To think the CD-i, 3DO, and Jaguar were all “next gen” only to have the PlayStation/N64/Saturn (hey it did really well in Japan) absolutely blow their doors off is hilarious in hindsight.
Granted, it was a very uncertain time in gaming. And maybe these high dollar systems weren’t trying to directly compete with the younger market of Nintendo/Sega. What did the mature gamer want? More bits? CD-ROM multimedia adventures? Something you can put on your entertainment center on top of your VCR that isn’t just for the kids? These were all promising directions at one point in time.
Ultimately, the PlayStation and Saturn would come along and refocus on the games themselves, making 64 bit gaming seem irrelevant and essentially killing FMV-based gaming. The arrival of the N64 would solidify this.
It was an interesting time in gaming. Units like the CD-i and 3DO commanded huge sums of money and offered very little back in the way of quality gaming. Some people bought into the hype thinking they were buying into the next generation when the industry took a very different direction.
Hey, thanks for the 3DO shout-out, although I’m not sure it falls into the same category of failure. When my dad was getting his shit together (at least, somewhat together), he got to work with those guys before getting a more stable job. While it’s certainly true about FMV gaming, their demise in particular is attributed more to business practices, like utilizing costly third parties for hardware- ironic since they all seem to do that now.
Many of their games hold up, though there aren’t very many and the only solid IPs got cross platform releases or ports (e.g. Gex) especially after it was clear 3DO was tanking. I think playing Star Control II on 3DO might have defined who I am as a gamer, and I highly recommend playing subsequent rereleases (it was PC only without 3DO!)
I think playing Star Control II on 3DO might have defined who I am as a gamer, and I highly recommend playing subsequent rereleases (it was PC only without 3DO!)
I’m sure you’re aware that the original developers are working on a sequel after all these years!
It’s to be called Free Stars: Children of Infinity, after the series itself was renamed to Free Stars
I forgot the name but I did know about it! Kinda excited, Star Control III didn’t have the same vibe. Hope these posts also encourage someone to check out II, there is a fan remake you can download for free.
To think the CD-i, 3DO, and Jaguar were all “next gen” only to have the PlayStation/N64/Saturn (hey it did really well in Japan) absolutely blow their doors off is hilarious in hindsight.
Granted, it was a very uncertain time in gaming. And maybe these high dollar systems weren’t trying to directly compete with the younger market of Nintendo/Sega. What did the mature gamer want? More bits? CD-ROM multimedia adventures? Something you can put on your entertainment center on top of your VCR that isn’t just for the kids? These were all promising directions at one point in time.
Ultimately, the PlayStation and Saturn would come along and refocus on the games themselves, making 64 bit gaming seem irrelevant and essentially killing FMV-based gaming. The arrival of the N64 would solidify this.
It was an interesting time in gaming. Units like the CD-i and 3DO commanded huge sums of money and offered very little back in the way of quality gaming. Some people bought into the hype thinking they were buying into the next generation when the industry took a very different direction.
Hey, thanks for the 3DO shout-out, although I’m not sure it falls into the same category of failure. When my dad was getting his shit together (at least, somewhat together), he got to work with those guys before getting a more stable job. While it’s certainly true about FMV gaming, their demise in particular is attributed more to business practices, like utilizing costly third parties for hardware- ironic since they all seem to do that now.
Many of their games hold up, though there aren’t very many and the only solid IPs got cross platform releases or ports (e.g. Gex) especially after it was clear 3DO was tanking. I think playing Star Control II on 3DO might have defined who I am as a gamer, and I highly recommend playing subsequent rereleases (it was PC only without 3DO!)
I’m sure you’re aware that the original developers are working on a sequel after all these years!
It’s to be called Free Stars: Children of Infinity, after the series itself was renamed to Free Stars
I forgot the name but I did know about it! Kinda excited, Star Control III didn’t have the same vibe. Hope these posts also encourage someone to check out II, there is a fan remake you can download for free.
Yeah, SC3 was made by different people, and SCO was made by other different people and was a bit of a series reboot.
For Star Control 2, I’d recommend Mega Mod. Tons of graphical updates, QoL features, and is completely free (of course!)