Product details

The 1980s were the 'Nintendo' decade in video-games, while the early 1990s saw Sega rise to prominence on the basis of next-generation, 16-bit technology. By early 1994, Nintendo and Sega split the worldwide installed base of 16-bit home video-game systems about equally. Still, while 16-bit systems offered superior graphics, sound, and game play over the earlier 8-bit systems, many observers considered them a transitional technology, likely to be superseded in the next two to five years. The case focuses on the efforts of 3DO, a high-profile U.S. start-up, to promote a new 32-bit platform. Also describes the new technologies being developed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Philips, and Atari. By expanding the scope of the game, 3DO engineered a window of opportunity with respect to the established players, Nintendo and Sega. Focuses on how 3DO chose to exploit that opportunity. Illustrates, in particular, the strategy of bringing new players into a game. Planning to make money from licensing the software technology, 3DO gave away the hardware technology for free.