the M2 to the U64 and Saturn?
The3DOCo: We can do over 1 million polygons per second, sustained in a real application. We can draw over 100 million pixels per second. We have tons of hardware features that improve image quality, like gouraud shading, filtering, mip mapping, z-buffer, transparency, etc. The competition isn't even close in either speed or quality. Just looking at the graphics, there are 3 stages to the pipeline for these machines. The first stage is the math for determining the camera angle for the 3D models. This requires a lot of floating point capability. Sony and Saturn don't have floating point and have relatively low integer math performance (around 15 INT Specmark equivalents). We have 45 INT specmark, but we also have 264 MFLOPS (million floating point operatings per sec) of floating point. You really need floating point for 3D games. Ultra has 45 INT and about 15 MFLOPs, so it is also well below M2. The 2nd stage of the pipeline is where you calculate your colors and images and map the textures And there again we have much higher performance. Sony and Saturn have to use their CPU, but we and Ultra have a separate processor as a "set up engine". Details are sketchy on Ultra's but we have reason to believe we are higher performance there also. Then the third stage is getting the graphics rendered into the frame buffer for display, and we are really fast at that, over 100M pix/sec, way beyond the others So in total our graphics pipeline is faster in each stage and has no bottlenecks. Same thing for the memory bandwidth. We can do 528 megabytes per second. Sony and Saturn do 128. Ultra can do 500, but has only 2 megabytes of RAM, and the speed to the cart is only 30 MB/sec. So in speed, we think we're 7 to 10 times faster than any of them. In quality, none of them has all the features we have. Ultra has at least some of them, but the others have none of them in hardware. Mip mapping allows you to scale in and out of scenes without noticeable pixel blockiness or artifacts. Z-buffer has the hardware automatically take care of figuring out which images to show and which to hide. There are a lot of other high performance features that you previously could only get on a high-end workstation. The demos we have show how dramatically better it is.
ICS Sparky: AuricRocon, THAT question got you a Team3DO t-shirt!!! Send your real name and address to Stephen3DO and he'll get it to you!
Question: Is there any truth to the 3d0/Sega deal in WSJ?
The3DOCo: There have been rumors and speculation of various kinds for months. We don't comment on speculation. At the same time, we know we have a hot technology in M2. Matsushita (Panasonic), Goldstar, EA, MCA, and others have already announced public support of M2. But we also think we have a real, legit shot at creating a winning, leading industry standard around M2. So we're willing to talk to anyone in the business to see if we can build an even stronger alliance than we already have.
ICS Sparky: Demonhell is wondering what to get mom for Mother's Day
Question: WHAT GAMES ARE COMING OUT FOR 3DO OR M2 ADAPTER,LIKE ARCADE GAMES
The3DOCo: We're putting more focus on coin-op games and talking to many coin-op companies. Many of them want to use M2 hardware in the coin-op market. Also, Goldstar and Panasonic are starting to buy coin-op game rights. Atari Games is developing Primal Rage for Goldstar to run on 3DO. Williams and Panasonic just announced a multi-game deal that will bring MK3 and other games to 3DO. I think this is just the beginning. The coin-op companies think M2 is really hot. The good ones tell us that it is hard to port to the other systems because they don't have features like z-buffer, and they have to re-engineer a lot. But they've told us they could probably port a good high-end 3D coin-op game to M2 in 6 months!
ICS Sparky: Tsung Man wants to know about RAM requirements for the M2
Question: Will the M2 be able to use the existing RAM in the 3DO, and if not, why?
The3DOCo: That's too specific a question for us to get into at this point. We think of the business as a big poker game right now. It's 7-card stud. Some of the cards are showing, but it's better for us to keep our competitors guessing about a few things by keeping them secret. Regarding M2, the system uses 4 megabytes of RAM (32 "meg") and has 2 megabytes (16 "meg") of ROM.
ICS Sparky: JBWave asks about a release date
The3DOCo: The release date will be when we have everything we need for a successful launch. We need some more time to finalize software schedules before we zero in on a launch date. We'll know within several weeks and probably announce it this summer.
Question: Are there any plans to introduce a triple or quad speed CD drive for the 3D0?
The3DOCo: We started with high-cost 2X drives in 1993, and now we have low-cost 2X, and my view is we should get to really low cost 2X, and then go to DVD. I don't think a faster drive without a capacity increase is worth the incompatibility and cost.
ICS Sparky: BobG asks this
Question: Trip thanks for the great gamming for the last year and half. How does 3do going to respond to Saturn coming out today. Will Push the m2 and adverting now. What title can we look for the 3do to make go against sat,psx, with out the m2 Thanks. Robert Grunwald Miami
The3DOCo: We've been selling against Sony and Saturn for over 6 months in Japan. So E3 brought no surprises. For this year, it is clearly a 3 horse race, nobody will be a big winner but everyone will finish "in the money." Our advantage this year is our software catalog. We have this week released our 200th worldwide title and we probably have at least 50 good games in the US. And we will have another 100 titles before the end of the year. The competitors don't have anything close to that many good games. In terms of pricing, we have the lowest manufacturing cost. Now that Goldstar and Panasonic have seen the intro plans of the competitors, we expect them to make some countermoves. E3 is like Fort Sumner. The first cannonballs just went over the wall. But this is just a skirmish in a long war that we think M2 is eventually going to win.
ICS Sparky: Several people want to know if there are M2's at the show. MHussein asks a representative question
Question: MHussein asks: Did you show demos from the M2 hardware or just from SGI computers, like you did last time?
The3DOCo: Yes, we have real M2 hardware at the show. We got the first pass chips during the last two months. But we aren't showing it openly on the floor for competitive reasons.
ICS Sparky: Several have asked about marketing strategies.... here is Gamer3DO's question
Question: I really love my 3DO, but I would like to know how you plan to promote the it in the future since a lot of people still don't know what one is, and the one's that do tend to undervalue it. Will we see more TV ads aimed at the general public?
The3DOCo: You know, we learned that it is much more efficient to market to gamers than everyone else. We realized we need to build our market initially around gamers, and later on expand the audience. That's why our ad campaign last fall focussed on games. We'll have a new campaign this year, much bigger, but again with a gaming focus, at least on TV. In print ads, we get a chance to address other features like education, photo and video CD, etc. Goldstar is shipping their MPEG video module next week, by the way, $199 with "Total Recall" included.
ICS Sparky: Stockholder BPrescot wants to know
Question: Short Sellers are killing THDO stock. Tell stockholders why we should hold onto our stock?
The3DOCo: Yeah, these days it seems short sellers are good at manipulating market analysts and using false rumors to profit. It's a shame. All we can do is focus on the long-term. It reminds me of EA. We went public in 1989. Adjusting for stock splits the stock price was $2. Then, after 2 years, we were really successful entering the Sega market, and the stock price dropped to $1.50!!! So just at the moment that EA was about to take off, the price hit the all-time low. At the time, I bought a lot of EA shares and just gave them to friends and relatives. Now EA is at $25 a share. With 3DO, I'm definitely not selling anything! Let me also add that we're improving the operations of the company and growing the installed base. And over the next year we will publish our first 10 games from Studio 3DO. Right now we have 3 business units. Publishing is a startup but once we build up a library it should be profitable. M2 of course is R&D and is losing money, but is our best hope for the future. The 3rd unit is the licensing of the current 3DO system, and that business is already profitable. You could criticize us for starting M2 as soon as we did, and spending as much on it as we are, but frankly it is the best reason to own the stock and the best thing we have going for us. Aside from M2, the new product focus is on software. EA sports will be really strong this year. And more coin-op games. We're also starting up the interactive gaming service as a joint venture with USWest, starting with their Omaha trial.
ICS Sparky: Another reason to hang onto that stock is that it sometimes gets you a Team3DO t-shirt! BPrescott, send your name and address to Stephen 3DO and he'll send you one! TylerSte asks
Question: We know that the M2 will provide superior graphics and sound, but will it allow the 3DO to do any new tasks that it presently doesn't do?
The3DOCo: Another feature of M2 is that MPEG-1 decoding is built-into one of our custom chips. This is an example of how slick the semiconductor process technology is. IBM has a proprietary process that allows 5 layers of metal conduction on a single wafer. The rest of the world is at 3-layer.
ICS Sparky: JermBlue asks a question with a thought attached allows 5 layers of metal conduction on a single wafer. The rest of the world is at 3-layer.
ICS Sparky: Now lets do JermBlue's question
Question: Will there be a price reduction on the existing 3do??? IF so, it could really undercut others!!!
The3DOCo: Sony announced a $299 price today, with shipment in September. I think they will have limited supply at that price, but hope to "freeze" the market and hurt the competitors. Like I said, this is just an early shot in the first skirmish of the war. I don't run Goldstar or Panasonic, but I'd stay tuned for further developments. Even before the Sony announcement, Goldstar had announced a $50 rebate starting now. Some retailers are already selling 3DO at $379, so the rebate would bring it down to $329. But like I said, stay tuned, we're just getting warmed up.
ICS Sparky: A lot of people are pressing for specific release dates, Trip. Can you address this again for JH MIrage
Question: When will we see the actual M2 hardware? (i.e. when will Phase 2 of your rollout occur?)
The3DOCo: We'll be ready to talk about the schedule this summer. I appreciate the interest!
ICS Sparky: Zanderpoo asks
Question: Can the M2 do an arcade quality version of Daytona or KI?
The3DOCo: It's actually much better hardware than those!
ICS Sparky: Dan AStorr asks
Question: Okay, what is the real deal on DOOM for 3DO? What is the current release date?
The3DOCo: I think Art Data will make an announcement soon. I don't have a schedule in front of me. Sometime this year, though.
ICS Sparky: ChrisC462 wants to know about add-ons
Question: Are we going to see peripherals for the current 3DO like the Cable box by Scientific Atlanta? or the modem?
The3DOCo: To do a real settop cable box, you need to integrate an analog tuner, a digital tuner, and genlock and you can't really add that to the current 3DO unless you knew in advance that you wanted to. And of course it would depend on the local cable or phone operators system I/F and specs. Within a few years there will probably be a clearer spec for what the operators can use, and then you will start to see "cable ready" 3DOs. I'm talking about a lot more than a download capability like Sega Channel. Of course we could do that today, but we need the right games and the right partner to want to do it, and realistically the installed base is not large enough to support that yet.
ICS Sparky: CaseyK24 wants to know what you've found out from roaming the aisles at E3
Question: Can we expect any more suprises at E3?
The3DOCo: Regarding a modem, again it's a question of installed base, and it could happen relatively soon We're already working with Silent Software to do a multi-household version of Return Fire, which we will test initially in the USWest Omaha trial. This stuff will happen but it will take some time. Probably the big E3 maneuvers have already taken place and the counterattacks won't be heard for awhile.
ICS Sparky: GoldMage (and many others) want to know about the cost of the M2
Question: Japanese DRAM manufacturers have recently increased the price of memory to the US Market in reaction to the falling dollar. How adversely will this effect the price of the M2?
The3DOCo: We're fortunate because Matsushita and Goldstar make their own memories. And Goldstar is not Japanese so yen-dollar is not as big an issue for them. The exchange rate is a big problem for Sony and Saturn. Neither makes their own memories, and all their key components come from Japan. That's why the Saturn price is so high. Sony went with a lower price but I think you will see their hardware unit supply and marketing budget shrink because of the exchange rate. Regarding M2, IBM, Motorola, and VLSI, all US companies, are fabbing the 3 key components, and their are multiple worldwide sources for the memory and drives. No yen problem, and again Matsushita is vertically integrated and makes all the main stuff.
ICS Sparky: And a price for the M2? Have you set one yet? Have you an estimated price for the M2 when it is released, Trip?
The3DOCo: We're not showing our cards yet on the M2 price. I can tell you the manufacturing cost will be surprisingly low and M2 will be very competitive.
ICS Sparky: Ok! Time for a trivia question! The winner gets a free copy of Studio 3DO's BladeForce! Submit your answer through the Interact function, ASK A QUESTION just as you have been with your questions all evening.
ICS Sparky: Here's the question......
ICS Sparky: How many countries is the 3Do product sold in (LEGALLY!!!)?
ICS Sparky: Submit your answer through the ASK A QUESTION function only!
ICS Sparky: We have a WINNER!!!! CNazareth, you got it! The answer you submitted was
Question: Fifteen
ICS Sparky: and THAT was right!!!
Stephen3DO: The countries in which 3DO is currently sold in USA, Canada, Thailand, Singapore, Kuwait, China, Philipines, Saudi Arabia, Germany, England, France, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australia. Congratulations to our winner.
ICS Sparky: BladeForce is on its way to you CNazareth when you send your name and address to Stephen 3DO.
ICS Sparky: Darren wants to know if there is any difference between the FZ-1 purchased in 10/93 and one purchased today?
The3DOCo: No difference in an FZ-1 today vs 1993. The FZ-10 has a built-in NVRAM manager and has a flip-top CD instead of a drawer CD. Other than that, they play the same software, with the same performance.
ICS Sparky: And our final question of the evening is from EB Robab who wanted to know if there was any truth to the rumor that 3DO is going to put out a a 2 disk CD-ROM?
The3DOCo: If you mean software, there are a lot of games that have 2+ discs. If you mean hardware, one of our manufacturers could easily do a carousel or CD stack system, but I don't think they have much interest because they don't want to have that many different models.
ICS Sparky: Thanks for being with us tonight, Trip Hawkins! Thanks for your thoughtful questions, audience.
The3DOCo: This was a lot of fun. Thank you all for joining me tonight and for your interest in 3DO. Happy gaming in 1995!
Stephen3DO: Please frequent our 3DO area on AOL - keyword 3DO. We are having several live chats with key 3DO developers throughout the E3 show. We have also placed several new screen shots and pictures in our 3DO software library.
ICS Sparky: Next time we'll all have hands-on experience with the M2 and have a whole different set of questions!
ICS Sparky: Good idea! Keyword: 3DO! Good night, everyone!
Stephen3DO: Good night!
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