To those of you who own/collect Atari Jaguar systems and games, what's the appeal of the console, and how did you get into it?

[+Gemintronic]

I believed the hype when it came out.  Thought IBM being involved was huge.

 

Still have the same Jag with the same copy of Club Drive making elephant-in-a-blender noises for a soundtrack.

[+cubanismo]

14 minutes ago, JagChris said:

Is there a special learn to solder kit? I bought a solder kit recently and want to learn to do basic soldering.

Just look for 'solder practice kit' on Amazon, eBay, or aliexpress. I started with this one:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017S00DJ2/

 

Which is sufficient soldering skills to build a BJL cable. When I wanted to move up to soldering together Skunkboards, I got this one:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VWB8F8K

 

These are the soldering tutorials:

 

 

 

[alucardX]

17 hours ago, cubanismo said:

Just look for 'solder practice kit' on Amazon, eBay, or aliexpress. I started with this one:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017S00DJ2/

 

Which is sufficient soldering skills to build a BJL cable. When I wanted to move up to soldering together Skunkboards, I got this one:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VWB8F8K

 

These are the soldering tutorials:

 

And how would you rate your soldering skills today?

[UHATEIT]

At the time when I got mine in about 1995 my family couldnt afford an N64 as they were like $200 and the N64 carts were super pricey at the time some over $70+ for the carts. I loved Kaybee Toys and went in and got mine for $29.99 and still have it and the sticker on the box. Loved that I could get games for $5 too. So my grandma drove me around to every Kaybee Toys we could find to get the games I didnt have already since I was only 11 at the time. Found a few at random used game stores at the time too.

 

I kept it all plugged in through high school and my friends seemed to enjoy playing Pinball Fantasies all the time on it, that game got the most play at the time shooting for high scores. Boxed it all up when I went to college and stored it at my parents house. When I bought my first house in 2013 my mom brought all my old games and collections to me to put in my house. 

[BassGuitari]

My brother got one from Telegames (and a Jaguar CD!) in the early 2000s a couple of years before they dropped all the obsolete systems they had been supporting up to that point. He and I were always fascinated by Jaguar, 3DO, CDi, and other funky "alternative" next-gen consoles from the mid-'90s that nobody actually had.

 

I took stewardship/permanent loan of the Jaguar stuff about 10 years later. I think bro's Jaguar itch had long since been scratched. I'd picked up a few games for him here and there in the meantime, including some A-list titles, but I don't know if he ever actually played them. He didn't have time or space for it, anyway. And to be perfectly honest, it sat dormant for most of the time I've had it, too, although I would attribute that to my being occupied by other retrogaming interests rather than a tacit indictment of the Jaguar. But a couple of years ago, some kind of inspiration struck and I started playing it more and getting a few more games for it. 

 

Even though I have what I consider a pretty nice, well-curated Jaguar collection, I would not describe myself as a Jaguar collector. And I would not advise anyone to become one--not now, and definitely not "many years down the line" when prices have quintupled beyond what they already are. It has some good and interesting games, but not enough to justify the absurd cost IMO, and nothing I'd say is an essential must-play. Don't get me wrong, I like the Jaguar a lot--I love Alien Vs. Predator and Defender 2000, and I even enjoy some of its lesser-regarded titles--but I know what it is going into it.

 

If you absolutely must get a Jaguar, just get a console and a JagGD and call it a day. Otherwise if you just want an "exotic next-gen mid-'90s console" experience and your heart's not necessarily set on the Jaguar specifically, check out the 3DO instead. Speaking of, it's interesting to me that the Jaguar has such a fervent and active following, when the 3DO--a contemporary with an inarguably better library that seems like it might be easier to develop for--does not. Probably helps that there was once a time new/overstock Jaguar stuff could be had for a song, while I don't know if the 3DO ever really had that situation. Nevertheless, it is cool to see such a thriving homebrew scene for the Jaguar, although I can't say I relate to the enthusiasm for Atari ST ports. 😜

 

 

 

[Major Havoc 2049]

10 hours ago, BassGuitari said:

My brother got one from Telegames (and a Jaguar CD!) in the early 2000s a couple of years before they dropped all the obsolete systems they had been supporting up to that point. He and I were always fascinated by Jaguar, 3DO, CDi, and other funky "alternative" next-gen consoles from the mid-'90s that nobody actually had.

 

I took stewardship/permanent loan of the Jaguar stuff about 10 years later. I think bro's Jaguar itch had long since been scratched. I'd picked up a few games for him here and there in the meantime, including some A-list titles, but I don't know if he ever actually played them. He didn't have time or space for it, anyway. And to be perfectly honest, it sat dormant for most of the time I've had it, too, although I would attribute that to my being occupied by other retrogaming interests rather than a tacit indictment of the Jaguar. But a couple of years ago, some kind of inspiration struck and I started playing it more and getting a few more games for it. 

 

Even though I have what I consider a pretty nice, well-curated Jaguar collection, I would not describe myself as a Jaguar collector. And I would not advise anyone to become one--not now, and definitely not "many years down the line" when prices have quintupled beyond what they already are. It has some good and interesting games, but not enough to justify the absurd cost IMO, and nothing I'd say is an essential must-play. Don't get me wrong, I like the Jaguar a lot--I love Alien Vs. Predator and Defender 2000, and I even enjoy some of its lesser-regarded titles--but I know what it is going into it.

 

If you absolutely must get a Jaguar, just get a console and a JagGD and call it a day. Otherwise if you just want an "exotic next-gen mid-'90s console" experience and your heart's not necessarily set on the Jaguar specifically, check out the 3DO instead. Speaking of, it's interesting to me that the Jaguar has such a fervent and active following, when the 3DO--a contemporary with an inarguably better library that seems like it might be easier to develop for--does not. Probably helps that there was once a time new/overstock Jaguar stuff could be had for a song, while I don't know if the 3DO ever really had that situation. Nevertheless, it is cool to see such a thriving homebrew scene for the Jaguar, although I can't say I relate to the enthusiasm for Atari ST ports. 😜

 

 

 

The Jaguar had the built in Atari ST and Lynx fanbase/community gravitating to the Jag from day one. The 3DO just had the venture capital and marketing muscle behind it and no nostalgia and built in fan base. And while the 3DO had some great games, it had very few exclusives.  Most of the 3DO catalog could be played on the PC, Saturn and Playstation. The Jaguar community is what helped kickstart the Jag homebrew scene. 

[spacecadet]

I bought a Jaguar new when they were being closed out for $35. I had it for maybe a decade and a half and, like all the systems I own, I made myself pretty familiar with the games available, their prices and the general consensus on what was worth picking up. But I never actually got around to getting much for it. In fact I think I had maybe 3 or 4 games at the time I sold it; one of them was Atari Karts, so that's something. (It is one of the better games on the system, and one of the more sought after.) I also had Tempest 2000, but I got that for the Sega Saturn about the same time so it wasn't keeping me tied to the Jaguar.

 

I let it go during one of my periodic purges of systems and games that I've decided I'm just not really into. I do sometimes regret that with certain systems and I'm 50/50 on the Jaguar. Maybe if I'd gotten more for mine, I'd feel better about it; it was still CIB with all packaging/plastic intact and basically no wear (I used it like four times) and I got well below what systems in that condition were going for even at the time. So it's always nagged me a little that it probably was more valuable for me to keep it... I mean even my less-favored systems still have *some* value to me, even just as curiosities or sentimental items. (I do remember Atari struggling to keep sales pace with Sony, Sega and Nintendo, and I was rooting for them even though I had a Genesis and then a PlayStation... my Saturn I picked up on closeout around the same time as the Jag, and I got more into that.)

 

OTOH, I do not have room for an unlimited number of systems and sometimes I have to remind myself of that fact. I really only have room for the systems I actively collect for and play.

 

I guess to get to the point, I bought a system originally not because I thought the games on it would be so great or anything, but because I knew it was Atari's last "real" modern system (I know they're releasing a lot of stuff now and that's great, but they obviously don't have a PS5 or Switch competitor out there). I tried collecting games for it that other people thought were interesting and that were in my price range, but there wasn't a lot there. So I sold it on. Hopefully whoever has it now is getting more enjoyment from it, has kept it in the same condition I sold it to them in and realizes what a good deal they got given today's prices.

[JagChris]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:46 AM, cubanismo said:

This was my experience exactly. Got my first JagCD and immediately broke it by pushing it down too far. Then again, I was immediately able to fix it by prying the spindle back up with some tweezers:

 

I finally got around to watching Mater's Tall Tales. Pretty funny. 

 

The video seems rather sharp in comparison to other Jag vids I've seen. Did you do anything special to encode it?

 

I was able to adjust center of picture and use pause to flip the image. Is there any way to actually pause the video?

[ChrisM]

Grew up with the 2600 and my home computers as an elementary school kid were the 400 (with an upgraded real keyboard!), then an 800XL, and finally the ST.  Can still remember playing endless hours of The Bard's Tale, Defender of the Crown, and Dungeon Master on our 1040 STf.  I did get totally wrapped into the NES and never owned a 5200 or 7800, but did get an original Lynx in '89.

 

Talked my parents into buying me a Mega STe (4/40) with a SC1435 color monitor at the Detroit/Windsor AtariFest in '91, which was my everyday computer through high school and my first year of college.  Finagled a Falcon030 in '94 and used that as my computer through the end of college and my first year or two in the corporate world before finally bowing to the Wintel masters in 98/99.

 

Anyway, I was a huge Atari supporter during those years and spent countless hours on the GEnie Atari forums trolling for Atari news and rumors and was all over the Jag when it was first whispered about and finally came out.  Grabbed one of the initial batch and had all the goodies for years (initial run of Battlesphere, Catbox, etc) before selling everything (all the Jag stuff, Lynx stuff, Falcon - only keeping the Mega STe) when I got married.

 

Have been piecing my collection back together over the past 5-6 years - lots of Jag stuff (no JagCD yet), fully decked out Falcon030, Lynx II - but still really regret selling my BattleSphere.  Oh well.

 

I still think Tempest and AvP are absolutely stellar games.  And have a real soft spot for Ultra Vortek.

 

[Flyindrew]

My Jaguar story timeline:

 

October 1994-Bought the console and over the next 2 years purchased every release on cart.

 

January 1996-Bought the Jaguar CD and several CD based games.

 

December 2005-Threw out the console, the CD unit when I was moving.

 

February 2024-Calling myself a stupid asshole.

[Editorb]

1 hour ago, Flyindrew said:

My Jaguar story timeline:

 

October 1994-Bought the console and over the next 2 years purchased every release on cart.

 

January 1996-Bought the Jaguar CD and several CD based games.

 

December 2005-Threw out the console, the CD unit when I was moving.

 

February 2024-Calling myself a stupid asshole.

 

At very least, you could have left the collection for next resident: No one would object to previous tenant/owner leaving sacks stuffed with cash.

[+thanatos]

When the console first came out I would rent one occasionally along with Tempest 2000. 

Later I bought one when they were down to $35.  I think I paid $100 for the JagCD.  Then over 20 years bought more games.  I certainly wouldn't be starting out collecting it now!  I'm probably around 90% complete for every title, but that is not my goal either.  Unless I find a BattleSphere at a garage sale for $10.