I'll never forget how quickly the hype for each new machine was moving forward. By Christmas 1994, shockingly few people were talking about either Jag or 3DO outside the industry mags; everyone was either buying the Saturn/PS1 in Japan, or waiting for them in Europe. Jaguar simply didn't have the units on sale from autumn 93 to spring 94 to win the next-generation war, and 3DO was too pricey for people used to 16-bit hardware. Once it became clear that ALL 32-bit consoles would be expensive and CD based, people were willing to forgive PS1 and Saturn for their price tags. In other words, 3DO needed to flop for its later rivals to succeed...but Atari can only blame themselves for Jaguar's slow-burning failure.
I worked at an electronics boutique part time when the Genesis was flying off the shelves. Nobody bought a jaguar...well maybe, but i wasnt working when they did.
These game documentaries are so well put together. I was born in the early 80s, so I’ve seen all the hype and ads that promoted these kind of consoles. I stuck with Nintendo most of my childhood, but I always wanted a Jaguar. It’s so cool to see what’s behind the scenes, or really behind the screens. I hope you continue to make these, I’ve been very nostalgic as of late, and to see these videos really brings me back. 10/10!!
2.5 million European pre-orders were simply just cancelled? Man, Atari was so determined to fail. They could have been like the Sega Master System in Europe and actually outsold Nintendo. A 2.5 million unit launch would have been HUGE back then. But no, they had to rush their launch and only have 5 digit launch numbers instead.
it's simple, the figured they had the market share in UK, and had more competition in the US/Canada, so they wanted to break through and dominate both markets, plus, the US/Canada simply has more people, more people = more money.
exactly my thoughts. that number was astonishing. it was insane. 2.5 million?they easily could have rid the momentum from there to a moderate success at least. instead the system sold only 10% of the number in all its life. huge face palm.
We did the Math back in the days and the Atari lost by a huge margin : Doom 1 and 2 (PC) > Alien v Predator and Doom (Jaguar) Starfox (SNES) > Cybermorph (Jaguar) Axelay, Super Aleste, Parodius, Thunder 2 and 4 > Crescent Galaxy (Jaguar) Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 (SNES) > Kasumi Ninja (Jaguar) Devil's Crush Pinball (SNES) > Pinball Fantasies (Jaguar) Final Fight 1 and 2, Rival Turf 1-3 (SNES) > Double Dragon V (Jaguar) Donkey Kong Country and Starfox ridiculed the Jaguar. Atari Jaguar 64-Bit on paper but somewhere between 8 and 16 bit graphics in reality. In 1994 the Sega Saturn made the Atari Jaguar look like a console from the one generation before. All the reasons and more we did not buy the overhyped underperforming Jaguar.
Jaguar had to be the biggest disappointment in Video Game Console history. Those of us that owned a 7800 and Lynx knew Atari had potential. Why didn't Atari license games from Capcom, Konami, EA, or Namco? Jaguar had No wrestling game, No golf game, No good side scrolling shooter, No Mortal Kombat, No Street Fighter, No Earthworm Jim, No Baseball Game, No RPG, No side scroll beat em up like Final Fight. Did Atari really expect to succeed in this business by using half assed business tactics? (Which included bargain basement software development coupled with slow software distribution). A surefire way to fail in the gaming business.
All true. It's all too easy to romanticize About this console decades later but its games were shit compared to the competition. Atari leadership was stuck using market strategies from the 70's in the 90's. Jaguar never stood a chance.
I agree with you in a sense. To me, I am not a graphic snob, but they do look ugly. Still, it did have some decent games but flopped due to the nature of it and the fact that it relied on gimmicks. A thing that other consoles like the Game. Com and the Google Stadia didn't really learn from.
I've come to realize that nothing make a system successful like a truly varied library. That was what put Playstation head and shoulders above the competition, even Nintendo! They had a library that truly had something for everyone, and not just *something*, but quality games in every genre. The hardware is important but what truly makes a console a success is its software, especially exclusive software, and that's something Sony continues to lean itself on even today.
@@bradleymcavoy3432 It was notoriously difficult to programme for. The only one more difficult in recent years being the PS3. See here for a first hand view: gamingbolt.com/developer-explains-what-its-like-developing-for-each-console-ps3-being-the-hardest "You are handed a 10-inch thick stack of manuals written by Japanese hardware engineers. The first time you read the stack, nothing makes any sense at all. The second time your read the stack, the 3rd book makes a bit more sense because of what you learned in the 8th book. The machine has 10 different processors (IOP, SPU1&2, MDEC, R5900, VU0&1, GIF, VIF, GS) and 6 different memory spaces (IOP, SPU, CPU, GS, VU0&1) that all work in completely different ways. There are so many amazing things you can do, but everything requires backflips through invisible blades of segfault." My argument is that blaming how difficult something is on its poor sales is false because the PS2, one of the hardest EVER to programme, didn't see any harm done to its sales.
@@G_Gr00v3 Yeah it's a shame that the N64 was hampered by only using cartridges - because pound for pound it was the most advanced system. It also wasn't the storage capacity - it was the fact that cartridges were more expensive for developers - which made them turn to Sony even more.
I bought the system for Alien vs Predator Jan 94 and had to wait sooooo long for the game to come out. Cybermorph was ok, Tempest was fun, Wolfenstein was awesome, Doom was pretty good except for not having the bosses and AVP was great. Could not finish the marine mission in AVP. I am happy I had one (for AVP), but I would have rather have bought it in 96 for much less and a larger library.
When the Saturn was announced there was no way in hell that Sega would give Atari its launch titles for the saturn, which also ultimately failed, I would love to see a Sega/Atari console competing with Microsoft and Sony today
Having visited Atari a few times, met the Tramiels and worked in the industry during the late 80s and 90s I can tell you that the Jaguar was a system crippled by poor documentation and other cost cutting measures. The machine could have been pretty awesome. I played with the VR headset behind closed doors at E3 95 and it was way ahead of it's time. Basically, the Jaguar didn't have the financial clout it needed. There are quite a few really good games on the system and new games are being made to this day. The Homebrew community is pretty active. It doesn't deserve all the shit it gets. Excellent and accurate video man. Not like the biased click bait bullshit from others. And thank you to Hasbro!
Just as a quick note, the VR headset was by Virtuality and was originally designed in 1991 for use in the arcades using an Amiga A3000 with additional hardware. Exorex was an awesome game using this VR headset.
Exorex was actually planned for the system! There are design documents by Virtuality in regards to the unreleased Jag version. Too bad nobody is bothered enough to scan them. Would be really cool if the homebrew scene attempted to make a port of the game to the Jag...
Excellent video. It’s not the first time a gaming console would have their sales decimated due to a shortage of chips at launch. It really goes to show how important great first party games are to the health of a console, and how important it is to focus first in your strongest regions. Its kind of a sad story considering where the company came from, and where it went.
They needed proper development tools and had to focus much more on the EU market which was Atari centric. What could have been, Atari was a company of people who loved games, but when I visited them vs, visiting Sega and Nintendo I could tell they had a hard road. Sega and Nintendo offices where like fortune 500 megacorps, Atari's offices were like a bunch of coders decided to make a company, very 70s homebrew. Those of you old like me will know what I'm talking about.
This is the kind of documentary videos that I always wanted to do on my favorite videogame consoles. Using my own knowledge along with magazine articles, quarterly reports and earnings, and splash a bit of the old ads in for some flair. Apparently you've even reached out to people actually involved -- and got an answer! It would take me years just to get up to speed in order to compete with you. I love your research, your transitions, and your voice works pretty well. Thank you sir, now i can stick to just yelling at games instead of trying to barely match your quality!
@@souljastation5463 I disagree the Jaguar was actually really powerful and if the Motorola 68k wasn’t primary focus for game development amongst many developers due to the difficulty at the time of utilizing multiple processors, the games on the Jaguar would have been much closer to the Saturn/PSX
@@benjaminphillips5639 the Jaguar needs a retro gaming scene like the one that the C64, the Mega Drive and other system have today. It needs a modern developer to take full advantage of it. Having said that, I still think the Jaguar is more in line with something like the Atari Falcon rather than a full blown next gen system like the 3DO and the PS1.
@@souljastation5463 that’s where I disagree, certain games like Black Ice White Noise and Zero 5 actually showcase that the Jaguar was indeed capable of PSX/Saturn quality.
@@benjaminphillips5639 There is literally ZERO proof for that claim. Saturn and PSX could easily draw 3D graphics with the only thing CPU had to was calculate positions of quads/polygons on the screen whereas Jaguar had to do that + for textured polygons also draw them. If Jaguar was as powerful as PSX we would at least see non-textured games with amazing frame rates but we didn't and textured 3D games ran even worse with more simplistic geometry. Even early PSX games are outside anything we have seen on Jaguar in the last three decades let alone what PSX was eventually capable of pulling off. People with Net Yaroze made more impressive 3D graphics than most impressive Jaguar games and demos.
The Jag had the potential to be a great machine. It just didn't get enough quality titles to support it. It would be one of many systems lost in the dark times of gaming.
We did the Math back in the days and the Atari lost by a huge margin : Doom 1 and 2 (PC) > Alien v Predator and Doom (Jaguar) Starfox (SNES) > Cybermorph (Jaguar) Axelay, Super Aleste, Parodius, Thunder 2 and 4 > Crescent Galaxy (Jaguar) Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 (SNES) > Kasumi Ninja (Jaguar) Devil's Crush Pinball (SNES) > Pinball Fantasies (Jaguar) Final Fight 1 and 2, Rival Turf 1-3 (SNES) > Double Dragon V (Jaguar) Donkey Kong Country and Starfox on a 16 bit ridiculed the Jaguar titles Atari Jaguar 64-Bit on paper but somewhere between 8 and 16 bit graphics in reality. In 1994 the Sega Saturn made the Atari Jaguar look like a console from the one generation before. All the reasons and more we did not buy the overhyped underperforming Jaguar.
@@jimmybiggs9230 that’s not even 100% true John Carmack himself stated that once you learn to work past the difficulties required with utilizing multiple processors which BTW was also the case with the Saturn, it’s actually a really cool piece of hardware to work with. I have an interview somewhere where he mentioned this but the developers of Super Burnout also stated that in comparison to today’s hardware the Jaguar was no harder than programming a PS3 title.
Nice video. Thank you for pointing out how Cybermorph was an open-world shooter vs the on-rails approach of Starfox. Today, it seems that people forget that huge distinction.
+Jag Taggart '93 thanks, glad you liked it. Yeah, I think people don't realize how much more complex and impressive Cybermorph is compared to Star Fox. The Jaguar gets a bad rap in general. Unfortunately it seems a lot of people get their opinion about the Jaguar from the AVGN episode on it.
I was working in an EB Games in 1995 just before the PS1 release, we had shelves of Jaguar products (loads of CD units) couldn't shift them for love nor money. In fact people were trading in their Jaguars to get a discount on the PS1. I like the system, but why oh why was it RF out of the box?
I need to thank you for making this video. I nearly shed a tear. I am an avid Jaguar collector and owner since 1995 with 63 cartridge games now. It is sad that it did not survive as long as I had hoped. There is some valuable information in this video and you did a great job with the research on this video. Props to you!
Thanks! I was fortunate to have some people from Jaguar Sector 3 to lean on for help with verifying my research. Particularly Kieren Hawken (the guy that runs the Laird's Lair channel I mention at the end) who writes for Retro Gamer magazine and has done several articles on the Jaguar himself. Leonard Tramiel was even nice enough to clear some stuff up for me. Those guys were all very helpful.
The 90s were a wild time of half assed new systems. And now 30 years later we have Amiico, Polymega, Stadia, Atari something, and too many mini consoles.
Another fantastic video. It's crazy (in a good way) how much research and homework you put into your videos, especially this one. I learned a lot so far.
+Shawn Thanks man, I appreciate it. This one has probably taken the most research with the 3DO video coming in a close second. I was lucky to have a couple of really knowledgeable and connected people that helped verify the more obscure stuff on this one.
Dude, that was an incredible video. I always had a rough idea of the Jaguar's history in my head, but you did an amazing job of filling it with detail and colour.
Wow. This is an incredibly detailed, accurate and fair account of the last few years of Atari's existence. I was actually in the audience during the episode of 'Bad Influence' that you showed (my high school had an arrangement with the TV studio, Yorkshire Television)! I also remember the 2001 event you mention when UK retailer 'Game' sold a whole bunch of unsold Atari Jaguar inventory, and that year a lot of my friends bought me Jaguar games for my birthday which was incredible.I even had an e-mail conversation with Darryl Still back in the day. Amazeballs.
I thought I had commented on this video before (this is my 4th time watching it), but I got my Jaguar 15 years ago in March 2008. Probably still I best deal I have ever gotten on a game purchase (Rivals Schools for PSX Complete for $38 back in 2015 when it was going for over $100 complete (nevermind nowadays) is a close second). Even for 2008 prices it was a steal. Complete in box with 2 controllers, the rare OEM S-Video cable, Cybermorph (2MB black cart pack-in version with booklet), AVP (Cart only), Doom (booklet and overlay), Wolfenstein (cart only), Tempest 2000 (Complete), and Kasumi Ninja (Complete). I paid $60 for the whole thing on eBay. A few days later, before my Jag had shipped, I went to my local game store, and found Iron Soldier, Hover Tank, I-War, Checkered Flag, Raiden, Ultra Vortek, Zool 2, and Val d'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding all complete in box for $5 each. It's like the gaming gods were smiling on me. Same thing happened a few months later where I got around $200 (eBay prices at the time) worth of Turbo Grafx-16 games and a Turbo Booster Plus for $40. Just take a guess at the software I got with that one. Remember, 2008 pricing. Nowadays the software is easily over $500. Anyway, a couple years later I added Brutal Sports Football for around $15. I own over 2500 physical video games, and despite being a hardcore fanatical Sega fanboy, I will NEVER sell my Jaguar. After playing it for the first time back in 2008 I immediately saw it's appeal and why it has such hardcore following and homebrew community (second only to the Dreamcast). Also, thank god for BigPEmu, because I am deathly afraid to play my Jag nowadays due to how fragile the cartridge port is. Everytime you insert or remove a cart, you tun the risk of bending the right most pin in the port. If that gets bent, your console is completely fucked, and you then need to send it in to a hobbyist for repair. Long Live The Jaguar!!!!
I had a Jaguar. While AvP was amazing at first glance, it wasn't much more than a re-skinned Wolfenstein. Environments consisted of cubical variations of wall, corner, open floor and door, with no change in elevation or curves, lifts or anything beyond the deceptively beautiful polished take on the design which had been obsolete since Doom, 2years prior. The few places where doorways or walls with a window to an adjoining room were paper thin and strikingly lacking in substance. That being said, what WAS there, was unquestionably the best AvP title of all the games and movies before or since. Sprite based enemies and player weapons were still the standard and looked big, detailed and playing as Xenomorph, Predator or Space Marine was novel and offered replayability and a variety not really seen in shooters, even today. I thoroughly enjoyed playing AvP and still eagerly dream of a worthy reboot of the concept. If Jaguar had been in the hands responsible, competent ownership we might have at least seen a sequel to the game that despite its lazy, half assed design, still managed to be one of the most impressive games of the dawn of FPS games. What world were they living in where ANY console has a 50% attach rate for peripherals, especially add-on half-systems like 32x or Jaguar CD? But I do remember how excited I was for the Jag VR... hilarious *goes back to playing PSVR*
To be fair, I think the bad games on the Jaguar should be more respected because the developers who made those games had to go through the trouble of making them on complicated hardware that was incredibly difficult to program for. It wasn’t the developers fault that the games turned out bad, it was Atari for not providing finished development tools and the buggy hardware that gave them a lot of trouble.
I love the playstation article at 17:39 complaining about the controller, whose design has been proven a classic and barely changed since it's inception
I always wondered why my Dad bought the Jaguar, it wasn’t until this video I found out there was Motorola chips in it; he worked at Motorola at the time. It all makes sense now…
+DjKetti thanks man. This one took forever to research and to verify everything was correct. I think I'll be able to get back to my regular new episode every two weeks schedule now. This one was just so involved lol
Wrestling With Gaming To be honest? It's well worth the wait for a well executed and researched video! Better than rushing and presenting low quality, semi-true stuff...
That's not how views work. You realize the vast majority of people have no interest in watching a video about the Atari Jaguar? Says nothing about the quality of the video...its just a very niche market.
Incredibly well researched and highly informative! My last game console was the Sega 16bit before I went for my National Service in 93'. I remembered seeing a lonely Jaguar sitting on the shelf in a computer store probably around 95 and remembered it's 64bit hype. Now I know what happened to it.Thank you for producing this!
Mister Sweetheart I don't think it would be totally linear but back then we're basically double the previous system so....PS1=32 bit, PS2=64, ps3=128bit, ps4=256.....though I remember back in the day the ps2 were said to be 128 bit so 5 he ps4 would b3=512
Very informative thank you. I got my Jaguar in 97 and always felt that it was a great console that just came out a few years too late. This video taught me a lot about the workings behind the scenes, so thanks again!
You don't get 64-bit by mixing 2 32-bit processors. It doesn't work that way. Memory interface doesn't work that way either, or my computer would be 768-bit. In reality it could be a 16 or 32-bit system depending on how the software was set up.
but having 2 32 bit processors act in unison like that is a pretty acceptable substitute for 64 bit, jaguar games that are written well and use both 32 bit processors for what theyre intended for can get an end result comparable to 64 bit.
2x32 bit processors is not why it was considered 64bit. The memory and all the CPUs ran on a 64bit bus. This included 2x32 bit RISC chips,a 16 bit Motorola 68000, and 2mb of ram all on a 64 bit bus. The system was supposedly able to process data 64bits at a time.
The kid playing at 5:50 is moving around so much like who plays video games like that they must have told him to look like he was having fun and into the game but he looks like he is in a tv add
+Darius Robert Newton Ghazi-Torbati hey Darius, good to hear from you. I'm pretty fortunate that things have been going so well with the channel. Like I say every month, you were right about removing those visual novel let's plays lol.
The Bit Wars were a very strange time. You could talk about all the reasons why newer hardware tended to be better than older hardware - it offered more performance, more memory, wider color palates, the ability to display more colors at a time, more sprites, more layers of sprites, unique graphical effects (transparency, sprite scaling and rotation), higher resolutions, the growth in storage mediums offering games that were literally exponentially larger than their forebears.... nope. It's because this console has more "bits" than the old one, right? Yes, I see that all the other numbers went up too between the generations but I really like this one number. What if we made a console that had like infinite bits? Well, that's clearly impossible but what if had like way more bits than anyone else's console did? We could like totally leapfrog the competition and corner the market! Thankfully this is about the point it came to an end. I'm not sure if the crashing and burning of the Jaguar was primarily responsible, I could swear I remember seeing the Dreamcast advertised as a "128-bit" system once or twice, but I think even by that point people'd started to realize it was a meaningless number and Sega knew well enough the way to advertise it was by wowing us with Soul Calibur and not spreadsheets.
In the early days of computers and consoles, bits were far from meaningless. The bit-count determined the highest value a processor could handle. For example, an 8-bit processor could only handle integers up to 255 (unless it's going to use negative numbers and/or decimals, which drops said maximum integer). This is why Pacman's 256th level is so glitchy. The 8-bit processor literally can't handle the value. This is also why the NES's color pallet and sprite count were so limited. For 16-bit hardware, the maximum integer is 65535. 32 and 64 bit processors can handle integers in the billions and quintillions respectively. It's why you almost never hear about 128-bit processors. Very little, if any, software would need that many bits, especially when computers and consoles often have multiple processors working in unison.
That's not strictly true. The Motorola 68k was considered a 16bit processor but handled everything internally at 32 bits. The Z80 is also perfectly capable of dealing with 16bit numbers, it just required more instructions and handling 8bit overflows. It has no bearing on the number of sprites it can command for example.
It's crazy to think that if Atari could have met the initial demand for the Jaguar, it might have been a success. Their pre-release marketing generated so much interest. Once the system actually launched, interest started to wane due to the lackluster games and bad press, and most of the people who were on the wait list changed their minds. If Atari could have gotten the console in the hands of everyone who wanted one from the get-go, you're talking about increasing the install-base twentyfold. With that level of ownership, it could have weathered the storm of crappy early games and you'd have seen more serious development efforts unlocking the full potential of the system.
The problem with Atari was who ran Atari. The Tramiel family were known to be ruthless businessmen, and they killed off enough businesses over the years that they finally got killed off themselves on this one.
+Daniel Campbell Thanks man! This video took a really long time. Way longer than I expected lol. It was definitely a labor of love as I don't imagine there's too many people randomly looking up videos on the Jaguar's history but I hope it helps people look at it a little more objectively. I love AVGN but I think a lot of owls get their opinion on the Jaguar from his video on it and take his character's take on it way too seriously.
Well, the effort shows man. You can really tell you put a lot of love and, more importantly, effort into your videos. I just remember when I was younger that I saw the Jaguar in the stores and was immediately turned off by the controller. I picked up a SNES instead and, looking back, I'm certainly glad I did. The Jaguar is, yet another, instance that proves having quality games are what matters the most for a console. There are a lot of people who like to pour over the tech specs of console hardware, but an old/used Honda Civic will take you further than a Lamborghini that's up on blocks. A weird analogy... but I stand by it. :-)
+Daniel Campbell that's a great analogy. I know what you mean about the Jaguar controller. It takes some getting used to whereas the snes controlling just feels great right away.
This was great, I'm not even interested in the Jaguar and I ended up watching the whole vid. But at 19:30 I was like, oh it's this guy. I had watched a few earlier videos the other day and passed up on the sub. But man, you've really improved your whole style over time. Not to crap on your other stuff at all, it just didn't jell for me. Any way kudos on sticking it out and working on your craft. Subbed and looking forward to what is next.
+Nich Hustler glad you liked it man and no offense taken here. The goal is to get better with each video and man, there are definitely things I wish I could go back in time and change from some of my earlier ones lol. Thanks for giving the channel another chance.
My pleasure. This will be one of only two channels I have notifications turned on for. The other being Danny O'Dwyers noclip video game documentaries. If I may give one crit, and please take with a grain of salt, I am a designer, but I'm no YT expert. Inside the videos the production quality of the on-screen text stuff looks great. But your thumbnails for your vids don't seem to give the feel of the quality of what is in the vids. For me they undersell the content. But like I said, take it with a grain of salt. Your other viewers may be just fine with it. Maybe you even like it. You do you.
What I don't understand is why systems like this & the 3DO didn't secure versions of Mortal Kombat 2 or UMK3. They certainly had the tech to pull those off nicely. Might've changed their fates somewhat
Mortal Kombat 3 was planned to be ported to both Atari Jaguar and 3DO but unfortunately Sony bought the exclusive rights to the game for the PlayStation so both didn't get that version. Then when Ultimate MK3 released, the game was planned for both but then Sega bought the rights to that game for the Sega Saturn so both missed out again. When MK Trilogy arrives, both consoles were already dead so instead the game got ported to the N64, PS1, and Sega Saturn. The reason why both consoles didn't get a port of Mortal Kombat II was because both didn't want one as MKII is a 16-Bit fighting game. If you're wondering why the Super NES and Sega Genesis still got a port of MK3 and Ultimate MK3 even though the rights for those two games were bought by Sony and Sega, it's because the Sega Genesis and Super NES were 16-Bit consoles and both will receive only16-Bit ports of the game, not 32-Bit version like the PS1 and Sega Saturn versions so that's why MK3 and Ultimate MK3 for Super NES and Genesis were not affected. 3DO and Atari Jaguar didn't get a port cause they were aiming for the 32-Bit versions which conflict with the exclusivity rights that Sony and Sega had sign off on.
Just how good your videos, your way with words and just overall presentation. I always think I’m watching a gaming historian video and it makes me happy. Thank you for you mr.wrestler.
My buddy's dad was a computer programmer and bought this for him when it first came out. I rember going to his house after school and wasting countless hours on that system. Was pretty bad ass at the time tbh, well, for a 12 yr old, any gaming time was bad ass. Lol
I just wanted to say I just discovered your channel and really love your content. So many interesting gaming stories from when I was growing up. I appreciate you making these videos. Thank you!
regarding the bland 68000 cpu, which was far out of date at the time, yea ok it was only a manager, but it doesnt matter how many rockstar superhero's you got on your team, if your manager is slow to respond on how to direct them, even at the time of development a 32 bit 68020 at the same clock speed would run considerably faster than a 68000 and things like a memory management unit
I think you were missing the point of the 68000, it wasn't there to run the whole show only to do the grunt work. Both Tom & Jerry were infact full 32--bit RISC processors as well as graphics and sound coprocessors. The 68000 (16-bit) itself wasn't the issue had it been used as intended. Using a 68020 (full 32-bit) would probably have devalued Tom and Jerry even more with developers using it to do more. The MMU would still be next to useless as it would need to interact with both of the other CPU's which would have their own memory management (with 64-bit access). Besides unless you run multiple programs at once memory management shouldn't be an issue.
so jaguar use motorola 68000 the cpu that for 16 bit system , but using 2 graphics and sound processor that actually have 64 bit bus memory. wow that is like you attaching nvidia gtx gpu to pentium 3 processor pc. im not wonder if the most games are 16bit era.
@@daishi5571 so jaguar use motorola 68000 the cpu that for 16 bit system , but using 2 graphics and sound processor that actually have 64 bit bus memory. wow that is like you attaching nvidia gtx gpu to pentium 3 processor pc. im not wonder if the most games are 16bit era.
@@kusumayogi7956 Well while it does seem like that, what you have to remember is that Tom and Jerry were capable of offloading all the intensive CPU workload off the 68000 (it's a different architecture to a PC so only vaguely comparable). The real problem was there were few programmers that had the knowhow/willingness/time to do so. The idea of having the 68000 was just to do the easy work, nothing too intensive so it would hardly be used (mainly IO and keeping track of what tasks needed doing) and T&J would be doing all the heavy work so the 68000 really doesn't have that much value in the scheme of things. But what happened was programmers took the easy route (much like many other systems before it with custom chips Amiga/Saturn) the 68000 is a well known and documented CPU so instead of learning how to use T&J to offload the CPU they programmed the 68000 directly, and only did the bare minimum use of T&J to get what they needed. Atari is also to blame with poor development kits, but this is a case that the hardware exceeded the software due to programmers not using the hardware.
@@daishi5571 let old gpu as manager for newer gpu and dsp sound like sciene fiction. only happen in theory. that is why in practical, developer still use 68000 as main cpu. but remember it is like pentium 3 with gtx gpu, the cpu bottleneck gpu that is why jaguar games look like 16 bit games because the cpu is 16 bit tech. the other analogy is like ask your dog(cpu) to manage and use tool(gpu and dsp) to do house keeping. LOL it simply bottleneck.
This is a great video and shows what can sadly happen quite often - a great product is released, no-one knows what to really do with it, so in the end it gets unfairly overlooked.
I love this channel - I love computer and counsel history, and I know most of the stories - but the depth and detail of Yahel's reporting is amazing, and his storytelling is excellent!
@wrestlingwithgaming Another awesome video! I look forward to each video you release, they take me back to good old days of gaming as a kid and bring me sides of the story I wasn’t always aware of as a kid. I actually remember buying the Jaguar for $19.99 on clearance at KayBee toys when it was already pretty much dead. I had to have every game system in the 90’s, good or bad. I also picked up the Virtual Boy on clearance for a similar amount, oh well... Looking forward to the next video, I learn something new every time! Thanks and glad to see you are still with us after Irma!
+Sean Corcoran thanks! I love putting these together. Wow, $19.99. That's incredible. Ironic that Jaguars now are more expensive than they've ever been. We were really fortunate with Irma. We didn't have any damage and though we lost power for a bit it was back within a day and a half. I know some people that just got theirs back a few days ago. Thanks for remembering and enjoy what's left of the weekend.
I grew up in Canada, and I never saw one. I just saw it mentioned in gaming magazines, and even as a kid, I thought it looked suspiciously bad for an alleged 64-bit machine. I didn’t really understand what 64-but power really meant, but I knew that my 16-bit genesis looked almost just as impressive and just plain shouldn’t have.
Let's not forget frame rate and frame time. It is and always was shortsighted to base playability on statistics. Some of my favorite 3D games of all times (Driller, BBC Elite, F/A-18 Interceptor, Ashes of Empire, Gunship 2000, the list goes on) flickered and frame rates would go to single digits, but you know what I really appreciated was that these games pushed the systems graphically and technically while presenting a great game. To everyone who thinks that 4K 60FPS is the gold standard do you have any clue what is being sacrificed to get these statistics.
I'll never forget how quickly the hype for each new machine was moving forward. By Christmas 1994, shockingly few people were talking about either Jag or 3DO outside the industry mags; everyone was either buying the Saturn/PS1 in Japan, or waiting for them in Europe. Jaguar simply didn't have the units on sale from autumn 93 to spring 94 to win the next-generation war, and 3DO was too pricey for people used to 16-bit hardware. Once it became clear that ALL 32-bit consoles would be expensive and CD based, people were willing to forgive PS1 and Saturn for their price tags.
In other words, 3DO needed to flop for its later rivals to succeed...but Atari can only blame themselves for Jaguar's slow-burning failure.
The 3D0's $700 price tag was still retarded, even by 32-bit standards.
I worked at an electronics boutique part time when the Genesis was flying off the shelves. Nobody bought a jaguar...well maybe, but i wasnt working when they did.
These game documentaries are so well put together. I was born in the early 80s, so I’ve seen all the hype and ads that promoted these kind of consoles. I stuck with Nintendo most of my childhood, but I always wanted a Jaguar. It’s so cool to see what’s behind the scenes, or really behind the screens. I hope you continue to make these, I’ve been very nostalgic as of late, and to see these videos really brings me back. 10/10!!
Thanks so much!
2.5 million European pre-orders were simply just cancelled? Man, Atari was so determined to fail. They could have been like the Sega Master System in Europe and actually outsold Nintendo. A 2.5 million unit launch would have been HUGE back then. But no, they had to rush their launch and only have 5 digit launch numbers instead.
AdamCoate they should have stuck to there original plan.
it's simple, the figured they had the market share in UK, and had more competition in the US/Canada, so they wanted to break through and dominate both markets, plus, the US/Canada simply has more people, more people = more money.
exactly my thoughts. that number was astonishing. it was insane. 2.5 million?they easily could have rid the momentum from there to a moderate success at least. instead the system sold only 10% of the number in all its life. huge face palm.
Fixed, thanks.
We did the Math back in the days and the Atari lost by a huge margin :
Doom 1 and 2 (PC) > Alien v Predator and Doom (Jaguar)
Starfox (SNES) > Cybermorph (Jaguar)
Axelay, Super Aleste, Parodius, Thunder 2 and 4 > Crescent Galaxy (Jaguar)
Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 (SNES) > Kasumi Ninja (Jaguar)
Devil's Crush Pinball (SNES) > Pinball Fantasies (Jaguar)
Final Fight 1 and 2, Rival Turf 1-3 (SNES) > Double Dragon V (Jaguar)
Donkey Kong Country and Starfox ridiculed the Jaguar.
Atari Jaguar 64-Bit on paper but somewhere between 8 and 16 bit graphics in reality.
In 1994 the Sega Saturn made the Atari Jaguar look like a console from the one generation before. All the reasons and more we did not buy the overhyped underperforming Jaguar.
My god that clip at the beginning is amazing! It blew me awayyyyyy
+Useless Duck Company haha! I was tempted to just upload the full 30 minute infomercial and call it a day 😂
Useless Duck Company had me sold
+RedLineBandits 😂
Sounds like the guy from Epic Meal Time
I can't help but wonder where they are today.
Jaguar had to be the biggest disappointment in Video Game Console history. Those of us that owned a 7800 and Lynx knew Atari had potential. Why didn't Atari license games from Capcom, Konami, EA, or Namco? Jaguar had No wrestling game, No golf game, No good side scrolling shooter, No Mortal Kombat, No Street Fighter, No Earthworm Jim, No Baseball Game, No RPG, No side scroll beat em up like Final Fight. Did Atari really expect to succeed in this business by using half assed business tactics? (Which included bargain basement software development coupled with slow software distribution). A surefire way to fail in the gaming business.
All true. It's all too easy to romanticize About this console decades later but its games were shit compared to the competition. Atari leadership was stuck using market strategies from the 70's in the 90's. Jaguar never stood a chance.
I agree with you in a sense. To me, I am not a graphic snob, but they do look ugly. Still, it did have some decent games but flopped due to the nature of it and the fact that it relied on gimmicks. A thing that other consoles like the Game. Com and the Google Stadia didn't really learn from.
I've come to realize that nothing make a system successful like a truly varied library. That was what put Playstation head and shoulders above the competition, even Nintendo! They had a library that truly had something for everyone, and not just *something*, but quality games in every genre. The hardware is important but what truly makes a console a success is its software, especially exclusive software, and that's something Sony continues to lean itself on even today.
I think it was a lesson for all, catalog makes a console.
Every single failed console I have read stories of can be summed up by “Hard to develop for”
PS3? huge success!
Even ones that weren’t quite commercial failures often had that issue. The N64 for instance had a few issues, specifically storage space of cartridges
@@G_Gr00v3 Its an easy excuse too. One of the hardest to develop for was the PS2 and that's the best selling console ever.
@@bradleymcavoy3432 It was notoriously difficult to programme for. The only one more difficult in recent years being the PS3. See here for a first hand view: gamingbolt.com/developer-explains-what-its-like-developing-for-each-console-ps3-being-the-hardest
"You are handed a 10-inch thick stack of manuals written by Japanese hardware engineers. The first time you read the stack, nothing makes any sense at all. The second time your read the stack, the 3rd book makes a bit more sense because of what you learned in the 8th book. The machine has 10 different processors (IOP, SPU1&2, MDEC, R5900, VU0&1, GIF, VIF, GS) and 6 different memory spaces (IOP, SPU, CPU, GS, VU0&1) that all work in completely different ways. There are so many amazing things you can do, but everything requires backflips through invisible blades of segfault."
My argument is that blaming how difficult something is on its poor sales is false because the PS2, one of the hardest EVER to programme, didn't see any harm done to its sales.
@@G_Gr00v3 Yeah it's a shame that the N64 was hampered by only using cartridges - because pound for pound it was the most advanced system. It also wasn't the storage capacity - it was the fact that cartridges were more expensive for developers - which made them turn to Sony even more.
I bought the system for Alien vs Predator Jan 94 and had to wait sooooo long for the game to come out. Cybermorph was ok, Tempest was fun, Wolfenstein was awesome, Doom was pretty good except for not having the bosses and AVP was great. Could not finish the marine mission in AVP. I am happy I had one (for AVP), but I would have rather have bought it in 96 for much less and a larger library.
Patient gamers always win :-p
I recently sold my jag to a fellow collector. It feels good passing it to someone who can appreciate it like i did.
Amen to that buddy. Fellow ex-Jaguar owner here (2 times!).
Eh
“From my cold, dead hands...”
I still play my Jaguar, but I really wish those SEGA games would've been released.
Me too! I would love to have seen Streets Of Rage running on the Jag. What could've been...
Retro Game Players can you get your jaguar CD to work if so, Spoony, and AVGN needs your help lol
Mister Sweetheart didn’t he finally get a working jag c.d. ???
When the Saturn was announced there was no way in hell that Sega would give Atari its launch titles for the saturn, which also ultimately failed, I would love to see a Sega/Atari console competing with Microsoft and Sony today
Retro Game Players I
Having visited Atari a few times, met the Tramiels and worked in the industry during the late 80s and 90s I can tell you that the Jaguar was a system crippled by poor documentation and other cost cutting measures. The machine could have been pretty awesome.
I played with the VR headset behind closed doors at E3 95 and it was way ahead of it's time.
Basically, the Jaguar didn't have the financial clout it needed. There are quite a few really good games on the system and new games are being made to this day.
The Homebrew community is pretty active. It doesn't deserve all the shit it gets.
Excellent and accurate video man. Not like the biased click bait bullshit from others.
And thank you to Hasbro!
Just as a quick note, the VR headset was by Virtuality and was originally designed in 1991 for use in the arcades using an Amiga A3000 with additional hardware. Exorex was an awesome game using this VR headset.
Exorex was actually planned for the system! There are design documents by Virtuality in regards to the unreleased Jag version. Too bad nobody is bothered enough to scan them. Would be really cool if the homebrew scene attempted to make a port of the game to the Jag...
daishi5571 I’m aware of who developed the headset, I met with them several times.
russ g LOL OK, I’m sure you’ve played them. 🙄
Shaddup
Excellent video. It’s not the first time a gaming console would have their sales decimated due to a shortage of chips at launch. It really goes to show how important great first party games are to the health of a console, and how important it is to focus first in your strongest regions. Its kind of a sad story considering where the company came from, and where it went.
It's also interesting that leap frogging the competition with more power wasn't enough.
They needed proper development tools and had to focus much more on the EU market which was Atari centric. What could have been, Atari was a company of people who loved games, but when I visited them vs, visiting Sega and Nintendo I could tell they had a hard road.
Sega and Nintendo offices where like fortune 500 megacorps, Atari's offices were like a bunch of coders decided to make a company, very 70s homebrew. Those of you old like me will know what I'm talking about.
I know I love paying hundreds of dollars to have Sinead O Connor ask me "where did you learn to fly?" repeatedly
Hahahahahaahah!
@@turtleanton6539 05:22 panasonic
Lol. The voice is stuck in our minds forever at 64bit power
She had to fight the real enemy
Paul Rudd
Where did *you* learn to fly?
That woman will haunt my dreams forever.
AVGN: "WHERE'D YOU LEARN TO BE AN ASSHOLE???"
Words that can invoke images in mind
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Man, that uni-brow @14:23. That thing is power.
This is the kind of documentary videos that I always wanted to do on my favorite videogame consoles. Using my own knowledge along with magazine articles, quarterly reports and earnings, and splash a bit of the old ads in for some flair. Apparently you've even reached out to people actually involved -- and got an answer! It would take me years just to get up to speed in order to compete with you. I love your research, your transitions, and your voice works pretty well. Thank you sir, now i can stick to just yelling at games instead of trying to barely match your quality!
Damn! It one thing to get beat by Nintendo and Sega, but it got it butt kicked by the 3do, that sad.
The 3DO was a true next-gen console, unlike the Jaguar.
@@souljastation5463 I disagree the Jaguar was actually really powerful and if the Motorola 68k wasn’t primary focus for game development amongst many developers due to the difficulty at the time of utilizing multiple processors, the games on the Jaguar would have been much closer to the Saturn/PSX
@@benjaminphillips5639 the Jaguar needs a retro gaming scene like the one that the C64, the Mega Drive and other system have today. It needs a modern developer to take full advantage of it.
Having said that, I still think the Jaguar is more in line with something like the Atari Falcon rather than a full blown next gen system like the 3DO and the PS1.
@@souljastation5463 that’s where I disagree, certain games like Black Ice White Noise and Zero 5 actually showcase that the Jaguar was indeed capable of PSX/Saturn quality.
@@benjaminphillips5639 There is literally ZERO proof for that claim. Saturn and PSX could easily draw 3D graphics with the only thing CPU had to was calculate positions of quads/polygons on the screen whereas Jaguar had to do that + for textured polygons also draw them. If Jaguar was as powerful as PSX we would at least see non-textured games with amazing frame rates but we didn't and textured 3D games ran even worse with more simplistic geometry. Even early PSX games are outside anything we have seen on Jaguar in the last three decades let alone what PSX was eventually capable of pulling off. People with Net Yaroze made more impressive 3D graphics than most impressive Jaguar games and demos.
The Jag had the potential to be a great machine.
It just didn't get enough quality titles to support it.
It would be one of many systems lost in the dark times of gaming.
No! It was a nightmare to program for!!!
Nowadays all consoles in service use either X86 or ARM infrastructure and wrap it up using friendly interface.
If a AAA dev would have gotten the Jaguar like Konami or Capcom you would have seen some amazing things.
We did the Math back in the days and the Atari lost by a huge margin :
Doom 1 and 2 (PC) > Alien v Predator and Doom (Jaguar)
Starfox (SNES) > Cybermorph (Jaguar)
Axelay, Super Aleste, Parodius, Thunder 2 and 4 > Crescent Galaxy (Jaguar)
Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 (SNES) > Kasumi Ninja (Jaguar)
Devil's Crush Pinball (SNES) > Pinball Fantasies (Jaguar)
Final Fight 1 and 2, Rival Turf 1-3 (SNES) > Double Dragon V (Jaguar)
Donkey Kong Country and Starfox on a 16 bit ridiculed the Jaguar titles
Atari Jaguar 64-Bit on paper but somewhere between 8 and 16 bit graphics in reality.
In 1994 the Sega Saturn made the Atari Jaguar look like a console from the one generation before. All the reasons and more we did not buy the overhyped underperforming Jaguar.
@@jimmybiggs9230 that’s not even 100% true John Carmack himself stated that once you learn to work past the difficulties required with utilizing multiple processors which BTW was also the case with the Saturn, it’s actually a really cool piece of hardware to work with. I have an interview somewhere where he mentioned this but the developers of Super Burnout also stated that in comparison to today’s hardware the Jaguar was no harder than programming a PS3 title.
That was one of the best retrogaming videos I've watched, and a real insight into the Jaguar. Subscribed.
+Dex Shirts Thanks man. I'm hoping that it gives people a different perspective on the Jaguar.
Nice video. Thank you for pointing out how Cybermorph was an open-world shooter vs the on-rails approach of Starfox. Today, it seems that people forget that huge distinction.
+Jag Taggart '93 thanks, glad you liked it. Yeah, I think people don't realize how much more complex and impressive Cybermorph is compared to Star Fox. The Jaguar gets a bad rap in general. Unfortunately it seems a lot of people get their opinion about the Jaguar from the AVGN episode on it.
I was working in an EB Games in 1995 just before the PS1 release, we had shelves of Jaguar products (loads of CD units) couldn't shift them for love nor money. In fact people were trading in their Jaguars to get a discount on the PS1.
I like the system, but why oh why was it RF out of the box?
+Larry Bundy Jr And now a working Jaguar CD is pretty damn expensive. Do you remember how much of a discount a Jaguar would get you off a PS1?
Larry Bundy Jr the Atari jaguar had av out its the green right side peace of the mother board just sticking out of it.
Weren't there just still TVs that only supported RF? In 1994 i was playing Sonic 3 on a black and white TV still.
And let me tell you, those blue balls bonus stages were HARD lol
andyukmonkey In the UK good TV's had scart
I thought Wrestling with gaming was a bit of an odd name for a retro gaming channel, but at 19:30 it all became clear :) keep up the good work.
This put the Jaguar in a light for me. I really want one now.
@Frankie Basile get brutal sports! A cult classic
I want one too but they’re so expensive now any old console that is over $100 now isn’t worth it too me
Well done! As a long time subscriber of The Gaming Historian, this video really impressed. Subscribed, and I am eager to watch you other videos.
+Rob Nava thanks man. I love gaming historian so that's high praise in my book. Thanks again!
I need to thank you for making this video. I nearly shed a tear. I am an avid Jaguar collector and owner since 1995 with 63 cartridge games now. It is sad that it did not survive as long as I had hoped. There is some valuable information in this video and you did a great job with the research on this video. Props to you!
Thanks! I was fortunate to have some people from Jaguar Sector 3 to lean on for help with verifying my research. Particularly Kieren Hawken (the guy that runs the Laird's Lair channel I mention at the end) who writes for Retro Gamer magazine and has done several articles on the Jaguar himself. Leonard Tramiel was even nice enough to clear some stuff up for me. Those guys were all very helpful.
The 90s were a wild time of half assed new systems. And now 30 years later we have Amiico, Polymega, Stadia, Atari something, and too many mini consoles.
Another fantastic video. It's crazy (in a good way) how much research and homework you put into your videos, especially this one. I learned a lot so far.
+Shawn Thanks man, I appreciate it. This one has probably taken the most research with the 3DO video coming in a close second. I was lucky to have a couple of really knowledgeable and connected people that helped verify the more obscure stuff on this one.
Dude, that was an incredible video. I always had a rough idea of the Jaguar's history in my head, but you did an amazing job of filling it with detail and colour.
+WickedRibbon thanks a lot. It as definitely a bit of a beast to put together but I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
I am an Atarian still have almost all the computers and consoles, really great Jaguar documentary.
+1960ARC thanks so much and.thank you for taking the time to watch.
Wow. This is an incredibly detailed, accurate and fair account of the last few years of Atari's existence. I was actually in the audience during the episode of 'Bad Influence' that you showed (my high school had an arrangement with the TV studio, Yorkshire Television)! I also remember the 2001 event you mention when UK retailer 'Game' sold a whole bunch of unsold Atari Jaguar inventory, and that year a lot of my friends bought me Jaguar games for my birthday which was incredible.I even had an e-mail conversation with Darryl Still back in the day. Amazeballs.
Paul Rudd in the beginning commercial, I feel like I spotted a Movie Star in your last video too. Awesome Job as usual!
+Anthony Menzer lol thanks man. I figured I'd use the Paul Rudd commercial as a Easter egg of sorts.
I thought I had commented on this video before (this is my 4th time watching it), but I got my Jaguar 15 years ago in March 2008. Probably still I best deal I have ever gotten on a game purchase (Rivals Schools for PSX Complete for $38 back in 2015 when it was going for over $100 complete (nevermind nowadays) is a close second).
Even for 2008 prices it was a steal.
Complete in box with 2 controllers, the rare OEM S-Video cable, Cybermorph (2MB black cart pack-in version with booklet), AVP (Cart only), Doom (booklet and overlay), Wolfenstein (cart only), Tempest 2000 (Complete), and Kasumi Ninja (Complete).
I paid $60 for the whole thing on eBay.
A few days later, before my Jag had shipped, I went to my local game store, and found Iron Soldier, Hover Tank, I-War, Checkered Flag, Raiden, Ultra Vortek, Zool 2, and Val d'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding all complete in box for $5 each. It's like the gaming gods were smiling on me.
Same thing happened a few months later where I got around $200 (eBay prices at the time) worth of Turbo Grafx-16 games and a Turbo Booster Plus for $40. Just take a guess at the software I got with that one. Remember, 2008 pricing. Nowadays the software is easily over $500.
Anyway, a couple years later I added Brutal Sports Football for around $15.
I own over 2500 physical video games, and despite being a hardcore fanatical Sega fanboy, I will NEVER sell my Jaguar. After playing it for the first time back in 2008 I immediately saw it's appeal and why it has such hardcore following and homebrew community (second only to the Dreamcast).
Also, thank god for BigPEmu, because I am deathly afraid to play my Jag nowadays due to how fragile the cartridge port is. Everytime you insert or remove a cart, you tun the risk of bending the right most pin in the port. If that gets bent, your console is completely fucked, and you then need to send it in to a hobbyist for repair.
Long Live The Jaguar!!!!
you have so many awesome videos. I'm gonna binge watch them. can't wait to see the superman 64 episode ;)
+Viral Killer Thanks! Glad you're digging the videos.
7:47 that Wolfenstein 3D blurb is hilarious
“3D Blaster”
“the graphics are *streets* ahead of the pc version”
Not miles. Just streets.
😂🤣😂
LMAO "streets ahead" LOOOL
So, all that powerful processing only to be used as a Sega Genesis (M68k) in the end...
The Neo Geo accomplished much more with that same M68k. Jaguar was a waste of potential.
I had a Jaguar. While AvP was amazing at first glance, it wasn't much more than a re-skinned Wolfenstein. Environments consisted of cubical variations of wall, corner, open floor and door, with no change in elevation or curves, lifts or anything beyond the deceptively beautiful polished take on the design which had been obsolete since Doom, 2years prior. The few places where doorways or walls with a window to an adjoining room were paper thin and strikingly lacking in substance.
That being said, what WAS there, was unquestionably the best AvP title of all the games and movies before or since. Sprite based enemies and player weapons were still the standard and looked big, detailed and playing as Xenomorph, Predator or Space Marine was novel and offered replayability and a variety not really seen in shooters, even today.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing AvP and still eagerly dream of a worthy reboot of the concept. If Jaguar had been in the hands responsible, competent ownership we might have at least seen a sequel to the game that despite its lazy, half assed design, still managed to be one of the most impressive games of the dawn of FPS games.
What world were they living in where ANY console has a 50% attach rate for peripherals, especially add-on half-systems like 32x or Jaguar CD? But I do remember how excited I was for the Jag VR... hilarious *goes back to playing PSVR*
best Jaguar video documentary I've seen thus far!
+nafets zlaw thank you!
Your videos are amongst some of the best produced and most informative ones. Really well done.
Thanks! This has been a rough morning so reading this made my day. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. I really appreciate it.
To be fair, I think the bad games on the Jaguar should be more respected because the developers who made those games had to go through the trouble of making them on complicated hardware that was incredibly difficult to program for. It wasn’t the developers fault that the games turned out bad, it was Atari for not providing finished development tools and the buggy hardware that gave them a lot of trouble.
Where did you learn to fly? Seriously can’t wait to finish this amazing video tonight.
+Jenovi haha 😂
I noticed a distinct Lack of that in the commerical, I wonder why...
I also can't believe it was critically acclaimed.
I really like how in depth this channel is . The high production values are very well done.
+ToasterNinja Thanks so much!
Nicely made video, great work. Always great to see more involved content revolving around the Jaguar.
+Gameplay and Talk thanks!
GAMEPLAY AND TALK ROX!!! Check out his Jag DooM Let's Play vids, and all his DooM console port playthroughs. DOOM GBA IS AMAZING JS!!!!
I love the playstation article at 17:39 complaining about the controller, whose design has been proven a classic and barely changed since it's inception
The playstation d-pad sucks though.
Parents did the math. And concluded rent was more important
This might be your best vid yet. You are truly getting better with every video. Can't wait for your next video
+Steve Bosell Thanks! This one took a while to finish but I'm happy with how it came out.
This!
This documentary is so perfect that you can actually air this directly on the NGC, unedited.
+Unique World thanks so much!
I always wondered why my Dad bought the Jaguar, it wasn’t until this video I found out there was Motorola chips in it; he worked at Motorola at the time. It all makes sense now…
@John Megadrive and Saturn had the Motorola 68k chip inside too but they were probably taken from a second source manufacturer like Hitachi in Japan
Been waiting too long for a new episode, but well worth the wait!
Continue the awesome work and thanks for making my holiday even better!!!
+DjKetti thanks man. This one took forever to research and to verify everything was correct. I think I'll be able to get back to my regular new episode every two weeks schedule now. This one was just so involved lol
Wrestling With Gaming To be honest? It's well worth the wait for a well executed and researched video! Better than rushing and presenting low quality, semi-true stuff...
+DjKetti true
the dude at 14;32 has the gnarliest unibrow of all time. i wonder if he still rocks that look in 2021
You put a lot of time into this. You deserve more views my man!
+Brian W Thanks, I appreciate it.
Brian W yeah unfortunately the best talent on TH-cam are always over looked.
Too easy to make vlogs, act like a jackass, and rake.
That's not how views work.
You realize the vast majority of people have no interest in watching a video about the Atari Jaguar?
Says nothing about the quality of the video...its just a very niche market.
@@brokenwave6125 Almost 500K views. Do the math!
Incredibly well researched and highly informative! My last game console was the Sega 16bit before I went for my National Service in 93'. I remembered seeing a lonely Jaguar sitting on the shelf in a computer store probably around 95 and remembered it's 64bit hype. Now I know what happened to it.Thank you for producing this!
+weeliano Thanks, glad you liked it! It was definitely a beast of a video to research and edit but I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
awesomely done! as someone who had a Jaguar in 1993 and is a lifelong Atarian, you did it right! IT's the video I could have / should have made!
+GTV thanks again man. It took a while but I'm really happy with how it came out. I hope it gives people a different perspective on the Jaguar.
GTV I got a dumb ass question, how many bits is a PlayStation4 can you even measure a game in bits even more? I am just amazed how far we have come.
512 bits perhaps?...
Mister Sweetheart I don't think it would be totally linear but back then we're basically double the previous system so....PS1=32 bit, PS2=64, ps3=128bit, ps4=256.....though I remember back in the day the ps2 were said to be 128 bit so 5 he ps4 would b3=512
GTV "Where did you learn to pick good systems?" :-P
Very informative thank you. I got my Jaguar in 97 and always felt that it was a great console that just came out a few years too late. This video taught me a lot about the workings behind the scenes, so thanks again!
You don't get 64-bit by mixing 2 32-bit processors. It doesn't work that way. Memory interface doesn't work that way either, or my computer would be 768-bit. In reality it could be a 16 or 32-bit system depending on how the software was set up.
but having 2 32 bit processors act in unison like that is a pretty acceptable substitute for 64 bit, jaguar games that are written well and use both 32 bit processors for what theyre intended for can get an end result comparable to 64 bit.
@@markmental6665 this is more telling that the number of bits doesn't really mean much (in terms of raw performance) tho
Todd Howard: It Just works
2x32 bit processors is not why it was considered 64bit. The memory and all the CPUs ran on a 64bit bus. This included 2x32 bit RISC chips,a 16 bit Motorola 68000, and 2mb of ram all on a 64 bit bus. The system was supposedly able to process data 64bits at a time.
Wrong
Your production on your videos is awesome. I feel like im watching a mini documentary everytime one of your new vids comes out. Kudos.
+HellaFunnyShorts thanks, I appreciate it. I'm definitely trying to improve with each video.
You're criminally underrated dude. Your videos are top notch.
+Machete180 Thanks! I appreciate you saying so.
The way 90's commercials basically said to the viewer "you're a fucking slobbering idiot" was really fucking cringe-inducing in retrospect.
Great video man!
+shahid khan thanks!
When is your next live feed
+shahid khan I'll probably be streaming tomorrow night.
Wrestling With Gaming Awesome!!
I was a smuck that brought one in 1993 England, in a local shop that was closing down.
Love the video, have subbed.
The kid playing at 5:50 is moving around so much like who plays video games like that they must have told him to look like he was having fun and into the game but he looks like he is in a tv add
+Michael Switzer lol very true
Those are 1990 ads for 'ya ;-)
Michael Switzer
C'mon, it's an advertisement. Would you rather him sit there stoically? These types of responses are so annoying.
That's not a kid! Look again. That's Bad Influence!'s co-host Andy Crane.
Michael Switzer I knew a few people back in the day that play like that. And I know a few today that plays like that.
As always well done my friend. So happy to see you continuing to create such good content!
+Darius Robert Newton Ghazi-Torbati hey Darius, good to hear from you. I'm pretty fortunate that things have been going so well with the channel. Like I say every month, you were right about removing those visual novel let's plays lol.
The Bit Wars were a very strange time. You could talk about all the reasons why newer hardware tended to be better than older hardware - it offered more performance, more memory, wider color palates, the ability to display more colors at a time, more sprites, more layers of sprites, unique graphical effects (transparency, sprite scaling and rotation), higher resolutions, the growth in storage mediums offering games that were literally exponentially larger than their forebears.... nope. It's because this console has more "bits" than the old one, right? Yes, I see that all the other numbers went up too between the generations but I really like this one number. What if we made a console that had like infinite bits? Well, that's clearly impossible but what if had like way more bits than anyone else's console did? We could like totally leapfrog the competition and corner the market!
Thankfully this is about the point it came to an end. I'm not sure if the crashing and burning of the Jaguar was primarily responsible, I could swear I remember seeing the Dreamcast advertised as a "128-bit" system once or twice, but I think even by that point people'd started to realize it was a meaningless number and Sega knew well enough the way to advertise it was by wowing us with Soul Calibur and not spreadsheets.
In the early days of computers and consoles, bits were far from meaningless. The bit-count determined the highest value a processor could handle. For example, an 8-bit processor could only handle integers up to 255 (unless it's going to use negative numbers and/or decimals, which drops said maximum integer). This is why Pacman's 256th level is so glitchy. The 8-bit processor literally can't handle the value. This is also why the NES's color pallet and sprite count were so limited. For 16-bit hardware, the maximum integer is 65535. 32 and 64 bit processors can handle integers in the billions and quintillions respectively. It's why you almost never hear about 128-bit processors. Very little, if any, software would need that many bits, especially when computers and consoles often have multiple processors working in unison.
That's not strictly true. The Motorola 68k was considered a 16bit processor but handled everything internally at 32 bits. The Z80 is also perfectly capable of dealing with 16bit numbers, it just required more instructions and handling 8bit overflows. It has no bearing on the number of sprites it can command for example.
@00:54, that's Paul Rudd on the right, slapping da -bass- controller.
It's crazy to think that if Atari could have met the initial demand for the Jaguar, it might have been a success. Their pre-release marketing generated so much interest. Once the system actually launched, interest started to wane due to the lackluster games and bad press, and most of the people who were on the wait list changed their minds. If Atari could have gotten the console in the hands of everyone who wanted one from the get-go, you're talking about increasing the install-base twentyfold. With that level of ownership, it could have weathered the storm of crappy early games and you'd have seen more serious development efforts unlocking the full potential of the system.
I agree, Jaguar was marketed well. The long story short: I saw advertises, but never the Jaguar.
The problem with Atari was who ran Atari. The Tramiel family were known to be ruthless businessmen, and they killed off enough businesses over the years that they finally got killed off themselves on this one.
Nicely done. I bought the Jag and T2k in 1994, T2k remained to be one of my favorite games of all time. Minter can make any hardware sing.
+TingTingMelody thanks and yes he can 😊
Your videos are the ones I anticipate the most, great stuff man, love it!
+OneMinuteFixed thanks!
Has to be the most comprehensive documentary on the Jaguar or any other early system I’ve ever seen. Well done
...Paul Rudd?
+Dan Koch Yep. That is indeed Antman.
Right dude, I didn't know that. I assume that had to be his start.
I thought I would have heard about Paul Rudd being in an SNES commercial. How is this not referenced constantly?
Dan Koch The man pretty much looks the same way today
Ant deez mans
Best Jaguar historical video I've seen to date. Very professional and a blast to watch.
+mattinao thanks so much!
really enjoyed this, but when I saw what the narrator looked like, I was like: This guy is swole AF!" :-)
+Ashamanknight It's from my 64 bit workouts lol
Slick editing and well researched. Subbed.
I can't imagine the countless hours you put into these videos bud. Well done. Wish I could subscribe twice. :-)
+Daniel Campbell Thanks man! This video took a really long time. Way longer than I expected lol. It was definitely a labor of love as I don't imagine there's too many people randomly looking up videos on the Jaguar's history but I hope it helps people look at it a little more objectively. I love AVGN but I think a lot of owls get their opinion on the Jaguar from his video on it and take his character's take on it way too seriously.
Well, the effort shows man. You can really tell you put a lot of love and, more importantly, effort into your videos. I just remember when I was younger that I saw the Jaguar in the stores and was immediately turned off by the controller. I picked up a SNES instead and, looking back, I'm certainly glad I did. The Jaguar is, yet another, instance that proves having quality games are what matters the most for a console. There are a lot of people who like to pour over the tech specs of console hardware, but an old/used Honda Civic will take you further than a Lamborghini that's up on blocks. A weird analogy... but I stand by it. :-)
+Daniel Campbell that's a great analogy. I know what you mean about the Jaguar controller. It takes some getting used to whereas the snes controlling just feels great right away.
This was great, I'm not even interested in the Jaguar and I ended up watching the whole vid. But at 19:30 I was like, oh it's this guy. I had watched a few earlier videos the other day and passed up on the sub. But man, you've really improved your whole style over time. Not to crap on your other stuff at all, it just didn't jell for me. Any way kudos on sticking it out and working on your craft. Subbed and looking forward to what is next.
+Nich Hustler glad you liked it man and no offense taken here. The goal is to get better with each video and man, there are definitely things I wish I could go back in time and change from some of my earlier ones lol. Thanks for giving the channel another chance.
My pleasure. This will be one of only two channels I have notifications turned on for. The other being Danny O'Dwyers noclip video game documentaries. If I may give one crit, and please take with a grain of salt, I am a designer, but I'm no YT expert. Inside the videos the production quality of the on-screen text stuff looks great. But your thumbnails for your vids don't seem to give the feel of the quality of what is in the vids. For me they undersell the content.
But like I said, take it with a grain of salt. Your other viewers may be just fine with it. Maybe you even like it. You do you.
Outstanding video - high production values and thorough historical references/analysis. Bravo!
+JazzzRockFuzion Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
Great video Wrestling! Seems like it got as many or more games after death than before. Truly it is the Tupac of consoles.
+kevin bhall Thanks Kevin, appreciate it. I guess that makes the CD-i the Notorious B.I.G.
Wrestling With Gaming oh man who was the shooter...we will have vengeance !
What I don't understand is why systems like this & the 3DO didn't secure versions of Mortal Kombat 2 or UMK3. They certainly had the tech to pull those off nicely. Might've changed their fates somewhat
Mortal Kombat 3 was planned to be ported to both Atari Jaguar and 3DO but unfortunately Sony bought the exclusive rights to the game for the PlayStation so both didn't get that version. Then when Ultimate MK3 released, the game was planned for both but then Sega bought the rights to that game for the Sega Saturn so both missed out again. When MK Trilogy arrives, both consoles were already dead so instead the game got ported to the N64, PS1, and Sega Saturn. The reason why both consoles didn't get a port of Mortal Kombat II was because both didn't want one as MKII is a 16-Bit fighting game. If you're wondering why the Super NES and Sega Genesis still got a port of MK3 and Ultimate MK3 even though the rights for those two games were bought by Sony and Sega, it's because the Sega Genesis and Super NES were 16-Bit consoles and both will receive only16-Bit ports of the game, not 32-Bit version like the PS1 and Sega Saturn versions so that's why MK3 and Ultimate MK3 for Super NES and Genesis were not affected. 3DO and Atari Jaguar didn't get a port cause they were aiming for the 32-Bit versions which conflict with the exclusivity rights that Sony and Sega had sign off on.
@@VOAN - thanks for the explanation
You're a great gaming historian! I'm glad I found you.
+CENTER311 Thanks. Glad you found me too!
Just how good your videos, your way with words and just overall presentation. I always think I’m watching a gaming historian video and it makes me happy. Thank you for you mr.wrestler.
14:25 my god the brow is majestic.
That's a 64 bit eyebrow!
Lol
Game programmer Rebecca Heineman once said she considered the Jaguar to be the most frustrating console to develop for
My buddy's dad was a computer programmer and bought this for him when it first came out. I rember going to his house after school and wasting countless hours on that system. Was pretty bad ass at the time tbh, well, for a 12 yr old, any gaming time was bad ass. Lol
17:36 "Hopefully Sony will do something about that nasty looking control pad." PS5 25 years later - U WOT M8!
that virtual reality set blew me away! for the year 1994 its out of this world!!!
Your videos keep getting better!
+DoomFinger511 Thanks. I'm actually pretty happy with how this one came out and I don't say that often lol.
The math is that the processors were 32 bits and only one chip had any 64 bit extensions, and that was just 2 specific functions.
Yup, it was a combination of 16 bit and 8 bit. It was marketed as 24bit. But, SNK used 330 Meg's in addition. The games came out great.
I just wanted to say I just discovered your channel and really love your content. So many interesting gaming stories from when I was growing up. I appreciate you making these videos. Thank you!
Thanks! Appreciate you taking the time to watch. I'm stoked to see other people interested in videogame history.
Damn bro your giving Kim justice and a nostalgia nerd a run for thier money on this vid, the quality and detail is unbelievable
Thanks man. Those are two of my favorite TH-cam channels so that's mighty high praise in my book. Not sure if I deserve it but i'll take it! lol
Your content is quality. I really enjoy watching these videos. They're relaxing and very informative :)
+A Ham thanks a lot for taking the time to comment. Glad to hear you're enjoying the videos.
regarding the bland 68000 cpu, which was far out of date at the time, yea ok it was only a manager, but it doesnt matter how many rockstar superhero's you got on your team, if your manager is slow to respond on how to direct them, even at the time of development a 32 bit 68020 at the same clock speed would run considerably faster than a 68000 and things like a memory management unit
I think you were missing the point of the 68000, it wasn't there to run the whole show only to do the grunt work. Both Tom & Jerry were infact full 32--bit RISC processors as well as graphics and sound coprocessors. The 68000 (16-bit) itself wasn't the issue had it been used as intended. Using a 68020 (full 32-bit) would probably have devalued Tom and Jerry even more with developers using it to do more. The MMU would still be next to useless as it would need to interact with both of the other CPU's which would have their own memory management (with 64-bit access). Besides unless you run multiple programs at once memory management shouldn't be an issue.
so jaguar use motorola 68000 the cpu that for 16 bit system , but using 2 graphics and sound processor that actually have 64 bit bus memory. wow that is like you attaching nvidia gtx gpu to pentium 3 processor pc. im not wonder if the most games are 16bit era.
@@daishi5571 so jaguar use motorola 68000 the cpu that for 16 bit system , but using 2 graphics and sound processor that actually have 64 bit bus memory. wow that is like you attaching nvidia gtx gpu to pentium 3 processor pc. im not wonder if the most games are 16bit era.
@@kusumayogi7956 Well while it does seem like that, what you have to remember is that Tom and Jerry were capable of offloading all the intensive CPU workload off the 68000 (it's a different architecture to a PC so only vaguely comparable). The real problem was there were few programmers that had the knowhow/willingness/time to do so. The idea of having the 68000 was just to do the easy work, nothing too intensive so it would hardly be used (mainly IO and keeping track of what tasks needed doing) and T&J would be doing all the heavy work so the 68000 really doesn't have that much value in the scheme of things. But what happened was programmers took the easy route (much like many other systems before it with custom chips Amiga/Saturn) the 68000 is a well known and documented CPU so instead of learning how to use T&J to offload the CPU they programmed the 68000 directly, and only did the bare minimum use of T&J to get what they needed. Atari is also to blame with poor development kits, but this is a case that the hardware exceeded the software due to programmers not using the hardware.
@@daishi5571 let old gpu as manager for newer gpu and dsp sound like sciene fiction. only happen in theory. that is why in practical, developer still use 68000 as main cpu. but remember it is like pentium 3 with gtx gpu, the cpu bottleneck gpu that is why jaguar games look like 16 bit games because the cpu is 16 bit tech.
the other analogy is like ask your dog(cpu) to manage and use tool(gpu and dsp) to do house keeping. LOL
it simply bottleneck.
This is a great video and shows what can sadly happen quite often - a great product is released, no-one knows what to really do with it, so in the end it gets unfairly overlooked.
It just didn't have enough games that people wanted. It needed something -- anything -- in every genre so people would have a reason.
Great video, thank you! Great to know that there may be a new Atari console in the future.
+Johnny Carvin Thanks man.
Dude, your vids are GREAT! Reminds me of the late, great G4 TV show "Icons"
+bliglum Thanks! I loved that show.
00:55 Paul Rudd's finest acting!
+ALWTunes probably the only thing he ever needed to send to casting agencies.
cider house rules was his best acting. but everything he touches is gold. wellll not dinner for shmucks, our idiot brother or this is 40 lol.
I love this channel - I love computer and counsel history, and I know most of the stories - but the depth and detail of Yahel's reporting is amazing, and his storytelling is excellent!
+Barret Kruse thanks so much Barret, I appreciate the kind words.
@wrestlingwithgaming Another awesome video! I look forward to each video you release, they take me back to good old days of gaming as a kid and bring me sides of the story I wasn’t always aware of as a kid. I actually remember buying the Jaguar for $19.99 on clearance at KayBee toys when it was already pretty much dead. I had to have every game system in the 90’s, good or bad. I also picked up the Virtual Boy on clearance for a similar amount, oh well... Looking forward to the next video, I learn something new every time! Thanks and glad to see you are still with us after Irma!
+Sean Corcoran thanks! I love putting these together. Wow, $19.99. That's incredible. Ironic that Jaguars now are more expensive than they've ever been.
We were really fortunate with Irma. We didn't have any damage and though we lost power for a bit it was back within a day and a half. I know some people that just got theirs back a few days ago. Thanks for remembering and enjoy what's left of the weekend.
Awesome video, probably covers the Jaguar the most deeply in the TH-cam!
+Kimura Shinji Thanks. It was definitely a bit of a labor of love.
I miss my 3DO :( Still sad Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was cancelled for it. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo on 3DO is still the best version!
+Corey D yeah it's pretty sweet
The Kic's-91 console with Jamma cards had the best Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo version.
I grew up in Canada, and I never saw one. I just saw it mentioned in gaming magazines, and even as a kid, I thought it looked suspiciously bad for an alleged 64-bit machine. I didn’t really understand what 64-but power really meant, but I knew that my 16-bit genesis looked almost just as impressive and just plain shouldn’t have.
Bit wars... then.. today.. resolution wars
Let's not forget frame rate and frame time. It is and always was shortsighted to base playability on statistics. Some of my favorite 3D games of all times (Driller, BBC Elite, F/A-18 Interceptor, Ashes of Empire, Gunship 2000, the list goes on) flickered and frame rates would go to single digits, but you know what I really appreciated was that these games pushed the systems graphically and technically while presenting a great game. To everyone who thinks that 4K 60FPS is the gold standard do you have any clue what is being sacrificed to get these statistics.
@@daishi5571 05:22 looks immense that one
Lmao...I forgot Paul Rudd did the commercial for that 😂😂...@.54 seconds in