Atari Jaguar
- Manufacturer
- Atari
- Production
- 1993–1996
- Generation
- Gen 5
- Type
- Home
- Region
- US
- Launch price
- $249
- Units sold
- 250.0K
About Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. Atari marketed it as the world's first 64-bit game system, drawing controversy as some argued that this configuration did not meet the definition of a 64-bit system. The Jaguar launched with Cybermorph as the pack-in game. A total of 63 licensed games were released for the system prior to its discontinuation in 1996.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
76licensed games
- North America: 76
Lineage
Release timeline
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- December 8, 1994
- 🇺🇸 North America
- November 23, 1993
- 🇪🇺 Europe / PAL
- June 27, 1994
- Lifespan
- 3 years on market
Pricing
Launch price (1993)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $249
Launch titles & exclusives
Cybermorph · Crescent Galaxy · Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy · Raiden · Dino Dudes
Cybermorph
Tempest 2000 · Iron Soldier · Alien vs. Predator · Atari Karts · Defender 2000 · Power Drive Rally · Rayman (Jaguar was the lead platform) · Battlesphere
Worms / World Tour Racing (~1996) were among the last commercial releases; Battlesphere (1999) was a celebrated late homebrew-era retail release
Battlesphere (homebrew-era retail release, ~$1000+ CIB); Hover Strike CD (~$300); Towers II (~$500 CIB)
Hardware specs
- Cpu
- Motorola 68000 @ 13.295 MHz, 2 custom RISC processors @ 26.591 MHz each
- Gpu
- Tom chip @ 26.591 MHz (32-bit RISC architecture, 4 KB internal RAM)
- Ram
- 2 MB RAM
- Sound
- Jerry chip @ 26.591 MHz (16-bit CD-quality stereo sound, two DACs, wavetable and AM synthesis)
- Display Output
- Composite, S-Video, RGB, or RF TV out
- Storage Internal
- Internal RAM, cartridge
Hardware revisions
- Original Jaguar(1993)
only base-console revision Atari shipped
- Jaguar CD add-on(1995)
widely treated as a hardware revision in collector circles — adds CD-ROM drive and was infamous for the 'toilet seat' aesthetic
Launch colorways & special editions
- None official; some retailer bundles paired Cybermorph with Crescent Galaxy or Wolfenstein 3D
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- N/A; modern flashcarts: SkunkBoard (dev origin), Jaguar GD
Reception & legacy
Mixed — 64-bit marketing claims were attacked as misleading; reviews praised hardware potential but called early launch library underwhelming
'64-bit' branding controversial — the system used two 32-bit RISC processors plus a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000; the 17-button controller (3 face buttons + numeric keypad + overlays) widely panned; Atari Corp went bankrupt 1996
Final Atari home console; its commercial failure ended Atari's hardware era; Tempest 2000 (Jeff Minter) remains the platform's redemption-arc masterpiece
References
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