The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (often called simply 3DO) was a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by Dave Needle and RJ Mical of New Technology Group. The system was conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins.

Despite a highly-promoted launch (including being named Time magazine's "1994 Product of the Year") and a host of cutting-edge technologies, the 3DO's high price ($699.95 USD at launch), limited 3rd-party developer support, and an over-saturated console market prevented the system from achieving success comparable to competitors Sega and Nintendo. This console was originally released in North America in September 1993 and was later released in Japan on March 20, 1994.

The original edition of the console, the FZ-1, was referred to in full as the 3DO REAL Interactive Multiplayer. The console had advanced hardware features at the time: an ARM60 32-bit RISC CPU, two custom video coprocessors, a custom 16-bit DSP and a custom math co-processor. It also featured 2 megabytes of DRAM, 1 megabyte of VRAM, and a double speed CD-ROM drive for main CD+Gs or Photo CDs (and Video CDs with an add-on MPEG video module). The 3DO included the first music visualizer in a game console, converting CD music to a mesmerizing color pattern. The controller was also original for its time; a headphone jack and volume dial was available at the bottom of the initial version.

Some of the best-received titles were ports of arcade or PC games that other cartridge-based systems of the time were not capable of playing, such as Alone in the Dark, Myst and Star Control II. Other popular titles included Total Eclipse, Jurassic Park Interactive, Gex, Crash 'n Burn, Slayer, Killing Time, Need for Speed, and Immercenary. Additionally, 3DO had the most popular port of Road Rash, and the arcade fighting game Samurai Shodown was ported to the system with all original graphics intact. The first home port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo was also available on the system, exceeding the original with its CD-quality audio.

However, the 3DO library also exhibited less successful aspects of home gaming at the time. It was launched at the dawn of CD-ROM gaming, and early titles on 3DO (and Sega CD alike) frequently attempted to use interactive movie-style gameplay. Such titles relied entirely on full motion video with little interactive influence from the player, often patternized beyond a flexible standard. Night Trap, Mad Dog McCree, and The Daedalus Encounter are some of the more notorious titles from this era. Also, digital video was of very low quality at the time, especially on low-cost consumer devices. Aside from this, the most significant issue with interactive movie games was their limited level of interactivity and depth. Some games followed a single unfolding of events entirely, motivated simply by correctly timed prompts executed by the player.

Game series that were originally launched on the 3DO by Electronic Arts, Studio 3DO and Crystal Dynamics established themselves on other 32-bit consoles, such as the PlayStation. One major hit for the 3DO, Return Fire, an advanced tank battle game, was ported to the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows, but was met with limited success.

The 3DO is one of few CD-based units that feature neither regional lockout nor copy protection, making it easy to use for pirated software. Although there is no regional lockout present in any 3DO machine, a few Japanese games cannot be played on non-Japanese 3DO consoles due to a special kanji font which English language consoles could not read. Games that did not and still had compatibility issues include Sword and Sorcery (which was released in English under the title Lucienne's Quest), the adult video game Twinkle Knights and a demo version of Alone in the Dark.