The 3DO Company reduces staff

The 3DO Company has reduced its staff by an unconfirmed percentage, according to company sources. Last week, company chairman and CEO Trip Hawkins hinted at the restructuring plans during 3DO's teleconference discussing its fiscal year 2001 third-quarter results. For the period, the company reported weak financials, with a consolidated net loss of $12.3 million, or a loss of $0.27 per share. It pointed to the shortage of PlayStation 2 hardware and the planned reduction of N64 products for its weaker than expected fiscal performance.

The turnover at The 3DO Company should have no adverse effects on game releases or development, according to a company spokesperson. "Two weeks ago when we did our conference call, we broke down what we were going to be doing," a 3DO spokesperson told GameSpot. "We've been trying to bring costs in order with what is going on in the marketplace. Every project that we have announced, from Portal Runner to Johnny Mosley Skiing, is still running. We haven't cut any products or anything like that. If any project gets delayed, it is more because of a quality reason. We're full speed ahead on all of our announced products, and we have a number of PS2 titles still coming, starting around March."

The company's current release schedule for the PlayStation 2 includes products such as Warriors of Might and Magic, World Destruction League War Jetz, Portal Runner, High Heat Baseball 2002, Heroes of Might and Magic, Army Men Air Attack, Army Men Sarge's Heroes 2, and the tentatively titled Johnny Mosely Skiing.

On a related note, The 3DO Company is currently in negotiations with both Nintendo and Microsoft regarding game development on the GameCube and the Xbox, respectively. However, the company will focus its primary resources on the PlayStation 2 in the foreseeable future.