Great article, I guess I'm always an oddball, because I actually love the 3DO, but I know it has short-comings that make it not for everyone, but as a classic game console I really enjoyed mine.
I did have one console burn out, and I got a replacement, for me it became a game system I didn't want to be with out.
One thing I really loved about it was the controller, some people find it too stiff, I never had one that felt stiff, and I love how it merged the best characteristics of the 1st Sega Genesis controller with the SNES controller. (But the Saturn did have a better controller, the 6 button Genesis controller was also better, still I'd take the 3DO controller over SNES, Jaguar, PlayStation, and original Genesis controllers)
If we were back in 1994 or 1995, I'd never recommend anyone run out and get a 3DO, it was too crazy expensive. If you had a lot of spending money, and already had a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo, I'd say maybe, but still if you have a Genesis get a Sega CD first.
But by my same standard, if it was still 1995 or 1996, I'd also say it was more important to have a Genesis or SNES than a Playstation or Saturn, even if the Playstation and Saturn had more potential for the future, there was still too much to miss out of if you didn't have the Genesis or SNES right then.
The 3DO was stupidly over priced, and to me that was it's flaw, it came out at a time when newer powerful consoles were going to come out in the following years, so I don't think it ever had a chance to be more than it was.
Still, in later years when the price of a used 3DO came down, it was a must get for me, because it had Star Control II, and then I had to get Hell... those were the 1st two games I was going after... and while I only got a few other games, and of course two games are not enough for any console, I had followed the other releases for the system, from magazines I would read in the 1990s right up to watching online videos today, and I've always been content with the available content considering what the game system was to me, a more powerful 32-bit CD rom based alternate to mainstream cartridge based consoles of the 16-bit era.
It came out before it was time to move on to the next generation, and I find the games have that feeling of being between the 16-bit and 32-bit eras.
And mentioning the 2 games that motivated me to get a 3DO, I considered them games I had to have, well more so for Star Control II, but by comparison, the main reasons I got a Playstation (when I did) was Xenogears, Gran Turismo, and Steel Harbinger, more so the 1st two.
While the Playstation has way more games than a 3DO, I view the Playstation as more of an alternate to the Saturn and N64, while I view the 3DO an alternate to the Sega CD, Sega 32X, Turbo Grafx CD, and Atari Jaguar.
Game systems (from around the same time) I like more than the 3DO include the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Sega 32X, Sega CD, Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation.
Game systems (that I have) that I like about equal to or less than the 3DO, include Atari Jaguar, PC Engine, PC Engine CD, and Nintendo 64.
It's hard for me to pick a least favorite game system, runners up would include Coleco Vision and Intellivision, plus any Game Boy with out a back lit screen.
Even mentioning those as being among my least favorites, I actually still like Coleco Vision, Intellivision and Game Boy. The Coleco Vision was even my 1st game console, so I have a lot of nostalgia for it.
Bottom of my list would probably be a tie between the original Game Boy loved the games but it kept cramping my fingers, and the N64, I've never felt so apathetic with a line up on a mainstream console, the unique games didn't really win me over except for Conker's Bad Furday, and I hated the controller.
Still I don't completely dislike any of those, and have 3 Nintendo 64 consoles, one with the expansion pack.
Anyway, I'm just rambling in text form, I like the 3DO, and it's hard for me to pick a game console that I like the least.