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 flopped due to various factors such as a high price point of $700, lack of third-party support, and an over-saturated console market, and it 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)

Visuals: On a black background is a spotlight. In the spotlight, there is a red square, a purple rectangle, and a yellow circle. The name "3DO" is under the shapes.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on pre-1993 3DO games.

2nd Logo (October 1993-September 15, 1996)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a white square. Inside the square are the same shapes from the previous logo (except this time the rectangle is blue). The name "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.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on 1993-1997 3DO games.

3rd Logo (January 1, 1997-2003)

Standard logo.
Game Boy Advance variant.
Version with URL.
Version with URL (2).

Visuals: On a black background, a white "3" zooms out from the left, leaving a 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.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A whoosh sound when the "3" comes in, three hammer sounds (mixed with orchestra hits) when the letters are formed into position, following by the C major triad choir and the announcer saying "3DO".

Availability: Seen on 1997-2003 3DO games.