The 3DO Company

Background
The 3DO Company was founded on September 12, 1991 by Trip Hawkins, co-founder of Electronic Arts. The company released the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer console in October 1993. Despite being highly promoted, the system was hurt by a high price of $700, lack of third-party support, and an over-saturated console market, and the system would be discontinued in 1997. After that, 3DO became a video game developer, making popular game franchises like Army Men and BattleTanx. On July 10, 1996, 3DO acquired New World Computing and served as publisher for the Might and Magic games that the latter company developed until 3DO's closure. However, a lot of 3DO's titles were not well-received, and after financially struggling, the company filed for bankruptcy in May 2003. Later on, Trip Hawkins went on to establish Digital Chocolate, a mobile game-based company.

1st Logo (1991-October 1993)
Nickname: "3DO Shapes"

Logo: On a black background, we see a spotlight. In the spotlight, we see a red square, a purple rectangle, and a yellow circle. The words "3DO" are under the shapes.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare; seen on pre-1993 3DO games.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (October 1993-December 31, 1996)
Nickname: "3DO Shapes II"

Logo: On a black background, we see a white square. In the square, we see the same shapes from the previous logo (the rectangle is blue). The word "3DO" is under the square.

Variants:


 * From September to December 1996, a "3" is on the square, and a "D" is on the rectangle.
 * On the original 3DO copies of Return Fire, a tank is seen moving up to the logo. The tank then shoots the logo, causing it to segue into the Dolby Surround logo.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. It was seen on 1993-1997 3DO games.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (January 1, 1997-2003)
Nicknames: "The Banging 3DO", "3DO"

Logo: On a black background, a white "3" zooms out from the left, leaving a simple trail as it puts itself into position. The letters "D" and "O" then zoom out from the center and the right, respectively, forming the 3DO wordmark. Then an announcer spells out the word "3DO". A red square, a blue (or purple) rectangle, and a yellow circle are above the text.

Variants:
 * On some games released by 3DO they have a byline saying "www.3DO.com".
 * Starting in early 1997, the square, rectangle, and circle were removed from the logo.
 * Some efforts were made on the design in later years, and the games for the Game Boy Advance had the good-looking relief logo with the company's website displayed below.

FX/SFX: Very simple and basic, just the letters coming in.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh sound when the "3" comes in, three hammer sounds when the letters are formed into position, following by the announcer saying "3DO".

Availability: Uncommon, since 3DO is no longer in business, but its old games such as the Army Men franchise and the Might and Magic games that they published until 2003 are still around.

Editor's Note: None.