Wikipedia

Atari Jaguar

The Atari Jaguar is a hame video gaemm console pit thegither bi Atari Corporation an pit oot in North Americae in November 1993. Pairt of the fift generation o video gemm consoles, it competit wi the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive, the Super NES and the 32-bit 3DO Interactive Multiplayer that wis pit oot the same year. Driven bi twa custom 32-bit processor – Tom an Jerry – as weel as a Motorola 68000. Atari mercatit it as the warld's first 64-bit gemm seestem, pittin emphasis on its 64-bit bus uised bi the blitter. The Jaguar wis pit oot alang wi Cybermorph as the pack-in gemm,[11] thit wis gien divisive reviews. The seestem's library wis ultimately made up o juist 50 licensed gemms.

Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar wi oreeginal controller
DeveloperAtari Corporation
ManufacturerIBM
TypeHame video gemm console
GenerationFift
Release date
Retail availability1993–1996
Introductory price
Discontinued
  • WW: 1996
Units sauld< 150,000[9]
MediaROM cartridge
CPUMotorola 68000, 2 dissimilar custom RISC processors
Storage capacityInternal RAM, cartridge
Memory2 MB RAM
DisplayComposite, S-Video, RGB, or RF TV out
GraphicsTom chip (up to 720×576 / 720x480, 16.8 million colors)
SoondJerry chip (16-bit, two DACs, Wavetable and AM synthesis)
Best-sellin gemmeAlien vs Predator (85,000)[10]
Predecessor
Relatit airticlesAtari Jaguar CD

Development for the Atari Jaguar stairtit in the early 1990s bi Flare Technology, thit stairtit tae focus mair on the seestem efter cancellation o the Atari Panther console. The Jaguar wis an important seestem for Atari efter the company shiftit its tent frae computers - efter pittin a stap tae the production o its Atari ST - back tae consoles.[12] Hounaiver, the multi-chip architecture, hardware bugs, an scunnersome tuils made pittin thegither gemms for the Jaguar difficult. Unnerwhelmin sales pit aff third-pairty support fur the console an aw.[11]

Atari attemptit tae stend the seestem's lifespan wi the Atari Jaguar CD add-on, wi an extrae 13 gemms, an pittin an emphasis on the Jaguar's price o ower US$100 less nor its competitors. Wi the lowsin o the Sega Saturn an PlayStation in 1995, sales for the Jaguar conteenued taw faw. It didnae sell mair nor 150,000 units afore it wis discontinued in 1996.[citation needit] The commercial failure of the Jaguar promptit Atari to lea' the console mercat an become a third pairty developer fur ither consoles insteid.

Efter Hasbro Interactive boucht oot aw o Atari Corporation properties,[13] the patents for the Jaguar war pit int the public domain, wi the console declared as an appen platform.[14] Frae its discontinuation, hobbyists hiv pit thegither gemms for the seestem.[15]

History

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Development

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Atari Corporation's previous hame video gemm console, the Atari 7800, wis pit oot in 1986. Whiles it selt 3.77 million units in the U.S. in up tae 1990, it was considert ordinar an faur ahint rival Nintendo.[16] Aroond 1989, wark stairtit on a new console makkin uise o technology frae thair Atari ST computers. Cried the Super XE tae stairt wi - efter the Atari XE Game System - it becam the Atari Panther in the end, uisin aither 16 or 32-bit architectur. A mair advanced seestem codenamed Jaguar stairtit wirk an aw.[16]

Baith the Jaguar an Panther war pit thegither bi the members fae Flare Technology, a company formt bi Martin Brennan an John Mathieson. The team haed pit forrit thit thay could pit thegither a console thit isnae juist superior tae the Mega Drive or the Super NES, but cost-effective an aw.[17] Impressed bi thair wark on the Konix Multisystem, Atari perswadit thaim tae close Flare doun an form a new company cawed Flare II, wi Atari giein the siller tae fund it.[18]

Wirk on the Jaguar design went forrit mair swift nor expectit, so Atari dichtit the Panther project in 1991[16] tae pit mair focus on the mair promisin Jaguar, an rumours war already gang aboot for a 1992 lench an its 32-bit or e'en 64-bit architectur. Bi this time the Atari ST wis wey ahint in popularity bi the Amiga, while baith Atari an Commodore becam victims o 'Wintel', thit wad be the dominant computer platform.[16] Support for Atari's legacy 8-bit products war drappit tae fully focus on pittin thegither the Jaguar console,  while thair line o ST computers war drappit durin the Jaguar's lowsin in 1993.[16]

The Atari Jaguar wis shawn aff in at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in Juin 1993, cawin it a "multi-media enterteenment seestem".[19][20]

Lowsin

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The Jaguar wis pit oot on 23rd November 1993 in North Americae, at a price o $249.99, unner a $500 million manufactur deal wi IBM. The seestem wis juist available in test merkets o New York City an San Francisco at the stert, wi the slogan "Git bit bi Jaguar", claimin superiority ower competin 16-bit an 32-bit seestems.[21] Durin this test lowsin, Atari selt aw units howpin it wad howk up support for the seestem. A kintra-wide lowsin follaed six months later, in early 1994. The Jaguar strauchled taw ateen a muckle uiser base. Atari reportit that it had shippit 17,000 uinit as pairt o the seestem's initial test mercat in 1993. Bi the end o 1994, it reportit thit it haed selt aboot 100,000 uinit.

Computer Gaming World wrocht in Januar 1994 thit the Jaguar wis "a smashin machine efter a developer/customer base", as Atari haed tae "owercome the stigma o its name (lack o mercatin an customer support, as weel as puir developer relations in the past)". Atari haed "ventured late intae third-party saftware support" for the Jaguar while competin console 3DO's "18 month public relations blitz" wad hae an ootcome in "a hurloch o saftware support", the magazine reportit. The smaw size an puir quality o the Jaguar's gemm leebrar became the maist citit raison for the Jaguar's unnerwhelmin adoption, as early lowsins sic as Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy, Raiden, an Evolution: Dino Dudes bein gien puir reviews an aw, wi the hinder twa for no taen fou avantage o the Jaguar's haurdware. Jaguar wis later on gien praise wi gemms sic as Tempest 2000, Doom, an Wolfenstein 3D.[22] The maist successfu title durin the Jaguar's first year wis Alien vs. Predator. Hounaicer, these occasional successes warnae seen as enouch as the Jaguar's competitors war gittin a conteenual stream o critically acclaimed saftware; GamePro endit thair rave review for Alien vs. Predator bi pittin "See gin Atari can churn out a dizzen mair gemms like AvP, Jaguar awners coud truly rest easy an injoy thair purchase." Next Generation commentit thit "thus far, Atari has spectacularly failt tae deliver on the saftware side, lea'in mony fowk tae speir the actual quality an capability o the haurdware. Wi juist ae or twa exception – Tempest 2000 is citit mair frequent-like – thare juist haesnae bin ony truly braw gemms for the Jaguar up tae the nou." Thay notit an aw thit whilst Atari is weel kent bi aulder gamers, the company had a lot less oweraw brand recognition than Sega, Sony, Nintendo, or e'en The 3DO Company. Hounaiver, thay argied thit wi its law price pynt, the Jaguar micht still be able tae compete gin Atari coud impruive the saftware seetiation.

Bit coont controversy

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Atari tried tae dounplay competin consoles bi pittin forrit thit the Jaguar wis the anely "64-bit" seestem; in its mercatin in the American mercat the company uised the tagline dae the math!, in reference tae the 64 nummer.[23] This claim is pit intae quaisten bi some fowk, because the Motorola 68000 CPU an the Tom & Jerry coprocessors execute 32-bit instruction sets. Atari's reasonin that the 32-bit Tom & Jerry chips wirk thegither tae mak up tae a 64-bit seestem wis reediculed in a mini-editorial bi Electronic Gaming Monthly, thit commentit thit "Gin Sega did the math for the Sega Saturn the wey Atari did the math for thair 64-bit Jaguar seestem, the Sega Saturn wad be a 112-bit monster o a machine." Next Generation, while giein a maistly negative review for the Jaguar, mainteened that it is a true 64-bit seestem, as the data path frae the DRAM tae the CPU an Tom & Jerry chips is 64 bits wide.

Arrival o Saturn and PlayStation

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In early 1995, Atari anooncit thit thay haed pit doun the price o the Jaguar tae $149.99, in order tae be mair competitive. Atari ran infomercials wi enthusiastic salesmen touting the game sestem. These aired for maist o 1995, but didnae sell the remaeenin stock o Jaguar seestems.

In a 1995 interview wi Next Generation, then-CEO Sam Tramiel pit forrit thit the Jaguar wis as pouerfu, gin no mair powerfu, nor the newly lowsed Sega Saturn, an slichtly weaker nor the ingang PlayStation. Next Generation received a flood o letters in repone tae Tramiel's comments, parteecularly aboot his threat tae bring Sony tae court for price dumping gin the PlayStation entered the U.S. mercat at a retail price ablow $300. Mony readers thocht this threit wis empie an heepocreetical, as Tramiel notit in the same interview that Atari wis sellin the Jaguar at a loss. The editor reponed thit price dumpin doesnae hiv onyhing tae dae wi a product gien a price ablow cost, but its price is faur lower in ae country nor another—Thit, as Tramiel said, is illegal. Tramiel an Next Generation greed thit the PlayStation's Japanese price converts tae aboot $500. His remerk, thit the smaw nummer o third pairty Jaguar gemms wis guid for Atari's profitability, gart Jaguar owners angert, as thay war awready frustratit at hou few gemms war comin oot tae the seestem.

In Atari's 1995 annual report, it notit:

Jaguar sales war far ablow Atari's expectations, an Atari's business an financial ootcomes war materially adversely affectit in 1995 as Atari conteenued tae invest heavy intae Jaguar gemm development, entered intae arrangements tae pit oot sindry licensed titles an pit doun the retail price for its Jaguar console uinit. Atari pynts the puir performance o the Jaguar tae a nummer o factors includin (i) muckle affsets in development for saftware for the Jaguar thit resultit in reduced orders due tae consumer concern wi whan titles for the platform wad be pit oot an hou mony titles wad be available bi the end, an (ii) the ingang o competin products bi Sega an Sony in Mey 1995 an September 1995, respectively.[24]

On tap o this, Atari haed verra limitit financial resoorces, an coudnae dae the level o mercatin thit haes historically backed successfu gemmin consoles.

Decline

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Bi November 1995, mass layoffs an insider statements war giein fuel tae jurnalistic speculation thit Atari haed pit aff baith development an manufacturing for the Jaguar an wis juist tryin tae sell aff existin stock afore gangin oot the video gemm industry. Awtho Atari conteenued tae pit doun these theories gang intae 1996, core Jaguar developers sic as High Voltage Software an Beyond Games statit thit thay warnae receivin communications frae Atari ony mair aboot futur Jaguar projects.

In its 10-K405 SEC Filing, filed 12t Apryle, 1996, Atari telt stockholders thit its revenues war doun bi mair nor hauf, frae $38.7 million in 1994 tae $14.6 million in 1995, than gied thaim the news on the truly dire nature o the Jaguar:

Frae the introduction for the Jaguar in late 1993 throu tae the end o 1995, Atari selt aboot 125,000 uinits o the Jaguar. Bi December 31, 1995, Atari haed aboot 100,000 units o Jaguar in inventory.

The filing confirmt thit Atari haed abandont the Jaguar in November 1995 an in the months follaein war concernt maistly wi liquidating its inventory o Jaguar products. On 8t Apryle, 1996, Atari Corporation greed tae merge wi JTS, Inc. in a reverse takeover,[25] an formin JTS Corporation. The merger wis duin on 30t Julie.

Efter the merger, maist Jaguar inventory wis still no selt an wad be flitit oot tae Tiger Software, a priveet liquidator, on 23rd Disember, 1996.[26] On Mairch 13, 1998, JTS selt the Atari name an aw the Atari properties tae Hasbro Interactive.[13]

Technical specifications

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The Jaguar uises a multi-chip architectur thit wis haurd tae uise for maist ordinar developers.

Design specs for the console hae the claim thit the GPU or DSP are able tae act as a CPU, leain the Motorola 68000 to read controller inputs. Atari's Leonard Tramiel suiggestit tae developers no tae uise the 68000 an aw.[27] In practice, hounaiver, mony developers uise the Motorola 68000 tae drive gemmplay logic due tae the developers bein faur mair familiar tae the 68000 an it's adequacy for certain teeps o gemms.[27] Maist creetically, a flaw in the memory controller means thit certain obscure conventions maun be follaed for the RISC chips tae be able tae execute code frae RAM.[27]

The seestem wis kent tae be difficult tae program for, no juist acause o its twa-processor design but development tools war pit oot in an unfeenished state an the haurdware haed cripplin bugs.[28]

Processors

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  • Tom chip, 26.59 MHz
    • Graphics processing unit (GPU) – 32-bit RISC architecture, 4 KB internal RAM, aw graphical effects are saftware-based, wi extrae instructions pit in for 3D operations
    • Object Processor – 64-bit fixed-function video processor, pit display lists intae video ootpot at scan time.
    • Blitter – 64-bit heich speed logic operations, z-buffering an Gouraud shading, wi 64-bit internal registers.
    • DRAM controller, 8-, 16-, 32- and 64-bit memory management
  • Jerry chip, 26.59 MHz
    • Digital Signal Processor – 32-bit RISC architectur, 8 KB internal RAM
      • Seemlar RISC core as the GPU, extrae instructions pit in for audio operations
    • CD-quality soond (16-bit stereo)
      • Nummer o sound channels limitit bi saftware
      • Twa DAC (stereo) pits digital data intae analog soond signals
      • Fou stereo capabilities
    • Wavetable synthesis an AM synthesis
    • A clock control block, incorporatin timers, an a UART
    • Jystick control
  • Motorola 68000 - seestem processor "uised as a manager".[29]
    • General purpose 16-/32-bit control processor, 13.295 MHz

Other features

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The inpits an ootpits o an NTSC Atari Jaguar
  • RAM: 2 MB on a 64-bit bus using 4 16-bit fast-page-mode DRAMs (80 ns)[30]
  • Storage: ROM cartridges – up tae 6 MB
  • DSP-port (JagLink)
  • Monitor-port (composite/S-Video/RGB)
  • Antenna-port (UHF/VHF) - fixed at 591 MHz in Europe; not present on French model
  • Support for ComLynx I/O
  • NTSC/PAL machines can be determined bi thair power LED colour, Reid: NTSC; Green: PAL.

COJAG arcade games

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Atari Games licensed the Atari Jaguar's chipset for tae uise in its arcade gemms. The seestem, cried COJAG (for "Coin-Op Jaguar"), replaced the 68000 wi a 68020 or MIPS R3000-based CPU (bi the wey o the board version), pit in more RAM, a fou 64-bit wide ROM bus (Jaguar ROM bus bein 32-bit), an optionally a haurd drive (some gemms sic as Freeze are ROM anely). It runs the lightgun gemms sic as Area 51 an Maximum Force, thit war pit oot bi Atari as dedicatit cabinets or as the Area 51 an Maximum Force combo machine. Ither gemms war pit thegither an but never pit oot: 3 On 3 Basketball, Fishin' Frenzy, Freeze, an Vicious Circle.

References

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  1. ↑ "Atari Ships Jaguar For New York And San Francisco Markets; World's First 64-bit Interactive Multimedia Home Entertainment System Available". PR Newswire (in Inglis). 23 November 1993. Archived frae the original on 15 Mairch 2016. Retrieved 10 Mey 2011.
  2. ↑ Humphreys, Andrew (August 1994). "Jaguar - Reality Bites?". Hyper. No. 9. Next Media Pty Ltd. pp. 20–25. Archived frae the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. ↑ a b Euer Video Games Team (September 1994). "Warpzone - Jaguar - Jaguar in Deutschland!". Video Games. No. 34. Future-Verlag. p. 38.
  4. ↑ "Scene - Next Generation Battle - Japan". Mega Fun. No. 30. CT Computec Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Mairch 1995. p. 28. Archived frae the original on 13 Julie 2018. Retrieved 24 Juin 2018.
  5. ↑ a b "¿Qué Consola Comprar?". Hobby Consolas (in Spainish). No. 51. Axel Springer SE. December 1995. pp. 36–37.
  6. ↑ "CVG News - Get Your Jaguars Now, Folks - The Cat Set Free At Last". Computer and Video Games. No. 152. Future plc. Julie 1994. p. 9. Archived frae the original on 24 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Letters - Jag & 3DO Queries". Hyper. No. 11. Next Media Pty Ltd. October 1994. p. 81. Archived frae the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Jaguar: Coup De Griffe Sur Le Japan!". Consoles +. No. 39. M.E.R.7. Januar 1995. pp. 26–27. Archived frae the original on 25 Juin 2018. Retrieved 24 Juin 2018.
  9. ↑ Item 7. Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations. Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K (Report). Atari Corporation. 12 Apryle 1996. p. 8. Archived frae the original on 25 Februar 2021. Retrieved 6 Apryle 2021.
  10. ↑ "Jaguar: mass market machine". Edge. No. 22 Supplementary. Future plc. Julie 1995. p. 5. Archived frae the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 13 Julie 2018.
  11. ↑ a b "AtariAge - Atari Jaguar History". www.atariage.com. Archived frae the original on 13 Mey 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  12. ↑ "Clunky". Next Generation. Imagine Media (4): 41. Apryle 1995.
  13. ↑ a b Johnston, Chris (8 Apryle 2000). "Atari Goes to Hasbro". GameSpot. Archived frae the original on 4 Februar 2021. Retrieved 20 Februar 2020. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "ataritohasbro" defined multiple times wi different content
  14. ↑ "Hasbro Releases Jaguar Publishing Rights". Hasbro Interactive. Archived frae the original on 24 Mey 2013. Retrieved 14 Mey 2008. Beverly, MA (May 14, 1999) – Leading entertainment software publisher, Hasbro Interactive announced today it has released all rights that it may have to the vintage Atari hardware platform, the Jaguar.
  15. ↑ Goss, Patrick. "Redundant gadgets (Atari Jaguar entry)". Archived frae the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2007.
  16. ↑ a b c d e Atari: From Boom to Bust and Back Again. Imagine Publishing. 2012. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Atari40" defined multiple times wi different content
  17. ↑ "Atari Explorer, Z*Net, & ST Report: Atari Explorer Online: 16-Jan-95 #0401". www.atariarchives.org. Archived frae the original on 17 Juin 2023. Retrieved 17 Juin 2023.
  18. ↑ "Atari Releases the Jaguar in North America". World History Project (in Inglis). 18 November 1993. Archived frae the original on 19 Juin 2023. Retrieved 17 Juin 2023.
  19. ↑ "VC&G | » the First Atari Jaguar Press Release (1993)". Archived frae the original on 24 Mey 2023. Retrieved 24 Mey 2023.
  20. ↑ "COMPANY NEWS; I.B.M. TO MANUFACTURE NEW ATARI ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM (Published 1993)". The New York Times. 29 Juin 1993. Archived frae the original on 25 Mey 2023.
  21. ↑ Boris Kretzinger (22 Februar 2023). Clipped Claws.
  22. ↑ Atari Jaguar History Error in Webarchive template: Empty url..
  23. ↑ "The Video Game Critic's Atari Jaguar System Review". Archived frae the original on 15 Mey 2023. Retrieved 22 Mey 2023.
  24. ↑ Atari Corporation Annual Report, 1993 Archived Julie 6, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. pp 3.
  25. ↑ "Atari and JT Storage Reorganisation Plan". One Cle. Archived frae the original on 9 December 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
  26. ↑ "A History of JT Storage / JTS (including the Atari division)". mcurrent.name. Archived frae the original on 27 Apryle 2021. Retrieved 31 Mey 2020.
  27. ↑ a b c Joe Venor (2009). "What's this "Lay off the 68k" and "GPU in Main" Malarkey? (TECHNICAL)". The Owl Project. Archived frae the original on 12 Juin 2018. Retrieved 18 Februar 2018.Template:Better source needed
  28. ↑ ATARI JAGUAR Archived September 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine by Retro Gamer Team, 27 November 2014
  29. ↑ Atari Jaguar Software Reference Manual, Atari Corp. 1995, Pg 2
  30. ↑ Atari Jaguar Order[deid airtin], Atari, 1994

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