Jaguar vs. 32X?

[Do The Math]

Does anyone know how similar or different the Jaguar was to the 32X in processing power? Were they basically capable of the same level of graphics, sound, etc? I remember reading an interview with Sam Tramiel about how Atari was in a deal with Sega where they could potentially port over first-party games and after seeing (and playing) Virtua Fighter for the 32X (a pretty good port!) I always wondered if it would have even been technically capable of playing such games.

 

 

In a related question, do you think the Jaguar could have been capable of playing a game like Tomb Raider (perhaps not with all effects on) or Jumping Flash at decent frame rates? What about Final Fantasy VII - could the Jaguar have had those good of graphics???

[kevincal]

The Jag produces slightly better graphics and much better sound than the 32X imo. It would have been awesome if some Sega arcade games were ported to the Jag... Tomb Raider, Jumping Flash and FFVII COULD be done with with the Jag CD maybe...

Edited May 20, 2007 by kevincal

[BuddyBuddies]

of course the jaguar cd could do all them games,lol... just do the math!!! 32 bit system vs. 64 bits!!!!,LOL.....

[superjudge3]

of course the jaguar cd could do all them games,lol... just do the math!!! 32 bit system vs. 64 bits!!!!,LOL.....

 

In my opinion, the Jaguar was nuch more capable than the 32X. There's no way the 32X could have done Alien vs Predator! Also, look at Doom, Primal Rage and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure...the Jaguar versions are all superior, even though the Pitfall and Primal Rage versions aren't that much different; they just have more colors displayed. And we all know the advantages with Doom

[EmOneGarand]

32X

# Processor: Two SH2 32 bit RISC processors with a clock speed of 23.011 MHz, approx 20 MIPS each

# Video RAM: Two linear framebuffers with support for RLE compression and an overdraw mode to simplify compositing objects with transparency. All scaling, rotation, and 3D operations are performed in software on the SH2 processors.

# ROM (BIOS): 3 Kb

# Color depth: 32,768 simultaneous colors on screen at standard Mega Drive/Genesis resolution. Video output can overlay Mega Drive/Genesis graphics or vice versa. Mega Drive/Genesis video effects such as shadow or highlight do not affect 32X video.

# Memory: 256KB (2 MBit) program RAM and two 128KB (1 MBit) framebuffers.

 

Jaguar

* "Tom" (contains 3 video-related processors), 26.59 MHz

o Graphics processing unit (GPU) – 32-bit RISC architecture, 4 kb internal cache, provides wide array of graphic effects

o 64-bit object processor – programmable; can behave as a variety of graphic architectures

o 64-bit blitter processor – high speed logic operations, z-buffering and Gouraud shading

o 64-bit DRAM controller (not a processor)

* "Jerry" , 26.59 MHz

o Digital Signal Processor – 32-bit RISC architecture, 8 kb internal cache

+ Same RISC core as the GPU, and not limited to sound production

* Motorola 68000 (processor #5)

o General purpose control processor, 13.295 MHz

 

There wasn't anything that was really groundbreaking and it probly would have been just as unimpressive on the Jaguar.

 

@Kevincal I doubt the JAG could have handled Jumping Flash, the draw distance would have been too much and the polycount would have been drastically cut. To get that to work on the JAG many things would need to be cut out, and some serious optimization to get all thats going on screen to not run at 5-10fps. Tomb Raider has been discussed in some detail in another thread on the forum so it could have been but the JAG couldn't have done it like the PSX and Saturn did.

[BuddyBuddies]

of course the jaguar cd could do all them games,lol... just do the math!!! 32 bit system vs. 64 bits!!!!,LOL.....

 

In my opinion, the Jaguar was nuch more capable than the 32X. There's no way the 32X could have done Alien vs Predator! Also, look at Doom, Primal Rage and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure...the Jaguar versions are all superior, even though the Pitfall and Primal Rage versions aren't that much different; they just have more colors displayed. And we all know the advantages with Doom

agreed buddy... and if the Jaguar had more cd games in its library then you "could" compare it to the Playstation....just imagine what the Jaguar 2 would have been capable of............Jaguar Rules!!!!,lol.

[EmOneGarand]

of course the jaguar cd could do all them games,lol... just do the math!!! 32 bit system vs. 64 bits!!!!,LOL.....

 

In my opinion, the Jaguar was nuch more capable than the 32X. There's no way the 32X could have done Alien vs Predator! Also, look at Doom, Primal Rage and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure...the Jaguar versions are all superior, even though the Pitfall and Primal Rage versions aren't that much different; they just have more colors displayed. And we all know the advantages with Doom

agreed buddy... and if the Jaguar had more cd games in its library then you "could" compare it to the Playstation....just imagine what the Jaguar 2 would have been capable of............Jaguar Rules!!!!,lol.

It's all just "what ifs" with the Jag2 we'll sadly never know unless Atarigrames decides to enter the console market (next to impossible)

[EmOneGarand]

of course the jaguar cd could do all them games,lol... just do the math!!! 32 bit system vs. 64 bits!!!!,LOL.....

 

In my opinion, the Jaguar was nuch more capable than the 32X. There's no way the 32X could have done Alien vs Predator! Also, look at Doom, Primal Rage and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure...the Jaguar versions are all superior, even though the Pitfall and Primal Rage versions aren't that much different; they just have more colors displayed. And we all know the advantages with Doom

Yeah Primal Rage for the JAG was a bit dissappointing, the sprites were scaled down so it was on par with the 3DO port in that aspect, so far the PSX and Saturn ports of Primal Rage were the closest to arcade perfect.

 

The JAG defiantely outclasses the 32X in respects to what it could do for raycasting, the 32X version of DOOM could only be displayed at a lower res hence the black borders which they tried to pass off as a feature lol and the 3D capabilities were much better since the 32X didn't really add much more to the already ancient Genesis hardware, but much like the JAG the 32X wasn't used to it's potential and killed by it's company before it could show what it could really do. 32X Virtual Fighter stands as a testiment to that.

[BuddyBuddies]

of course the jaguar cd could do all them games,lol... just do the math!!! 32 bit system vs. 64 bits!!!!,LOL.....

 

In my opinion, the Jaguar was nuch more capable than the 32X. There's no way the 32X could have done Alien vs Predator! Also, look at Doom, Primal Rage and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure...the Jaguar versions are all superior, even though the Pitfall and Primal Rage versions aren't that much different; they just have more colors displayed. And we all know the advantages with Doom

agreed buddy... and if the Jaguar had more cd games in its library then you "could" compare it to the Playstation....just imagine what the Jaguar 2 would have been capable of............Jaguar Rules!!!!,lol.

It's all just "what ifs" with the Jag2 we'll sadly never know unless Atarigrames decides to enter the console market (next to impossible)

hehehe,the Jaguar 2 belongs to us,not Atari it is a working prototype and is backwards compatible with the Jaguar. true its still a what if though......,maybe one day!!

[+LS650]

If you look at some of the better polygon games for the 32X like Star Wars Arcade or Shadow Squadron, I'd have to say the 32X is a pretty decent machine... ALMOST as powerful as the Jaguar!

[Michael_]

If you look at some of the better polygon games for the 32X like Star Wars Arcade or Shadow Squadron, I'd have to say the 32X is a pretty decent machine... ALMOST as powerful as the Jaguar!

 

Based on specs alone, the Jaguar should be able to do anything the 32X could and more. Shadow Squadron *is* impressive, but the real gem of the 32X is the PAL-only Darxide released by David Brabens Frontier Development. I´m not saying it couldn´t be done also on the Jaguar (because I´m sure the Jaguar version would rock had it been programmed by Frontier Dev), but it´s an amazing testament in itself to the untapped power that lies within the 32X.

 

Both the 32X and the Jaguar had more potential than what was shown in their official lifetimes, I´m sure.

[BuddyBuddies]

If you look at some of the better polygon games for the 32X like Star Wars Arcade or Shadow Squadron, I'd have to say the 32X is a pretty decent machine... ALMOST as powerful as the Jaguar!

 

Based on specs alone, the Jaguar should be able to do anything the 32X could and more. Shadow Squadron *is* impressive, but the real gem of the 32X is the PAL-only Darxide released by David Brabens Frontier Development. I´m not saying it couldn´t be done also on the Jaguar (because I´m sure the Jaguar version would rock had it been programmed by Frontier Dev), but it´s an amazing testament in itself to the untapped power that lies within the 32X.

 

Both the 32X and the Jaguar had more potential than what was shown in their official lifetimes, I´m sure.

thats a fair statement buddy,i agree.

[Gorf]

Does anyone know how similar or different the Jaguar was to the 32X in processing power? Were they basically capable of the same level of graphics, sound, etc? I remember reading an interview with Sam Tramiel about how Atari was in a deal with Sega where they could potentially port over first-party games and after seeing (and playing) Virtua Fighter for the 32X (a pretty good port!) I always wondered if it would have even been technically capable of playing such games.

 

 

In a related question, do you think the Jaguar could have been capable of playing a game like Tomb Raider (perhaps not with all effects on) or Jumping Flash at decent frame rates? What about Final Fantasy VII - could the Jaguar have had those good of graphics???

 

 

Processing power is all Jaguar. The 32X was a nice add on for genesis but hardly on the level

of the Jag in terms of raw power. Tools, tools, tools.....That is what made the difference in the

amount of games and the quality of them. I can tell you factually the Jaguar outclasses the 32x

in processing ability by a long shot. Getting it to perform that way is not easy due to the tools

being almost useless. Show me any thing that looks as good as Iron Solder or Battle Sphere

or even BattleMorph on a 32x. I've never seen it. Nothing on 32x colorwise can compare with

Jaguar's CRY mode. I forget that mech game they had but Iron Soldier I and II are by far

superior. JAguar was a true attempt by Atari to get back in the game console race. 32x was

a stop gap joke by Sega played on its loyal customers to keep them from buying Atari.

 

 

Those SH2 in the 32x are awsome chips but the Tom and Jerry are certainly more able.

The other thing is that the Jaguar at least has the OPL and blitter where the 32x had to

do all of it's 3d with software. It is a good this that Hitachi put some seriously sweet

instructions in those things. Truthfully the two system are trying to choke themselves

with the accursed 68k in the way. Now if the Jaguar used an SH-2 instead of the 68k, that

would have been deadly.

[EmOneGarand]

Does anyone know how similar or different the Jaguar was to the 32X in processing power? Were they basically capable of the same level of graphics, sound, etc? I remember reading an interview with Sam Tramiel about how Atari was in a deal with Sega where they could potentially port over first-party games and after seeing (and playing) Virtua Fighter for the 32X (a pretty good port!) I always wondered if it would have even been technically capable of playing such games.

 

 

In a related question, do you think the Jaguar could have been capable of playing a game like Tomb Raider (perhaps not with all effects on) or Jumping Flash at decent frame rates? What about Final Fantasy VII - could the Jaguar have had those good of graphics???

 

 

Processing power is all Jaguar. The 32X was a nice add on for genesis but hardly on the level

of the Jag in terms of raw power. Tools, tools, tools.....That is what made the difference in the

amount of games and the quality of them. I can tell you factually the Jaguar outclasses the 32x

in processing ability by a long shot. Getting it to perform that way is not easy due to the tools

being almost useless. Show me any thing that looks as good as Iron Solder or Battle Sphere

or even BattleMorph on a 32x. I've never seen it. Nothing on 32x colorwise can compare with

Jaguar's CRY mode. I forget that mech game they had but Iron Soldier I and II are by far

superior. JAguar was a true attempt by Atari to get back in the game console race. 32x was

a stop gap joke by Sega played on its loyal customers to keep them from buying Atari.

 

 

Those SH2 in the 32x are awsome chips but the Tom and Jerry are certainly more able.

The other thing is that the Jaguar at least has the OPL and blitter where the 32x had to

do all of it's 3d with software. It is a good this that Hitachi put some seriously sweet

instructions in those things. Truthfully the two system are trying to choke themselves

with the accursed 68k in the way. Now if the Jaguar used an SH-2 instead of the 68k, that

would have been deadly.

 

The 32X could do 3D just as well as the Jaguar during it's shelf life, the Genesis hardware's limitations dragged it down though, for example Virtual Fighter for the 32X totally puts Fight for Life to shame, it was better then the Saturn version to some degree, many said it couldn't be done well but it was. It's been said many many times how raw the power of the Jag's hardware was but barely has any technical demo been released that backs it up. The 32X doesn't add much more color, it uses alot of the Genesis's palette which was one of it's weaker sides, take for example the game Knuckles Chaotix, almost all of the background sprites were all done by the Genesis.

 

BTW that mech game your thinking of is Metalhead.

 

Also, the 32X was the Sega of Japan's way of mocking the western world, they were secretly creating the Saturn while Sega of America developed the 32X Mars, they thought Westerners were too immature for CD-Rom based games (Possibly from the Japanese ignorance of the Western world and what it likes and dislikes, hence the failure of the Turbo Duo) so they made a cartridge based console for the American and European market while working on the Saturn.

[Fighter17]

Also, the 32X was the Sega of Japan's way of mocking the western world, they were secretly creating the Saturn while Sega of America developed the 32X Mars, they thought Westerners were too immature for CD-Rom based games (Possibly from the Japanese ignorance of the Western world and what it likes and dislikes, hence the failure of the Turbo Duo) so they made a cartridge based console for the American and European market while working on the Saturn.

 

It gets even more deep than that. The Genesis was more popular in the Western markets than in Japan. The higher-ups at Sega of Japan were getting sick of tired of Sega of America making more money on the Genesis than them.

 

You can read more about it here: http://www.sega-16.com/Interview-%20Tom%20Kalinske.php

 

Virtual Fighter on the 32x is better than the Saturn version, but the port is not arcade perfect. The polygon count is lower on the 32x port than the Saturn version.

 

Star Wars Arcade, and T-MEK also had similar issues with Virtual Fighter (lower polygon count).

 

So in the end the 32x was just a mini-version of the Sega Model 1 arcade hardware.

 

Now the CoJag arcade hardware (Area 51) just got by with the harddrive. >.>

[EmOneGarand]

Also, the 32X was the Sega of Japan's way of mocking the western world, they were secretly creating the Saturn while Sega of America developed the 32X Mars, they thought Westerners were too immature for CD-Rom based games (Possibly from the Japanese ignorance of the Western world and what it likes and dislikes, hence the failure of the Turbo Duo) so they made a cartridge based console for the American and European market while working on the Saturn.

 

It gets even more deep than that. The Genesis was more popular in the Western markets than in Japan. The higher-ups at Sega of Japan were getting sick of tired of Sega of America making more money on the Genesis than them.

Shiesty hah hah.

[Fighter17]

Also, the 32X was the Sega of Japan's way of mocking the western world, they were secretly creating the Saturn while Sega of America developed the 32X Mars, they thought Westerners were too immature for CD-Rom based games (Possibly from the Japanese ignorance of the Western world and what it likes and dislikes, hence the failure of the Turbo Duo) so they made a cartridge based console for the American and European market while working on the Saturn.

 

It gets even more deep than that. The Genesis was more popular in the Western markets than in Japan. The higher-ups at Sega of Japan were getting sick of tired of Sega of America making more money on the Genesis than them.

Shiesty hah hah.

 

Just go to Japan and the majority will mostly remember the Super Famicom and the PC Engine (few will like the Megadrive).

 

It's funny because the Saturn was popular in Japan, but sucked elsewhere.

[walter_J64bit]

This is old "Jaguar vs. 32X"

Edited May 22, 2007 by walter_J64bit

[kevincal]

It's "Virtua" Fighter guys!!! Not Virtual!!! lol And the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter is better than the 32X version... And both the Jag and 32X are cool systems in my book, so I could care less about which is better! System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...lol

[EmOneGarand]

It's "Virtua" Fighter guys!!! Not Virtual!!! lol And the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter is better than the 32X version... And both the Jag and 32X are cool systems in my book, so I could care less about which is better! System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...lol

Actually the Saturn version was flawed hence the release of Virtua Fighter Remix, the 32X version fixed most if not all the flaws, and for having a smaller poly count the game was amazing. But you are correct, both were sweet consoles and thats what really matters in the present.

[BuddyBuddies]

It's "Virtua" Fighter guys!!! Not Virtual!!! lol And the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter is better than the 32X version... And both the Jag and 32X are cool systems in my book, so I could care less about which is better! System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...lol

LOL,thats funny buddy,lol.....

[ovalbugmann]

System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...

 

True!..Huh , I was on ebay the other day checkin' out Sega's systems and contemplating buying a Saturn or Genesis with SegaCD or 32x.

[The Helper]

System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...

 

True!..Huh , I was on ebay the other day checkin' out Sega's systems and contemplating buying a Saturn or Genesis with SegaCD or 32x.

 

I would go with a Saturn just for Knights.

[Michael_]

System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...

 

True!..Huh , I was on ebay the other day checkin' out Sega's systems and contemplating buying a Saturn or Genesis with SegaCD or 32x.

 

I would go with a Saturn just for Knights.

NiGHTS. And yes, I agree.

[Fighter17]

System wars only matter when you are 13 and only have enough money for one system...

 

True!..Huh , I was on ebay the other day checkin' out Sega's systems and contemplating buying a Saturn or Genesis with SegaCD or 32x.

 

I would go with a Saturn just for Knights.

NiGHTS. And yes, I agree.

 

To tell you the truth I didn't like Nights too much.