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hints 7⁄20⁄95
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Trip Talks Back To Wired!
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1995-07-10
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Subject: Trip Talks Back To Wired!
From: dhughes@net.microserve.com (Danny Hughes)
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 1995 06:47:03 GMT
Message-ID: <3tqib2$4ka@nuclear.microserve.net>
A month or two ago I posted an article that pretty much declared The
3DO Company dead. It was taken out of HotWired, Wired's online
Webzine, and some people thought it was my work. A couple of you guys
really didn't take it well, and boy did I get flamed! =) Anyways, Trip
didn't take it well either. Here is his response to the REAL author.
The following can be found at HotWired - http://www.hotwired.com
...................................................................................
Date: 21 Jun 1995 16:40:51 -0800
From: shernaz.daver@3do.com (Shernaz Daver)
Subject: Letter
To: Gary@wired.com (Gary Wolf)
Cc: shernaz.daver@3do.com (Shernaz Daver)
Dear Gary,
I hate to disappoint your writer, David Kline, but 3DO is very
much alive (HotWired, June 1995).
But then, how would David know when, as he admits in his article,
he hasn't met with us in more than two years, experienced the
current library of 3DO software titles, or seen our
next-generation M2 technology. If David or anyone else from Wired
magazine would like to meet with us, we would be happy to show
you how very much alive we are.
I am all for editorial opinions but the facts should be accurate.
After all, that makes for good journalism and something that
Wired prides itself on. Had Wired met us, you would have learned
that our quarterly financial performance was a huge improvement
over the prior year and that it exceeded the estimates of the
Wall Street analysts that follow the company most closely. You
would also have learned that we have maintained a significant
cash position. Investors in the public market not "vultures" are
currently paying $13 per share for 3DO stock, a modest change
from our IPO price of $15. These facts could have been obtained
from talking with the analysts themselves.
Wired would have learned that most of 3DO's present financial
losses are related to the M2 technology. You would see why the
investment in M2 is well justified and why our current hardware
partners and several corporations worldwide are interested in
negotiating with us for access to it. People who have seen M2,
including notable Hollywood moguls at the recent E3 show have
been knocked out by its power and performance that make for a
quantum leap in the realism of interactive scenery.
You may remember that in 1994 AT&T announced it was getting out
of the multimedia market. In 1994 it canceled the Edge modem with
Sega and discontinued funding for the Eo and Go operations, both
of which were once touted as "big deals." AT&T's decision to sell
its modest 2.5 percent interest in 3DO was part of AT&T's overall
strategy to pull back on multimedia across the board, focusing
instead on wireless communications. AT&T does not appear to be
interested in making or continuing to hold its original venture
capital investments in other multimedia companies, not just 3DO.
David's article also condemns 3DO for its successful early sales
to Japanese consumers, while praising Sony for the same thing.
And he criticizes 3DO's sales of 500,000 systems in 18 months
while posturing that he is an industry expert who knows what
success looks like. In fact, David presumably typed his article
on a PC or Mac, neither of which sold 500,000 units in its first
18 months. Nor did the Sega Genesis sell 500,000 units in its
first 18 months.
I will agree that David makes some legitimate points about the
degree of competition and price pressure in the market. If he had
talked with us, he would have discovered how much we have learned
from our initial 18 months in the market and how we have changed
our tactics. Today, because of our moves, several retailers are
selling 3DO machines at an effective price of $299 with bundled
software. This fall, 3DO will have the industry's strongest
software line up with more than 250 titles covering sports,
simulation and action vs. the 20-40 titles from our
competitors. And with M2, 3DO is the only company to offer
customers a seamless upgrade path from 32-bit to next-generation
64-bit machines.
While I know that sensationalism sells, I have viewed Wired as
far more than a tabloid expose of our industry. Balanced and
well-researched journalism can be just as provocative and
satisfying to your readers. I hope that David and Wired try a
little harder next time to accurately describe the current state
of the video game market and 3DO's position in the industry.
I invite David, you and the others at Wired to come in and spend
some time with 3DO and see our M2 technology. Please call or
email me and we can set something up. I can be reached at
------------ or --------------------.
Regards,
Trip Hawkins
President and CEO
The 3DO Company
-----------------------------------------
Danny Hughes [dhughes@net.microserve.com]
Intelligent Gamer Online ----------------
World Wide Web Team ---------------------
http://igonline.escape.com --------------
-----------------------------------------