The Atari Jaguar was arguably the first 64bit console on
the market. It had 5 processors and was capable of some impressive stuff
at the time. Despite this it never really took off, which was mainly due
to some fairly average games and lack of marketing compared to the Playstation
et al. Not even Tempest 2000 was enough to save it.
The world's first 64-bit
home console video game system. Developed after three years of research,
manufactured by IBM. It was originally bundled with
Cybermorph.
Specs
| 5 Processors |
- 32-bit RISC GPU. [programmable]
- 64-bit RISC Object PU
- 64-bit RISC Blitting PU
- Also PPU: Motorola 16 bit 68000 running at 13.295 MHz
|
| Memory |
|
| Display |
16.8 million coluors of true colour palette. Programmable processor that can act as a
variety of different video architectures, such as a sprite engine,
a pixel-mapped display or character-mapped system.
|
| Sound |
- CD-quality sound (16-bit stereo)
- Number of sound channels dependant on software
- 2 DACs
- Stereo capabilities, Wavetable synthesis, AM synthesis, FM synthesis,
FM Sample synthesis.
|
| Ports |
- Cartridge slot/expansion port (32 bits)
- RF video output
- Video edge connector (video/audio
output)
- (supports NTSC and PAL; provides S-Video, Composite, RGB outputs,
accessible by optional add-on connector)
- 2 controller ports
- Digital
Signal Processor port (includes high-speed synchronous serial input
/ output)
- 9600 baud serial port (with optional interface)
|
Accessories
An 'interesting' choice
of controller design by Atari. Loads of buttons were available if
required. Some games came with there own overlays.
The Jaguar CDROM came
as an add on unit. It was famously referred to as a toilet due to its
appearance which probably didn't help sales. Only 13 games were actually
released for it. They are quite hard to find these days especially
still working.
Team Tap: White Men can't jump
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
CD MPEG Cartridge
Allows the Jaguar to decode and display full MPEG 1+2 video
Memory track
Plugs into the cartridge slot of the CD-ROM drive. Allows Jaguar CD
games to be saved for later play. Holds up to 128K of data.
Jaglink
For LAN multiplayer support, the Jaglink Interface links two Jaguar consoles through a modular extension and a UTP phone cable.
Games
Tempest 2000 is the updated
version of the classic game Tempest. It features some cool visuals
and frantic gameplay. If you own a Jaguar this is the game to have.
Chilloutgames