3DO experts.. anyone else ever hear this?..

[scorch56]

I have this obsession. Whenever I collect consoles for a particular gaming system I HAVE to have ALL of the versions that were cosmetically different (as in a Gen 1, 2&3, top AND front load NES,even the original PSX.. every version with a different back panel I/O config).

So I have three 3DOs. An FZ-1, FZ-10 & a Goldstar. I remember seeing/reading this a couple of times.. but I don't know where. Has anybody ever heard that there were TWO versions of the FZ-1? The first run production models had a VERY shiny black top on them the second runs and on, had a rather flat opaque top on them. I swear I have seen both. You don't see the glossy topped ones very much on eBay and they're hard to spot usually because of crappy pictures, but when you look at these units at an angle from the front.. the tops are black and have almost a mirror finish to them. Some would call it a "piano" look I guess, but you can readily see reflections and camera flash in/off the top. The other later units had a flat appearance to them. When you look at both tops straight from top down.. you really can't see this and they BOTH have the white "speckled" appearance only the first release's specks are finer, hence.. it almost "looks" black.

I wish I could find comparative pictures to show.. but on eBay you rarely see it. I have actually PM'ed several sellers before asking them what kind of "top" their 3DO has.. but most of them have a hard time grasping the concept I'm trying to explain. Rumour had it also that the 1st run ones were constructed a little "beefier" (like the Atari 2600 heavy sixers) but I can't vouch for that. Also.. that Panasonic dropped the mirror finish because people complained it was too hard to keep clean.

Has anybody else ever heard this? Because I swear I have seen good illustrations of both kinds in the past, but no one else ever mentions this. Tell me I'm not insane.. well at least not totally.

[Anthony1]

A buddy of mine got a 3DO the day it launched, and his had that piano finish that you are talking about. I got one in early 1994, that was actually a unit from the original launch, and I'm pretty sure it had the reflective surface too.

[dj898]

dude
you're missing Sanyo 3DO TRY console...
it was only available in Japan though...

and then there's M2 but that's different story altogether... :p

[scorch56]

dude
you're missing Sanyo 3DO TRY console...
it was only available in Japan though...

and then there's M2 but that's different story altogether... :p

Yeah.. I know, but I haven't seen one on eBay in ages and a Japanese 3DO is not exactly on the top of my list when it comes to import consoles. I know of nothing on the Japanese 3DO that would appeal to me, not a big shooter fan. I must admit though.. they got sexy curves.

As for the M2.. it's just an empty white protype box to me.. would make a nice doorstop though. 3DO & Jaguar are the reasons I didn't buy a PSX until 3 years after it's release. I was so pissed off at the kind of money I spent on these two consoles.. I was absolutely certain that Sony thing wasn't gonna' last. I remember considering buying Yahoo stock the day they went public.. I'm a loser. :(

[FullCircle]

The only difference I've seen in FZ-1 consoles are between dev units and commercial release units. Other than that, you could try to find an M2, but I think you just missed your chance. There was one on eBay recently. What exactly are these good for, anyways?
http://www.fullcirc.net/images/a0_1.jpg
Wait until you start collecting all of the CD-i system variants. They are as expensive as the day they were released. Many online stores still have them new in boxes for sale.

[Anthony1]

I saw a M2 board on Ebay once, it was the actual circuit board and stuff, and supposedly you could actually play a M2 demo of Iron Blood or something like that.


Also, I'm pretty sure there isn't any regional lockouts with 3DO's, so you can play Japanese games in American 3DO's, thus having a Japanese 3DO is really unnecessary.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

I never heard about the "glossy" variant of the original 3DO. I bought my 3DO on the day of release and I don't know what to consider my shine on it. It's like somewhere between the "piano" look and the "matte finish" look. Hmmmmm....

Also, the 3DO does indeed have no regional lockouts. Thanks to it, I am able to play my 3DO version of Polcienauts with no problem :)

[Ze_ro]

Not sure if you knew about it or not, but there's apparently an LG version of the 3DO too (After they gave up the Goldstar name). I only saw it once on eBay a while ago, and the price was very high, so I'm guessing it's pretty tough to find.

--Zero

[scorch56]

FullCircle..

Yeah.. I've had several chances to collect one of those white M2 boxes over the years. 4 or 5 years ago they were relatively inexpensive, but I never saw it as anything more than unfinished or non-functional. Those white boxes are just protos of the CD drive units aren't they? Do they even have the CD drives in them? I always thought they were empty (minus the electronics). They ARE slick looking though. I got pissed off at 3DO after they decided the M2 WASN'T gonna' be an add-on to the 3DO through the expansion port; and decided for a standalone. Then, of course.. everything went to hell and they sold the technology.

I have a late model Magnavox flip-top CD-I (w/VCD card installed) and a Philips model 490 (I like it because it's small). I don't think I'll get anymore of them.

Anthony1 and LiquidPolicenaut..

I used to DL games off of usenet years ago, and that's when I discovered 3DOs play CD-Rs.. so I got a chance to try many Japanese games.. none interested me. Although it always seemed like I SHOULD be playing the two Iron Angel games and Burning Soldier IN Japanese.. they reminded me of B Japanese Sci-Fis.

Ze_ro..

DON'T TELL ME THAT! I'm too old for another "quest". ;) Seriously though.. that's a new one on me. I remember when Goldstar sold nothing but microwave ovens (and not good ones at that) here in the US. Then when the 3DO came out they made that model. My Goldstar 3DO is actually my first.. bought by me at Software Etc when they were $399. I remember I was SO pissed because my 3DO broke like after 3 weeks and I took it back to SEtc. The manager was a total asshole and even though I had already spent 1000s of $s with him at that point.. refused to exchange; forcing me to send my unit in for warranty replacement. But I got a new one anyway.

That's the Goldstar I have today. I socked it away.. and got the other two models years later. My Goldstar is virtually unused.

Anyway.. Goldstar was always "Lucky Goldstar". If you look at the backs of their microwaves the full company name is on the label. Then they dropped the Lucky and became Goldstar. Then they took back the Lucky and wanted to become disassociated with the name and became LG Tron. Now they're just Tron Industries.. I believe. I chuckle that a company that was once thought of as just a cheap Korean microwave manufacturer has now become a MAJOR corporation in the telecommunications market. Another lost stock opportunity perhaps. :(

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Not sure if you knew about it or not, but there's apparently an LG version of the 3DO too (After they gave up the Goldstar name). I only saw it once on eBay a while ago, and the price was very high, so I'm guessing it's pretty tough to find.
Did it look like this (minus the little tiny child skanking on the lid, of course):
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i135/sweaterfish/goldstar_aliveii.jpg
If so, it's a Korean model. That's the only LG branded 3DO I know of (even though the picture I just posted says "Goldstar").

The M2s are real, from what I understand. Maybe someone here from ASSEMbler who's paid more attention to all the M2 talk can fill in the details or correct me if I'm totally wrong, but from what I understood the white M2 units were functioning developer units, but there is indeed at least one (maybe two?) complete consumer prototypes, not mockups, but theoretically functioning units. Theoretical, since now= games were produced of course. I don't know if it's confirmed whether or not software from other M2-based machines (like arcade cabs or coffee machines) will work on the M2 consoles, but it seems pretty unlikely. I hope what I just said isn't *TOO* wrong, but I hate doing research for message board posts.


...word is bondage...

[OldSchoolGamer]

I have an FZ-1 with "piano" finish, I was wondering, are all the units compatible between each other?? Can they all use the same peripherals and load backups?

THANKS.

:D

[Fighter17]

I have an FZ-1 with "piano" finish, I was wondering, are all the units compatible between each other?? Can they all use the same peripherals and load backups?

THANKS.



Yes, all 3DO models are compatible between each other. ;)


I saw a M2 board on Ebay once, it was the actual circuit board and stuff, and supposedly you could actually play a M2 demo of Iron Blood or something like that.


Also, I'm pretty sure there isn't any regional lockouts with 3DO's, so you can play Japanese games in American 3DO's, thus having a Japanese 3DO is really unnecessary.

That's ture most of the time. I used to own a 3DO FZ-1 and it plays imports just fine. ;)

Most imports will work on a American 3DO, but not all of them. Some of them required an special Kanji disc before you're able to play the game (I herd that the Japanese Alone of the Dark requires the disc before playing it on a American system).



Did it look like this (minus the little tiny child skanking on the lid, of course):
http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i135/sweaterfish/goldstar_aliveii.jpg
If so, it's a Korean model. That's the only LG branded 3DO I know of (even though the picture I just posted says "Goldstar").

Now that I've to do some research on. ;)

[scorch56]

Now I know where the PSOne design came from. You can't tell from the picture.. but I wonder how small that thing is. If it's smaller than any other 3DO.. I want one.

[Ze_ro]

I thought I remembered the LG 3DO having more rounded sides than that... but then again, my memory is based on an auction picture I saw whenever ago.

Then again, the 3DO in that picture does indeed say "Goldstar" on it, so it might actually be a different unit.

--Zero

[SamuraiSmurfette]

Goldstar=LG
The brand name of Goldstar was going to shit, being synonymous with poor quality electronics. So, when they decided to get into high-end stuff, they knew nobody'd buy it. Hence LG was born.

...I wish I had a tiny alien child to dance on my consoles...

[dj898]

actually it was the merger of two entities - Goldstar and Lucky. Two of big players in Korea at that time

LG = Lucky Goldstar

[MagicMajenta]

[[/quote]

3DO & Jaguar are the reasons I didn't buy a PSX until 3 years after it's release. I was so pissed off at the kind of money I spent on these two consoles.. I was absolutely certain that Sony thing wasn't gonna' last. I remember considering buying Yahoo stock the day they went public.. I'm a loser. :([/quote]

Yikes!! :eek 2: Remind me not to go to you for investment advice. ROFL

[MagicMajenta]

The only difference I've seen in FZ-1 consoles are between dev units and commercial release units. Other than that, you could try to find an M2, but I think you just missed your chance. There was one on eBay recently. What exactly are these good for, anyways?
http://www.fullcirc.net/images/a0_1.jpg
Wait until you start collecting all of the CD-i system variants. They are as expensive as the day they were released. Many online stores still have them new in boxes for sale.

Do you have links to stores where they sell the CD-i systems? I don't think I've found one yet online.

[scorch56]

Think I found some semi-good representations of the examples that started this thread.

DULL TOP (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-3DO-with-5-controllers-20-games-light-gun_W0QQitemZ8275712120QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNam eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)


GLOSSY TOP (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-R-E-A-L-Real-3DO-Interactive-Multiplayer-Game_W0QQitemZ8276362734QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

.. not only that but you see those two "odd-shaped" controllers, obscured in the photo of the "dull sale"? Those are the infamous 3DO Controller 1's made by Logitech and also distributed through Creative with their 3DO Blaster cards. I'm bettin' those are two of the "unbranded" non-Creative ones. I've been searching for these controllers for years. Too bad I already have all that other stuff (including the gun) or I'd bid.

[dojosky]

From what I remember yes your correct ! ... As I have at least 10 3do systems !! LOL... (3 or 4 has the switch in the back to play encrypted games but its impossible to find encrypted games :( ) I'm sure there r people with proto/unreleased games but they are stuck in their hands LOL. That's interesting and cool abt the LG 3DO system never saw one before thanks for sharing this with us... About M2 development CD Box I used to have one but sold it to can_dude ... It has real cd rom drive inside 2 control ports ... Memory card interface.... Power adaptor input.. Stereo inputs etc ... It was like a REAL thing but as you said its a nice white expensive doorstep LOL ... But I think zangardo haven't seen him on internet in a long time he had a lot of nice 3DO and M2 collection I think he even had 2 games for the M2 system sorry for derailing ur thread....

[ProgrammingAce]

The black M2's are the only ones that are guaranteed to be fully functional. They all have the complete system inside. I only know of 4 black units.

The white ones can be anything from case mockups to full systems, but most are just empty shells with a cd drive.

There has always been a rumor that there is M2 software floating around out there, but i've never seen any evidence of this. On the other hand, the rumors are too frequent to ignore.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Think I found some semi-good representations of the examples that started this thread.

DULL TOP (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-3DO-with-5-controllers-20-games-light-gun_W0QQitemZ8275712120QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNam eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)


GLOSSY TOP (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-R-E-A-L-Real-3DO-Interactive-Multiplayer-Game_W0QQitemZ8276362734QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

.. not only that but you see those two "odd-shaped" controllers, obscured in the photo of the "dull sale"? Those are the infamous 3DO Controller 1's made by Logitech and also distributed through Creative with their 3DO Blaster cards. I'm bettin' those are two of the "unbranded" non-Creative ones. I've been searching for these controllers for years. Too bad I already have all that other stuff (including the gun) or I'd bid.

Ooooh, NOW I see the difference! I've had the system since its' release day and never knew they released a more "dulled down" version. I apparently have the glossy one and never knew it.

[scorch56]

Think I found some semi-good representations of the examples that started this thread.

DULL TOP (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-3DO-with-5-controllers-20-games-light-gun_W0QQitemZ8275712120QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNam eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)


GLOSSY TOP (http://cgi.ebay.com/Panasonic-R-E-A-L-Real-3DO-Interactive-Multiplayer-Game_W0QQitemZ8276362734QQcategoryZ62054QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

.. not only that but you see those two "odd-shaped" controllers, obscured in the photo of the "dull sale"? Those are the infamous 3DO Controller 1's made by Logitech and also distributed through Creative with their 3DO Blaster cards. I'm bettin' those are two of the "unbranded" non-Creative ones. I've been searching for these controllers for years. Too bad I already have all that other stuff (including the gun) or I'd bid.

Ooooh, NOW I see the difference! I've had the system since its' release day and never knew they released a more "dulled down" version. I apparently have the glossy one and never knew it.

LP.. not the best of pictures and the angle from top down could make some argue that the glossy one is merely from flash.. but I know I've seen both before in real life. The best way to see them is almost from the side, slightly elevated so you can see across the top.. then one can clearly see that the first edition ones had a mirror-like finish that would reflect anything. The dull tops barely reflect light.. let alone anything else. Neither top is truly black as both contain very fine white specking in them.

Mine is the dull top.. kinda' boring (it's in great condition though.. my main player). There is a brief mention of the two kinds in the 3DO hardware FAQ over at GameFAQ's but the discussion relates to performance and possible hardware differences. I also remember being told many years ago in a 3DO forum or newsgroup that the first issues were a bit heavier; as in constructed a little better; but I don't know if that's true.

OK.. it's confirmed then. Now I WANT one! :evil:

.. damn.. I want those controllers SO bad! This is cruel.
FOUR frickin' years I've searched.. and there's TWO.. just laying there.. beckoning.. If they only had the boxes.. the boxes were very cool looking. I see the 3DO logo on them and NOT Creative's.. even MORE rare!

[dj898]

is the flight joystick for 3DO is considered rare?
what about the wireless pad set?

I'm still looking for 3DO light gun though

[scorch56]

is the flight joystick for 3DO is considered rare?
what about the wireless pad set?

I'm still looking for 3DO light gun though

Funny thing.. the C&H Flightstick Pro and the DOCS wireless controllers actually pop up on eBay A LOT less than the ALG guns do.. yet they fetch a much lower price.

Most people are lucky if they get $30 for the stick and $20 for the controllers.. but guns go from $60 to $150 (I once saw a sealed one go for that.).

I've only seen the memory card ONCE on eBay in 7 years.

[dj898]

$30 and $20?
that's still far more than I paid LOL

guess I'll have to wait till I come across the light gun then

[Lemmi_Is_God]

Zangardo was kicked out of his moms house, i emailed his dad after he disappeared and thats what he told me, and i have heard from him since
i have all the rare pics he took of his collection on a cdr somewhere :) even

i think the 3do wheel is harder to find then the M2 unit

i have every US released game but Mazer (still dont know how i missed that one), over 140 are complete boxed
Dynopark Tycoon used to sell for $130+ boxed $75 to 100 loose (about 3 years ago)

dont forget about the 1 player and 2 player guns the 2 players used to sell for alot more

the VCD players for the 3do are hard to find, the Goldstar is the easiest to get

the most expensive stuff ive bought for the 3do are
Dynopark Tycoon game $175 (ebay)
3do wheel boxed $500 (zangardo)
memory unit boxed $75 (zangardo)
FZ10 VCD adaptor boxed - $80 (zangardo)
FZ1 vcd adaptor - $60 (zangardo)
2 player light gun boxed - $90
3 adult japanese titles (rock paper scissors games) about $60 each
an MAS arcade stick - $50

there are other things but i cant remember it all i have so much 3do stuff
i got my first 3do goldstar at Funcoland for $40
then at Media Play they had new FZ10s selling for $42.87

this all happened around 2002 and 2003

[scorch56]

O_O O_O O_O .. I have a sealed copy of Mazer.. but it's in sad shape. The box looks kinda' "sucked in" from the shrink-wrap. Maybe I'll go ahead and open it; because I actually liked that game when I rented, and played it.

[dj898]

the VCD players for the 3do are hard to find, the Goldstar is the easiest to get


thought it came with one as standard or was it not the case in US market?

[scorch56]

No 3DO consoles released stateside came with the VCD cartridge included.

The Goldstar cart came in a box with a VCD of Total Recall and like the previous poster said.. I've only seen the Panasonic cards a few times in the past few years.

VCDs just never took off over here. I've converted a couple of my DVDs to VCD just for fun; but the bulk of commercial titles available here were for the Phillips CD-I. Doesn't mean they won't play on 3DOs because they will (They were version 1 VCDs as I recall).. but nobody cared here in the states.

I have a commercial Phillips release of Apocolypse Now on VCD and I swear it looks almost DVD quality when I play it on my CD-I. Sounds very nice too (has a surround soundtrack).