From: anamr@cats.ucsc.edu (Ana M Rodriguez)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video
Subject: Re: MATSUSHITA enters Videogames ?
Date: 13 Jan 1993 03:24:42 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz
NNTP-Posting-Host: am.ucsc.edu
Keywords: 3DO



The news from the wire late...

01/07 1452  3DO COMPANY UNVEILS BREAKTHROUGH CD INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY

LAS VEGAS (JAN. 7) BUSINESS WIRE - The 3DO Company Thursday demonstrated 
breakthrough processing technology for a new consumer electronics standard,
the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. 
   The new system, based on a revolutionary graphics/animation architecture,
processes images at 50 times the speed of conventional personal computer and
video game machines, creating realistic, three-dimensional graphics and
animation using the techniques of Hollywood. 
   Designed to be a worldwide standard like VHS, 3DO's technology will be
available in fall 1993 in a CD version which attaches to a television set and
offers a myriad of engaging interactivity options for adults, as well as
children.  Matsushita and AT&T will be the first licensees of the standard
CD-based 3DO system.  Additional companies are expected to become licensees in
time for the fall 1993 launch.  A network version is planned for 1994. 
   With 3DO Interactive Multiplayers, consumers will be able to play
interactive software which provides a higher level of realism, stimulating the
"suspension of disbelief" that gets users personally involved in the
application.  In addition, the standard 3DO Interactive Multiplayer will be
able to play music CDs, Photo CDs and motion video CDs.  Inexpensive expansion
options include MPEG full motion video, home video editing and MIDI musical
instruments. 
   More than 70 software houses have already signed up as 3DO licensees,
including:  Paramount, Virgin, Ocean, Dynamix (a division of Sierra On-Line),
Psygnosis, Maxis and Spectrum HoloByteh 
   Pushing the envelope on consumer devices, 3DO's Interactive Multiplayer
technology offers unprecedented processing speed for rendering graphics,
animation and the full spectrum of colors to make on-screen objects look more
realistic and allow interaction in real-time. 
   "3DO's power finally allows realistic real-time interaction for users. 
Images are rendered faster than the eye can see, so there is smooth, natural
motion," said Hawkins.  "This is the key to producing applications strong
enough to appeal to everyone in the family." 
   3DO Interactive Multiplayers can animate up to 64 million pixels per second
at peak, which helps images move smoothly without any jerkiness or
interruption; 16-bit systems operate at about one million pixels per second. 
   3DO also gives developers millions of colors for still and animated images,
while 16-bit systems typically display 256 colors. Real-Time Imaging
Capability
   3DO's state-of-the-art computer processing employs many techniques for
improving performance and saving memory. 
   With 3DO, designers can fully manipulate objects on the screen in three
dimensions, rotating, scaling, warping and moving them on command.  In
addition, 3DO's unique pixel layering technique lets programmers display
hundreds of different graphic images (also referred to as 3DO animation cels)
on the screen at once and then animate them individually or together, in
real-time. 
   The 3DO Company is a privately held company dedicated to establishing a new
standard for interactive multimedia.  Investors include Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co., the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturer and
parent of Panasonic, National, Quasar, and Technics; AT&T, one of the world's
leading communications and computer companies; Time Warner, the world's
largest media and entertainment company; MCA, a major entertainment company;
Electronic Arts, the leading entertainment software publisher; and Silicon 
Valley venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. 
   CONTACT:  The Bohle Co., Los Angeles 
    Lee McEnany or Nina Ronstadt, 310/785-0515