The Panasonic M2 was intended to go toe-to-toe with the PlayStation, offering cutting-edge processing power and the best visuals of any home console.
As we all know, it didn't work out that way; initially developed by The 3DO Company as a successor to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, the tech would be purchased by Panasonic owner Matsushita in 1996 before the home console was ultimately canned in 1997. It would, however, live on in some commercial products, including an arcade board and two retail kiosk-style units.
Given its unique history, it should come as no surprise to learn that anything related to the M2 fetches a decent price when sold on the secondary market. Back in 2023, one of the more common M2 variants – the kiosk-style FZ-35-S – sold for $1,000.
The FZ-21 console version is potentially more interesting – and game historian Video Game Esoterica is offering one for sale.
"A rare potential opportunity," says the YouTuber, whose channel specialises in game preservation, emulation and other retro topics. "VGE needs a bigger house and studio. I want as big of a down payment as humanly possible. So one of my 3DO M2 FZ-21s could be for sale. Contact with serious inquiries only. This is a five-figure kind of thing too, FYI."
While many people assume that the M2 was never released in this form, the FZ-21 did actually make it to market. The version for sale here uses the same case design as the cancelled home system, but was intended for use in retail environments.
According to Neon Polygons, the same version of M2 recently sold for around $20,000, so that gives you some indication of the kind of price this item is going to fetch.