3DO Co has outraged its software developers by imposing a new $3 surcharge on top of the $3 royalty they pay the company on each copy sold, the Wall Street Journal reported: the new money will be used to establish a Market Development Fund for an expanded advertising campaign and to help manufacturers of the Interactive Multiplayers, who say they are not prepared to cover the losses they are sustaining – Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Sony Corp, Goldstar Co, Creative Technology Ltd and Sanyo Electric Co say thay face combined losses of about $200m over the next 15 months in producing the high-end games boxes at competitive prices; some developers say the surcharge is illegal and threaten lawsuits.
