| Manufacturer | Panasonic |
| Model Number(s) | FZ-35S |
| MSRP | ??? |
| Countries Released | Japan, North America |
| Release Year | 1998 |
| Discontinued | ??? |
3DO M2 Background
The M2 was originally planned to be a successor to the 3DO. Models were in development from previous 3DO partners, Panasonic and Goldstar. At one point in its development, the 3DO Company decided to sell the exclusive rights to the hardware to Matsushita (Panasonic) instead of licensing the M2 out to multiple different manufacturers like they had done with the original 3DO. Panasonic then continued to work on the system and even toyed with the idea of partnering with SEGA to release the M2 as a successor to the Saturn. In the end, these plans fell through, and Panasonic later licensed the hardware out to Konami for the arcade games Polystars, Total Vice, Heat of Eleven ’98, Evil Night, and Battle Tryst. The plan was for Konami to later port these arcade titles to the M2 home console, as the arcade hardware was almost identical to the planned home units.
Cancellation and Repurposing
In July of 1997, news broke of Panasonic discontinuing the M2 because they decided they’d be unable to compete with the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation. The cancellation was so close to release those multiple developers already had mostly finished titles for the system and were forced to either cancel their projects or move them over to the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and upcoming Dreamcast. To recoup some costs, Panasonic released two “Interactive Media Players” aimed at businesses for use in interactive kiosks. These repurposed systems have been found inside Chevrolet and Pontiac dealerships with software designed to inform customers about different makes and models.
Features
The FZ-35S hardware is very similar to the Konami M2 arcade boards that were based on it. Some units shipped with a CD-ROM drive while others had a DVD-ROM drive both designed by Panasonic. On the back of the console, there are many different inputs and outputs including S-Video, Composite, RGB, PS/2 Keyboard and mouse inputs, Serial, Parallel, and a DB-9 input compatible with 3DO controllers.
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