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History of video games/Platforms/Panasonic M2

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History

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The M2 was a planned successor to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer game console.

In 1995 3DO sold the console to Panasonic/Matsushita for a sum said to be around $100 million dollars.[1][2] In 1997 the 3DO M2 was cancelled.[3] Following the cancellation of the console, parts were reused in other non-gaming applications.[4]

Panasonic would once again nearly bring a console to market with the Panasonic Jungle.

Throughout the 2010's the collector Anthony Bacon did much to preserve M2 related items.[3] As a result, a free compilation disk was produced containing surviving demo software for the system by February 1st, 2020.[5]

Technology

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The system was initially envisioned as an add on to the 3DO instead of its own console with the name M2 being short for Mark 2 Accelerator. (The first design was called Bull Dog),[6] similar to how the Sega 32X was developed into the unreleased Sega Neptune (Though neither concept of the M2 saw release). This development path likely influenced the components chosen for the console.

Standard Components

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The M2 was an early adoption of the PowerPC processor architecture in a game console, a choice other console makers would often make later during the 2000s.[7] The system sported two individual Power PC 602 processors each clocked at 66.7 megahertz, as well as 10 custom coprocessors.[6] Though the console was marketed as being 64-bit, this was actually in reference to the bus width of the CPU, as this component was a cost reduced version of the PowerPC 603,[8] a 32-bit CPU.[9] This is yet another trend from the period, where marketers would either mistakenly or misleadingly use bit size as a measure of console power, and would find other specifications which met that bit size, or claim that two components with 32-bit hardware were the same as 64 bit hardware. Even so, the system was quite powerful for its time, and was equipped quite favorably compared to typical desktop computers of 1995,[10] and even some multi processor workstation designs.[11]

The console was outfitted with 16 megabytes of RAM.[6]

Per Model Components

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Beyond the basic compute platform, the system had varying specs between prototype models.[6]

Notable Games

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Despite the ultimate cancelation of the M2, a solid lineup of games had been planned for the system. Many games that started development on the M2 saw release on other platforms.

D2

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A Survival Horror game that was later released on the Sega Dreamcast.[3]

Read more about D2 on Wikipedia

Power Stone

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An Innovative fighting game later ported to the Sega Dreamcast.[12]

Read more about Power Stone on Wikipedia.

External Resources

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Wikipedia has related information at Panasonic M2  and Panasonic

References

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  1. ↑ "After the prototype PlayStation: six more obscure games consoles" (in en). the Guardian. 7 July 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/07/prototype-nintendo-playstation-obscure-games-consoles-snes-cd. 
  2. ↑ "3DO M2 - Ultimate Console Database". ultimateconsoledatabase.com. https://ultimateconsoledatabase.com/unreleased/m2.htm. 
  3. ↑ a b c Yin-Poole, Wesley (9 December 2019). "Collector unearths playable file for original, cancelled D2 - the 3DO M2 game thought lost to history" (in en). Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-12-09-collector-unearths-playable-file-for-original-cancelled-d2-the-video-game-thought-lost-to-history. 
  4. ↑ "Six of the best: unreleased games consoles" (in en). the Guardian. 9 November 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/nov/09/six-of-the-best-unreleased-games-consoles. 
  5. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (1 February 2020). "3DO M2 collector releases playable demo disc for free" (in en). Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2020-02-01-3do-m2-enthusiast-releases-demo-disc-for-free. 
  6. ↑ a b c d "Panasonic 3DO M2". Video Game Console Library. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "IBM Gives Away PowerPC; Goes Open Source". EEJournal. 27 August 2019. https://www.eejournal.com/article/ibm-gives-away-powerpc-goes-open-source/. 
  8. ↑ "CPU Shack - IBM PowerPC 602". www.cpushack.com. http://www.cpushack.com/CIC/embed/announce/IBMPowerPC602.html. 
  9. ↑ "Motorola PowerPC 603". www.cpu-world.com. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Comparing today's computers to 1995's". Relatively Interesting. 7 October 2019. https://www.relativelyinteresting.com/comparing-todays-computers-to-1995s/. 
  11. ↑ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Stuart, Keith (14 August 2019). "Power Stone: the Dreamcast brawler that foresaw Fortnite and Overwatch". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/aug/14/power-stone-sega-dreamcast-fortnite-overwatch. 
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