3DO Co has decided that games software is a much better bet than games and infotainment hardware, and has decided to look for a partner or sell its Interactive Multiplayer hardware design business: the business is unlikely to have a future unless either Matsushita Electric Industrial Co or LG Electronics Co step forward to buy it. 3DO will now restructure its organization to focus on Internet and game entertainment software, including Meridian 59, its first Internet-specific product, to be introduced today. 3DO president Hugh Martin will assume full operating control although founder Trip Hawkins will remain chairman and chief executive officer; he will shift his focus to the role of creative director. 3DO will slow the rate at which it is burning cash by eliminating entertainment projects with outside developers and reassigning internal staff to its most promising software titles. Meridian 59 is described as the first three-dimensional multi-user dimension game on the Internet. 3DO has licensed its 64-bit M2 PowerPC-derived hardware to Matsushita for $100m. The new direction will cost 150 of 3DO’s 450 jobs.
