Jump to content
IGNORED

Age of jag users on this forum?


sirlynxalot

Age of Jaguar users on this forum?  

168 members have voted

  1. 1. Age of Jaguar users on this forum? (In years old)

    • 10 to 19
      3
    • 20 to 29
      7
    • 30 to 39
      43
    • 40 to 49
      65
    • 50 to 59
      45
    • 60 to 69
      4
    • Older than 69
      1

  • Please sign in to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

This is getting to be true for most 90s retro game enthusiasts, but I think we have an older crowd here.  Lots of really cool benefits to that, like having skilled programmers to make homebrew games or ports, or people with the resources to make great things happen like a new run of pro controllers or other neat hardware.  

 

In any event, I was curious about the rough age distribution here and didn't notice any recent threads on the topic so here's the poll!

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been wondering if Atari, and in particular, Jaguar enthusiasts leaned "older," since it was such a major player early, but has been "out of the game" so long. Definitely some curmudgeons in the bunch, lol. Maybe the results will give newer doinks like me a better idea of the forums' ... "decorum."

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in the 30-39 category, I knew the Jaguar existed and had a prototype VR system, but wasn't a realistic option of a system growing up and eventually ended up with a Saturn. I bought a Jag a few years ago and got a small collection for it, and now a couple of boxed cart homebrew as well as the GD from SainT. I'm probably more likely to buy homebrew now than original commercial games but part of that is more my move to avoid the expense of collecting, though getting a "complete" collection is possibly a secondary goal after some other systems.

 

I don't know if I'll get as far as advancing to developing for the system, at least not at the high end, I would like to have some throwaway simple games at least that I can roll out for free digitally, but I don't know when that is likely to be, years probably. I'm not in love with the system as others are, but I have a higher opinion of the 1993 Jaguar than I do the 1997 N64* in comparisons.

 

I know a collector in the 10-19 category who prided himself on the fact that he got a Jaguar before me, knowing I had nearly everything else other than that. He has some games I don't have, and defends the console quite religiously, particularly games like Doom, AVP and Rayman.

 

*Well 1996 I guess but it wasn't until 97 here.

 

Personally, I enjoy Jag64's "decorum" whatever their age is!

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Similar story to Mikebloke. I think buying a Jaguar and Jaguar CD was my version of a midlife crisis. I'm too sensible to roll around in a Bugatti trying to pretend I can still hang at clubs, but not for buying a $1000 stack of plastic and obsolete electronics to pretend I'm still a teenager.

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started collecting for the Jag around age 25 and I am 44 now.  You "do the math".?  I loved the early Atari products (Pong, 2600, 800, 800XL) and saw the Jag when it was on clearance at Kay Bee toys (I think) and remember thinking I need to get one but I didn't have any money at the time and I didn't want to ask my parents for money either.  I bought three base units for like $75.00 each on E-Bay and two CDs for the same price the same way.  I remember finding Atari Age not long after I bought them and thought what a great resource (Thanks Albert!!!) for old game systems.  With the newly found AA knowledge I thought it possible to eventually get a complete collection of games for the system (although CJ and Phoboz are making that more and more difficult).  What fun and what a ride it has been!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Judging by the age distribution it seems the demographic here leaned more toward people who were like high school or college age when the jag was being marketed.  

 

Did you guys envision it as a system with more mature appeal than ie the SNES or Genesis?

 

I was about 9-11 when the jag was first out.  I vaguely knew about it but it didn't seem like something I should waste my limited beg my parents capital on when stuff like the ps1 was on the verge of coming out.  The 3do made a bigger impression on me with it's multimedia stuff and texture mapped 3d stuff. My exposure to Jaguar was limited to playing pitfall on a kiosk once and it definitely didn't wow me compared to the 16 bit systems.

 

I became very curious about it as an adult when I became more interested in exploring stuff I missed in 90s gaming that seemed interesting.  

Edited by sirlynxalot
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, sirlynxalot said:

Judging by the age distribution it seems the demographic here leaned more toward people who were like high school or college age when the jag was being marketed.  

 

Did you guys envision it as a system with more mature appeal than ie the SNES or Genesis?

This is a fair question, I think Nintendo was marketed as "family" from early age, Sega as "teen wanting to be older". I think at the time I got the impression that Atari Jag was designed for older Atari fans that might have been brought up with the original 2600 system - say you were born in 1970, 1993 would only make you early 20's, that's disposable income time period, if you were born in 1980 you might have had a lot of 2600 gametime growing up, and got to the age where you begged your parents for a particular system - if you grew up with 2600, why not continue with Atari? 2600 was my first system, but it wasn't like I was buying 1st hand, I was picking them up dirt cheap in boot sales, I had no loyalty to Atari as a current generation - that went to the Mega Drive - and hence the staying with Sega for Saturn - in my situation.

 

I almost want to shove in Amiga lovers into the same category as this type of Atari loyalists, but I got no evidence to say there is a huge crossover of Amiga and Jaguar fans.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I mean the Jag was essentially aimed at people that had a Genesis and were getting a little too old for it, or were just looking for something newer. That's what all the marketing implied. I had an SNES, and was just reaching teenage years, so while I loved the SNES, I definitely was starting to feel like the Genesis was the cooler system as I got to the age where my brain was starting to care way too much about that sort of thing, and hence even the minimal Jaguar advertising I encountered had a big impact on me. It was like the Genesis but even cooler, and had 64 somethings!

 

Ultimately I wanted to play Daytona USA at home though, and Saturn seemed like a safer bet anyway by mid-1995 when my brother and I had gotten enough money together to make a move to the next generation.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought my Jag in 94 and the CD in 95 - didn't pay full retail for either, but I think $199 for the Jag and $150 for the CD.  I wasn't gaming back then, but my brother had the NES and a Genesis.  Atari had a pretty strong online presence in 94 (fan sites, newsgroups, etc.) which led me to this crazy powerful new system, and once I saw T2K I was hooked.  It was sadly a short honeymoon period and I quickly moved onto the PSX but I did acquire a nearly complete collection, got to witness all the early flame wars, the entire Battlesphere saga, etc.  I still have everything and with the combination of the Game Drive from Saint, and the crazy amount of homebrews, the Jag gets all the action now and the original PSX is packed away.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dad bought my older brother a Jaguar at some point in 1994 or so, and he and I played a bunch of it when it was current.

After Kaybee Toys clearanced out their stock, my dad picked up a system and some cheap games for me.

 

I still have a few of them.

 

As silly as it is, Club Drive was and probably still is my favorite game on the system. It was the first 3D, free-roaming game I ever played at it really stuck with me.

 

I know it isn't a great game, but it blew my mind as a kid, and it's still special to me to this day.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, T.A.P. said:

...

After Kaybee Toys clearanced out their stock,...

 

As silly as it is, Club Drive was and probably still is my favorite game on the system.... I know it isn't a great game, but it blew my mind as a kid, and it's still special to me to this day.

 

That was how I got into the Jaguar by buying the last two Jaguars that Kaybee had in north Texas in 1999.   $30 a piece!

 

Club Drive was an early game I was introduced to, maybe before even Bubsy.   I like Club Drive still to this day.  The peppy music, playing two player when I can, and some of the places you can race around in.   It is so hip-hop and 90s.  :D

 

Bubsy in Club Drive picture I did once...

 

post-4709-0-74410000-1507940305.jpg.56bcf8f45b34585469c409b5494f536d.jpg

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, cubanismo said:

Similar story to Mikebloke. I think buying a Jaguar and Jaguar CD was my version of a midlife crisis. I'm too sensible to roll around in a Bugatti trying to pretend I can still hang at clubs, but not for buying a $1000 stack of plastic and obsolete electronics to pretend I'm still a teenager.

I think you are probably joking, but on the off chance that the reason you do not have a Bugatti is that you are too sensible and not that you are not rich enough; can we be best friends?

 

I mean a man could buy his best friend a copy of BattleSphere and BattleSphere Gold and not even bat an eye at the price. And I could finally have my complete retail set*^.

 

*Since BattleSphere and BattleSphere Gold came out after the Jaguar's retail life I do not consider them part of the retail set.

 

^That being said, if I came to own BattleSphere and BattleSphere Gold then the fact that they were started during the Jaguar's retail life would mean they would count for the full set and all you poor people... I mean unlucky people who do not own them would not have the complete retail set like I then would.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Stephen said:

I still have everything and with the combination of the Game Drive from Saint, and the crazy amount of homebrews, the Jag gets all the action now and the original PSX is packed away.

Mine too. The fullness of time has a sense of humor sometimes…

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, thanatos said:

Remember those computer liquidation sales at fairgrounds in the 90's?  That's where I bought my NIB Jag for $35.  :D

I was just out of college.

 

 

Still remember getting my brand new Jaguar for $35 from Kay-Bee Toys. It was already discontinued, but I didn't know that. All I knew is I hadn't seen an Atari Jaguar since TV commercials 3-4 years prior. (Atari had been dead and gone in Cincinnati since 1988. Some small Mom and Pop shops carried Lynx until like 1991 or 1992, but I never knew a kid in school - any grade with an Atari system past 2600.) Just seeing the Atari logo was exciting for teenage me in 1997. The games were only $5.99 and $9.99. It was perfect for my minimum wage fast food job. I bought up every Jaguar game I could find, traveling to all the "KB Toys" in the area.

 

I still remember my girlfriend at the time asking me to take it back, because she thought "it would look like 64-bits." My first two games were Trevor McFur and Checkered Flag. So, while she was right about the ugly games, I loved that system.

 

I'd often race home from the mall to put in my latest Jaguar purchase. Sure I was disappointed 99.9999% of the time with a bad or broken game. But ... I was young, so the memories are nice, lol.

 

I think only having to spend $35 back then (and got all the ones in my collection cheap later) has made the system endearing to me. I didn't have high expectations, since I didn't have to pay a fortune for it. The Jaguar may be a sad footnote in gaming's history, but I love the ugly little paperweight.

Edited by Jag64
  • Like 3
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had always wanted a Jaguar when it was around, but my parents wouldn't let me have one as the man who worked in Electronics Boutique said they were "Rubbish and had no games"... So I ended up with a SNES back in those days (not a bad thing at all really). When I was making the move to the next gen I was desperate for a Sega Saturn, but EB man struck again (for some reason my Mam really trusted this guy) and they bought me a Playstation instead. I mean logically he wasn't wrong to steer her away from both those machines ;'-D. After still being denied the chance to buy a Jag and a load of games for about £50 in GAME I ended up buying one direct from Telegames in the early 2000's with the money I saved from my first paper round. Took me AGES to save up, but I think I paid £169.99 for the Jag, 4 controllers, White Men Can't Jump, Team Tap, Theme Park, Kasumi Ninja, Tempest 2000, Sensible Soccer & Iron Soldier. I think I even recall my parents might have had to send a cheque for it, as I didn't have a bank account. I bought a CD about 5 years ago for £550 boxed with a few games, but none of the rare ones. Contemplated selling the CD a few times when I've been skint, but just can't bring myself to separate the toilet seat from the Jag. 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am probably one of the few people here who is younger than the jaguar itself.
 

When I first got into the jaguar back in 2015, I was only 12 years old, and saw a lot of hate for the console anywhere it was brought up. And that intrigued me, as I didn’t believe any console could really be that bad. Then by chance I had the possibility to buy a jag for €120 that came with Bubsy and Club Drive. That was all the money I had back then but my curiosity got the best of me and I bought it. 
 

I enjoyed both games very much, believe it or not, and slowly started buying more jag games with the little money I had, which wasn’t easy as prices had already started to increase massively around 2015/16. 
 

Then in 2018 I sold everything jag related I had, as I needed money for a school trip and I didn’t play it very much anymore, then a month later I regretted it so much I bought another one, and a jag CD. 
 

Ever since then the console has held a very special place in my heart, it was the console that got me into the world of retro games, and it thought me to not always believe everything I hear on the internet :D 

  • Like 7
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Judging from the poll results, Gen Z's reaction to the Jaguar:

hard_pass.thumb.jpg.0e66975345d5c2f718c70ae29740a20d.jpg

 

But we've got a toe-hold in the next gen somehow. I saw some of the neighbors' teenage kids wearing grunge clothes a month or two ago. Maybe we just need to up-res JagADs and throw them on Tik-Tok to rekindle this thing. Is that still what's cool? Damn I'm old.

  • Haha 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I kinda think the forum is biased toward original owners who've owned since the 1990s.  Kinda interesting that there are seemingly fewer people who came to it themselves post 2000, such as through youtube videos or so.  At this point, the price of everything is going to be a huge gatekeeper. If you were an 18 or 22 yr old who wanted to explore retro games, why pay $400 for a jaguar when you could get a genesis or ps1 for under $100.

Edited by sirlynxalot
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...