3do is dead.
EA gave 3do a grand funeral.
On the day of the burial, there was a great commotion with gongs and drums and firecrackers.
They were all placed by 3do themselves.
While most hardware enthusiasts in the digital world were still discussing how this next-generation host would change the world...
3do's first-week sales were like a heavy hammer, shattering this brief but sweet dream in an instant.
[ Trip Hawkins: Real-3Do's sales are steadily improving, and it continues to exert its influence in the multimedia field]
[It is reported that Akio Furui, then president of Panasonic Electric, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport recently.]
[ Trip suggests: Next-generation entertainment devices should integrate interactive entertainment, movies, and music]
Akio Furui stated. "MCA Universal Pictures and Panasonic Electric will be 3DO's most solid and reliable partners."
To be honest, at first glance, the company lineup behind 3DO actually seems quite impressive. Even Lin Lixin had to admire Trip's organizational skills.
Let's not even talk about AT&T, a purely United States telecommunications company.
Looking at the entire 3D industry, the most formidable player is actually Panasonic, a true consumer electronics behemoth.
In 1990, for Japan, Sony had not yet completely achieved its dominant position in the global market.
Aside from its absolute dominance in music and television, other areas of consumer electronics remain a precarious situation, surrounded by fierce competition.
Of all the things that angered Sony the most, and that Sony regretted the most, was the battle over the VHS videotape standard.
The year is now the 1970s.
The real-time nature of television is becoming increasingly inconvenient for people.
More and more people are having the idea of recording television programs so they can freely manage their free time.
In this regard, Sony has moved the fastest and the most steadily, making it unparalleled in the world.
Starting with VCR, we will gradually miniaturize, simplify, and popularize it.
Ultimately, what was served was betamax, a format that Sony had high hopes for, hoping to unify the video recording industry.
The world's first commercially successful home video recording format.
Thanks to Sony's years of dedication to Trinitron televisions and professional photography and video technology, Betamax has delivered outstanding performance since its inception.
Stable colors, good clarity, and overall image quality are in a class of their own.
With Sony already holding a certain status as a "representative of pioneering technology in Japan," Betamax has indeed sold very well.
However, Sony has a very serious bad habit.
Technocracy.
It's somewhat similar to Carmack's theory of engine supremacy.
Sony simply has more faith in hardware.
This company, which has grown and prospered step by step by relying on hardware, is too dependent on its own hardware.
This was true for BetaMax, DiskMan, and the future PlayStation.
Sony firmly believes in one thing: technological advantage equals market advantage.
As long as you have absolute technological superiority, you will always be invincible.
And it was at this critical juncture that Matsushita, which had been Panasonic for a long time, slowly opened its gaping maw hidden in the shadows.
In 1976, JVC, a subsidiary of Panasonic, developed its own video recording format, the famous VHS.
This thing could even be found in large quantities in later works Project Zomboid, and it had long since become a global term for home videotapes.
So... why is it that a new format with picture quality inferior to Sony's Betamax has managed to turn the tables and snatch away the videotape market that Sony has painstakingly cultivated for many years?
The answer is actually very simple.
What should be the most important characteristic of a videotape?
Sony believes it has an absolute advantage in image quality and a sophisticated mechanical structure.
Panasonic, however, advocated a completely different path.
They astutely grasped what users of home video recording systems truly sought.
Duration. In the standard BetaMax format, the recording length is approximately one hour.
VHS, on the other hand, can easily take two hours, doubling the time.
This means that a single VHS tape can easily record a movie, a sporting event, or an evening program.
But Betamax doesn't work.
This is really bad.
BetaMax is great, it looks very comfortable, the problem is... it's not enough!
This length limitation means that Betamax can only be used to capture those crucial, short moments.
However, the real majority of the civilian market is precisely the kind of long, multi-hour-long articles that VHS excels at.
And it was at this critical juncture that Panasonic did not hesitate to take a second and a third bite, until he had completely devoured Betamax into a pile of bones that could only represent failure.
Panasonic directly opened up the VHS standard, allowing a large number of manufacturers to actively join and jointly produce different models with the same standard.
Using this, they frantically and rapidly seized market share.
Hitachi, Sharp, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Philips... Apart from Sony, the "leader" that plays with its own closed ecosystem, almost all other well-known major manufacturers have joined the VHS camp.
If Panasonic's fierce offensive successfully sent Betamax to its grave...
In the early 1980s, a new trend swept through the United States, which essentially nailed a row of rivets firmly to their coffin lids.
This coincided with the Atari Shock, creating a severe vacuum in the entertainment market.
The rapid popularization of VHS videotapes coincided perfectly with this opportune moment.
Suddenly, everyone realized that besides playing games, we could also rent videotapes!
I want to rent some good movies and TV series that I've always wanted to watch but never had the time to...
Video rental stores quickly became popular, opening up all over the United States almost overnight.
Sam is a fervent enthusiast of VHS.
I remember when he was renting a room at University of Southern California, his room was piled high with all sorts of VHS videotapes and Atari cassettes.
Records, VHS, Atari cassettes.
This is a typical entertainment item for United States in the 1980s. Of course, trends are just trends; they might last for a while and then change direction.
In just a few years, the "old three" had become Walkman, NovaPocket, and VHS.
Music, games, movies.
From this perspective, VHS has actually been the one who has sat on the throne the longest.
But it won't be long.
With the rapid development of optical disc technology, it is a foregone conclusion that optical discs will replace videotapes as the medium of the new era.
But regardless, at least for now, VHS remains the absolute leader in the video recording field.
Panasonic is another leading company in the consumer electronics sector.
Or rather... it's a super industrial empire even more terrifying than Sony.
Despite Sony's rapid technological lead and its increasing holding of technology patents.
But these can only be considered potential.
What level is Panasonic at now? It's a terrifying empire with over 250,000 employees, manufacturing bases all over the world, and sales of tens of billions of dollars.
Their business covers all aspects, even including industrial equipment.
It's not just a consumer electronics company; it's a true conglomerate manufacturing giant.
In contrast, Sony has only 100,000 employees and its revenue is significantly lower than Panasonic's, with its business highly concentrated on Trinitron televisions, CD players, and Walkmans.
Except for the high-end pioneering consumer electronics sector, Panasonic has almost completely Panasonic them in every other area.
Sony acquired Columbia Pictures for $3.2 billion?
Panasonic has spent a whopping $6.59 billion to acquire MCA Universal Pictures!
At the peak of the bubble economy, Japan's Japan companies truly had the pride of "buying up United States."
How strong is Panasonic?
That's fucking amazing.
In terms of scale, it is far more terrifying than Gamenova. Although Gamenova has a wide range of businesses, it has only truly focused on video games and semiconductors, and even the Internet is still a huge money pit that burns like crazy.
In the context of 1990, Panasonic was the undisputed super-dominant player.
But... what does this have to do with game consoles?
Panasonic saw 3DO as the new era of VHS, attempting to directly apply the experience of winning VHS wars to 3DO.
By offering open licensing and integrating multimedia, in line with its own MCA strategy, it attempts to directly integrate the MCA's copyright library into the 3DO system.
And what was ultimately obtained...
It's the expensive, hybrid Real-3Do.
It can't be used as a true PC like a high-end machine like Hermes, yet it's sold at PC prices.
It lacks the strong first-party support of Gamenova and Nintendo, and it doesn't have the massive developer base of Atari.
Unlike Sega, it hasn't carved out its own differentiated market niche, nor has it managed to cultivate a single, specialized area.
Wanting everything, yet failing to do anything well.
They even failed to get the most basic pricing right. Although I'm very reluctant to admit it.
But Trip has now figured it out.
If this continues, EA's final dance will truly become a complete joke.
We must set things right before there's still any chance of salvage!
One day later.
[ Panasonic: Considering the demands of the consumer market, a new, cheaper, lighter, and thinner model, the FZ-10, will be available soon.]
The once unparalleled 2x speed CD-ROM has been reverted to 1x speed, and complex functions such as karaoke and home entertainment have been removed.
It retains only the core optical disc playback mechanism and is released as a low-cost model.
Meanwhile, EA also began to aggressively promote its upcoming games.
It features an FPS game that imitates "Quake," a racing game that imitates " Need for Speed," and its own basketball game.
Now EA has stopped putting on airs and stopped touting their invention of "interactive media."
Regardless of the promotional channels, they have all changed their messaging back to "game". But no matter how much 3do struggles now, the fate of this first Real-3do is not going to be good.
Can they turn the tide with subsequent low-cost models?
The answer is not optimistic either.
Trip silently looked at the first week's sales report and let out a long, dejected sigh.
30,000 units.
Let's not even talk about how EA and 3DO are now urgently and frantically changing their strategies.
Lin Lixin didn't pay much attention to what was happening here.
He's currently in Georgia.
Facing this gigantic factory building, tens of meters high, a sense of insignificance instantly crept over my entire body.
This is the Lockheed Marietta Plant.