Age of jag users on this forum?

[Jag64]

21 minutes ago, sirlynxalot said:

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.

If I were younger and looking to get into collecting retro games with a slightly "obscure" flair, I'd probably go with the 3DO first. I own three Atari Jaguars and stacks of games. Combined, they're about as fun to play with as collectible plates and serve the same purpose - to gain value.

 

I made myself love the Jaguar's sh*tty games when I was young, broke, and had no choice. But you'd literally have to f*cking pay me twice whatever minimum wage is now to even play a game on the thing. The price of Atari Jaguar merchandise is insane. There's zero reason for new collectors to get involved, unless they view it as an investment. Otherwise, they're probably just going to stream video of themselves playing Tempest 2000 to the 50 other Atari Jaguar enthusiasts that took enough ibuprofen that day, the arthritis in their mouse clicking hand subsided long enough to click like and subscribe on Youtube.

 

The fact Checkered Flag loose costs more than a crumpled Bazooka Joe comic tells you Jaguar stuff is too expensive to be welcoming for new collectors. You can play AVP and Tempest 2000 on emulators. The entire rest of the library is available on other/better platforms, is not worth playing at all, or in many cases - or was shipped out broken and incomplete.

 

TL;DR

Young gamers looking to get into retro gaming have no incentive to bother with the Jaguar.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Jag64

[MikeA]

2 hours ago, Jag64 said:

If I were younger and looking to get into collecting retro games with a slightly "obscure" flair, I'd probably go with the 3DO first. I own three Atari Jaguars and stacks of games. Combined, they're about as fun to play with as collectible plates and serve the same purpose - to gain value.

 

I made myself love the Jaguar's sh*tty games when I was young, broke, and had no choice. But you'd literally have to f*cking pay me twice whatever minimum wage is now to even play a game on the thing. The price of Atari Jaguar merchandise is insane. There's zero reason for new collectors to get involved, unless they view it as an investment. Otherwise, they're probably just going to stream video of themselves playing Tempest 2000 to the 50 other Atari Jaguar enthusiasts that took enough ibuprofen that day, the arthritis in their mouse clicking hand subsided long enough to click like and subscribe on Youtube.

 

The fact Checkered Flag loose costs more than a crumpled Bazooka Joe comic tells you Jaguar stuff is too expensive to be welcoming for new collectors. You can play AVP and Tempest 2000 on emulators. The entire rest of the library is available on other/better platforms, is not worth playing at all, or in many cases - or was shipped out broken and incomplete.

 

TL;DR

Young gamers looking to get into retro gaming have no incentive to bother with the Jaguar.

I think the only way I'll ever get to play JagDoom with the link cable is to literally pay someone to be the second player and deal with the glitches in the game.

 

I still like my Jaguar and like playing on it, but I understand that this a very acquired taste.  If I didn't grow up with it, I'm not sure I'd still be playing it.  That said, Tempest 2000 rocks and how dare you sir. 

[sirlynxalot]

46 minutes ago, MikeA said:

I think the only way I'll ever get to play JagDoom with the link cable is to literally pay someone to be the second player and deal with the glitches in the game.

 

 

That was similar to me with the atari lynx!  As an adult, I wanted to try out the nifty network multiplayer feature that some lynx games have, but I knew no one else in real life that owned a lynx - so I literally bought a second lynx, second copy of a few games, the networking cable, and then I could just bring out that setup when a friend was over to give it a try.  That did enable me to have the experience and multiplayer lynx was pretty good btw!

[+cubanismo]

I dunno. I have a very good gaming PC, an NES, a Saturn, a PS3 with the full PS2/PS1 backwards compatibility, and a set top box thing with all the 16-bit era consoles perfectly emulated. All I ever actually play is the Jaguar, and I didn't have one until 2 years ago. For me it's the style of the games combined with the classic console properties though. If I start my gaming PC, it spends 20 minutes installing updates then wants to reboot. Then steam updates and restarts. Then the games update. By that time, I've started a YouTube video on some other screen and don't feel like gaming anymore.  Similar with PS3 games back in the day, though thankfully those are no longer receiving updates. The emulators probably forgot my controller exists and hence forgot my button mappings during their last background update, and require futzing in menus before playing.

 

When I game, I have 30 minutes before I want to be asleep or something, so I want to be in the game *now*. T2K, Rebooteroids, Gravitic Mines, and similar games are great for this. Battlemorph, Hoverstrike, Iron Soldier, and those types have stories, but I can easily ignore them and blow things up if I'm not in the mood for it. I don't play AvP or Highlander.

 

I do use the Saturn sometimes, my brother and I are working through Super Mario World on an emulator a few hours+beers a year at a time when I visit him for holidays, and I do some Duck Hunt on the NES, but honestly I had plenty of those when I was younger and don't need to play them again for the most part. I agree Checked FIag is garbage, but I honestly enjoy *using* my Jaguars (and Lynx, especially on airplanes) regularly.

[Jag64]

55 minutes ago, cubanismo said:

.. I agree Checked FIag is garbage, but I honestly enjoy *using* my Jaguars (and Lynx, especially on airplanes) regularly.

Noooo. Noooo. Checkered Flag is great. I was being craaaae-zy.

 

For some reason I ended up with four copies of this AAA gem. Was going through boxes last summer (and will finally finish this summer) from when I started reassembling my collection. Apparently I just couldn't pass on a copy of Checkered Flag during a period in 2010. Hopefully they'll find a new loving home this summer, ... these really, really good racing games. ?

[+cubanismo]

8 hours ago, sirlynxalot said:

  That did enable me to have the experience and multiplayer lynx was pretty good btw!

Multiplayer Warbirds is awesome.

[doctorclu]

12 hours ago, Jag64 said:

... I own three Atari Jaguars and stacks of games. Combined, they're about as fun to play with as collectible plates and serve the same purpose - to gain value.

Ha, about right.   But have to admit there is a certain charm to Jaguar game boxes.  Was always fun to find one.

 

10 hours ago, MikeA said:

I think the only way I'll ever get to play JagDoom with the link cable is to literally pay someone to be the second player and deal with the glitches in the game.

Used to do that with friends.  We would hook up two Jag for JagDoom and see if we could race through a level before it crashed.

 

Great times.

 

5 hours ago, cubanismo said:

When I game, I have 30 minutes before I want to be asleep or something, so I want to be in the game *now*.

Yep.   Or some game I can play through quickly.   For me on the Jaguar that is Bubsy and now Golden Axe.

 

1 hour ago, cubanismo said:

Multiplayer Warbirds is awesome.

Yes it is!   Quite amazing.   Lynx had an insane amount of multiplayer games, at least compared to the other Atari systems.

[ColecoGamer]

I’m 47 years old. 

[Major Havoc 2049]

I was 22 when I got my Jag in December of 1993 at Electronics Boutique and got the Jag CD at launch in 1995.   I still have all my original Jag stuff that I bought at retail.  When the Jaguar went into liquidation, I owned about half the games and filled out the rest of my complete retail collection over the next couple of years on the cheap. 

[+DarkLord]

I was lucky - I was on a list with Toad Computers for the Jag rollout. Jennifer called me

at home to ask me if I wanted in on the the first sales run. Dang betcha!  

 

Oh...guess I'm one of those "old geezers". I turned 60 last December...

 

[+Stephen]

2 hours ago, DarkLord said:

I was lucky - I was on a list with Toad Computers for the Jag rollout. Jennifer called me

at home to ask me if I wanted in on the the first sales run. Dang betcha!  

 

Oh...guess I'm one of those "old geezers". I turned 60 last December...

 

Excellent.  I made a 6 hour drive (each way) out to Toad Computers, I believe in 1998 to play a beta version of Battlesphere.  Bought a Super Pong unit for $5 when I was out there.

[+DarkLord]

16 hours ago, Stephen said:

Excellent.  I made a 6 hour drive (each way) out to Toad Computers, I believe in 1998 to play a beta version of Battlesphere.  Bought a Super Pong unit for $5 when I was out there.

 

/envious...  Never actually made it to Toad Computers in person, or to any of the Atari shows they participated in.

 

I'll always regret that... 

 

[Rick Dangerous]

I'm 38; got my first Jaguar at a local used game shop in 2014.  $10k and 9 years later...."no ragrets" :') 

 

It's been a great experience; one of my favorite consoles of all time.  Got at least two other people hooked as well. 

 

Always wanted one in the early 90's but when you are a kid you can typically only afford one console, and the 90's to me was NES, then a Mac computer for gaming, then the N64.  Oh well, just happy i have one now! 

[+cubanismo]

 

D'oh!

 

 

Gah!

 

 

 

My Bad!

 

 

[Rick Dangerous]

Let me fix that mac for you: 

[+cubanismo]

Aww yeah. That brings back memories of 8th grade computer class, where if you got one of the "good" computers (A Mac, rather than an Apple ][ variant), you got to make sweet super-linear Hypercard adventure games instead of running some horrible "learn to type" program the class instructor wrote.

[Fredifredo]

Amiga 1200 + Blizzard 060 + Indivision Mk3 (+ WHLoad) is the best system

 

[+DarkLord]

Not going to start that, are we?

 

Atari Falcon 030 + CT60 + SuperVidel + hundreds of adapted games is the best system. 

 

[Pete5125]

On 4/25/2022 at 8:41 PM, cubanismo said:

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.

Yeah, all their money was spent on Segas old marketing team, very much wanted to be something for the teens that were now young adults that played Sega, but then most their major launches were PC games on the home front with PC's in the 1,200 to 2,000 for a low end they believed gamers would see the value in bringing PC games home. Then they never really marketed it that way.

 

The home mkt was Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Madden Football EA sports games and Sonic/Mario games, atari had none of that and the versions they had were the d list, or bad clone games.

 

I will give then credit 1 of the few things they did correctly was advertising campaign they just didn't have enough money behind it like everything atari..

[Jag64]

1 hour ago, Pete5125 said:

Yeah, all their money was spent on Segas old marketing team, very much wanted to be something for the teens that were now young adults that played Sega, but then most their major launches were PC games on the home front with PC's in the 1,200 to 2,000 for a low end they believed gamers would see the value in bringing PC games home. Then they never really marketed it that way.

 

The home mkt was Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Madden Football EA sports games and Sonic/Mario games, atari had none of that and the versions they had were the d list, or bad clone games.

 

I will give then credit 1 of the few things they did correctly was advertising campaign they just didn't have enough money behind it like everything atari..

Jaguar owners would have taken PC ports; they would have taken anything. ... I would have, lol. We got ~50 total games by the time the dust had settled and Atari had long been liquidated. In reality, various markets got fewer than 17 games before the system was off shelves. That's insulting to the people that bought the machine before 1997. The diehards don't see it that way. They probably hate lube too. Some people just like living in denial. "The games they gave us were broken and unfinished. And sure it was hard to find the games at all, but jAcK wAs A gEnIuS. So I iS tHe lOvE THeMs."

 

AvP and T2K are great. GREAT. But the rest of the library is subpar. You like skiing at 12 fps? Good for you. Do the floaty and broken controls in Checkered Flag make it endearing to you? Whatever you have to tell yourself. But if Dominos showed up at my door with a pile of crap on my pizza, I wouldn't suddenly develop an affinity for pepperoni and turds. I'd wake tf up to the reality of what I'd been sold. (Bunch of Shooter McGavins around here in the morning, if you get me)

 

That ad campaign worked for sure though. While most kids never saw a Jaguar in person - to this day, those commercials are memorable. I still remember being shocked when I saw it for $34.99 out front of Kay-Bee toys. I had to have it. I was a teen, living on my own, working fast food (Wendy's) to pay rent. But I HAD to have it - then as many games as I could buy each paycheck for $5.99-$9.99.  So many broken and unfinished games. But I'd stare at the back of the Jaguar and Jag CD boxes, excited about games that would never exist.

 

The Tramiels could market. Just appears they couldn't deliver on their promises without screwing people over. By the time the Jaguar was launching, they had screwed so many people, there was no one left stupid enough to foot the bill and eat losses to let them old Tramiel boys profit. Thus no (not enough) machines manufactured for launch, because no one would loan them the money or provide components on time. No stores willing to carry the machine after being let down before. No developers willing to make games after not being paid, or seeing previous promises go unfulfilled. It sucks they bled Atari dry and rode it into the ground. But that's what leeches do, suck. Leeches usually just don't have so many fans.

[Pete5125]

11 hours ago, Jag64 said:

Jaguar owners would have taken PC ports; they would have taken anything. ... I would have, lol. We got ~50 total games by the time the dust had settled and Atari had long been liquidated. In reality, various markets got fewer than 17 games before the system was off shelves. That's insulting to the people that bought the machine before 1997. The diehards don't see it that way. They probably hate lube too. Some people just like living in denial. "The games they gave us were broken and unfinished. And sure it was hard to find the games at all, but jAcK wAs A gEnIuS. So I iS tHe lOvE THeMs."

 

AvP and T2K are great. GREAT. But the rest of the library is subpar. You like skiing at 12 fps? Good for you. Do the floaty and broken controls in Checkered Flag make it endearing to you? Whatever you have to tell yourself. But if Dominos showed up at my door with a pile of crap on my pizza, I wouldn't suddenly develop an affinity for pepperoni and turds. I'd wake tf up to the reality of what I'd been sold. (Bunch of Shooter McGavins around here in the morning, if you get me)

 

That ad campaign worked for sure though. While most kids never saw a Jaguar in person - to this day, those commercials are memorable. I still remember being shocked when I saw it for $34.99 out front of Kay-Bee toys. I had to have it. I was a teen, living on my own, working fast food (Wendy's) to pay rent. But I HAD to have it - then as many games as I could buy each paycheck for $5.99-$9.99.  So many broken and unfinished games. But I'd stare at the back of the Jaguar and Jag CD boxes, excited about games that would never exist.

 

The Tramiels could market. Just appears they couldn't deliver on their promises without screwing people over. By the time the Jaguar was launching, they had screwed so many people, there was no one left stupid enough to foot the bill and eat losses to let them old Tramiel boys profit. Thus no (not enough) machines manufactured for launch, because no one would loan them the money or provide components on time. No stores willing to carry the machine after being let down before. No developers willing to make games after not being paid, or seeing previous promises go unfulfilled. It sucks they bled Atari dry and rode it into the ground. But that's what leeches do, suck. Leeches usually just don't have so many fans.

Yeah, I agree...the marketing was good.

Distribution was awful, it was in 3 stores electronic boutique, Babbage and software etc.

It didn't hit kaybee till it was on clearance.

Their were few systems to be had, but they were available Atari couldn't even get in all the places that sold lynx.

 

Then your reward, pre late 95, was 12 games that were released slowly over 2 years, a couple were great, but half were straight on games I could get on my genesis plus it had no mk, it had a cheap rip off, kasaumi ninja, had no madden. But had a straight port of the awful Troy Aikman....a game you'd never by for your sega, but was forced to as you had no other choice with Atari.

 

ATARI got in Wal-Mart in late 95 --they figured out how to run a company,

 

I even hung in with them thru the first part of 96, the cd got released suddenly software was coming out of flood gates and they had 32bit looking games coming like Supercross 3d and fight for life.

 

Then next thing I know Atari throws in towel, I agree most of the 95/96 games were never out on store shelves till liquidation..

 

It was an interesting time, don't worry...Sega burned me 3 times after this 32x, Saturn and dreamcast.

But at least sega made complete games for their systems and tried.

 

Granted I still have a jag 25+ years later, my sega systems all got sold.

[Jag64]

The Dreamcast still hurts. Unlike the Jag, where I bought it crazy discounted after it was discontinued, I got the Dreamcast in the summer of '00. Can't say I was burned though. Sega's infighting (SOJ vs SOA, etc. etc.) doomed the Dreamcast, but what a run it had. I still play games on my DC pretty frequently. Headhunter, even some 2K sports games for nostalgia. Lifespan was WAY too short, but Seaman, Space Channel 5 .. still love those unique gems. (Rhythm not being so "unique" now in NA).

 

I've got three Jaguars and three Dreamcasts (original I play, the black sports in the box, and a NIB one from the late run with Sega Classics packed in). I did turn the Jaguars on last summer when I found them in my barn. Even played some Tempest 2K (which I am TERRIBLE at). I might not enjoy Jaguar games, but  sure as heck went through a phase of buying the stuff. Because I find Jag stuff in every box I open. Usually with junk and misc stuff, but after seeing the prices lately, holy crap. I need to care for the Jags better, lol.

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Jag64

[alucardX]

14 hours ago, Jag64 said:

The Dreamcast still hurts. Unlike the Jag, where I bought it crazy discounted after it was discontinued, I got the Dreamcast in the summer of '00. Can't say I was burned though. Sega's infighting (SOJ vs SOA, etc. etc.) doomed the Dreamcast, but what a run it had. I still play games on my DC pretty frequently. Headhunter, even some 2K sports games for nostalgia. Lifespan was WAY too short, but Seaman, Space Channel 5 .. still love those unique gems. (Rhythm not being so "unique" now in NA).

 

I've got three Jaguars and three Dreamcasts (original I play, the black sports in the box, and a NIB one from the late run with Sega Classics packed in). I did turn the Jaguars on last summer when I found them in my barn. Even played some Tempest 2K (which I am TERRIBLE at). I might not enjoy Jaguar games, but  sure as heck went through a phase of buying the stuff. Because I find Jag stuff in every box I open. Usually with junk and misc stuff, but after seeing the prices lately, holy crap. I need to care for the Jags better, lol.

 

Is that a 5200 in that box?

[Jag64]

Yea. No idea why I have it. I've never played a 5200 in my life, lol.

[+Gemintronic]

I was in my teens when the Jag became available.  Got excited when the mags mentioned IBM was involved.  Thought that was a good indication of technical superiority and longevity ahead.

 

Played a lot of Cybermorph, Raiden and Club Drive.  I think the last full priced game I bought was Iron Soldier 2?  Later I'd buy anything at clearance prices but nothing stuck.  My appreciation for European Atari ST style games wasn't there yet.