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The '''Atari Jaguar''' and the ] were the last two ] systems to be developed, not by Atari but by outside contractors; Atari did not want any direct involvement in hardware production. The '''Atari Jaguar''' and the ] were the last two ] systems to be developed, but because Atari did not want any direct involvement in hardware production they were produced by outside contractors.
In ], Flare2 (a company formed by ] and ] with Atari funding) said that not only could they make a console far superior to the ] or the ] but be cost efficient at the same time. In ], Flare2 (a company formed by ] and ] with Atari funding) said that not only could they make a console far superior to the ] or the ] but they could also be cost-effective.
Atari immediately agreed and the system was released in 1993 for $250 under a $500 million manufacturing deal with ]. Atari immediately agreed and the system was released in 1993 for $250 under a $500 million manufacturing deal with ].


Initially the system sold well, but because of poor games it was eventually considered a failure. Initially the system sold well, but because of poor games it was eventually considered a failure. The system was difficult to program for, as the hardware had a large number of bugs, including one in the memory controller that stopped some of its processors executing code from the system RAM .
⚫ The final nail in its coffin was the release of both the Sony ] and the ].
The system was quite difficult to program for, as the hardware had a large number of bugs, including one in the memory controller that kept some of its processors from being able to execute code from the system RAM .
⚫ In a last ditch effort to rescue Jaguar, Atari tried to play down these two consoles by claiming the Jaguar was the only 64-bit system, causing some controversy (some contended that the Jaguar's two 64-bit "processors" were essentially nothing more than graphics accelerators; its ] was only 32-bit and its ] was a 16-bit ]).
⚫ The final nail in its coffin was the release of both the Sony ] and ].
⚫ This advertising push was futile, and production of the Jaguar stopped after Atari purchased ] in a reverse takeover.
⚫ In a last ditch effort, Atari tried to play down these two consoles by claiming the Jaguar was the only 64-bit system, causing some controversy (some contended that the Jaguar's two 64-bit "processors" were essentially nothing more than graphics accelerators; its ] was only 32-bit and its ] was a 16-bit ]).
⚫ This advertising push was in vain, and production of the Jaguar stopped after Atari purchased ] in a reverse takeover.


Several peripherals were announced, such as a voice modem and VR headset. But the only peripherals released were the ] drive and the JagLink, a simple two-console networking device. Several peripherals were announced, such as a voice modem and VR headset, but the only peripherals released were the ] drive and the JagLink, a simple two-console networking device.


=== Specs === === Specs ===

Revision as of 10:08, 14 February 2004

The Atari Jaguar and the Atari Lynx were the last two Atari systems to be developed, but because Atari did not want any direct involvement in hardware production they were produced by outside contractors. In 1990, Flare2 (a company formed by Martin Brennan and John Mathieson with Atari funding) said that not only could they make a console far superior to the Sega Genesis or the Super NES but they could also be cost-effective. Atari immediately agreed and the system was released in 1993 for $250 under a $500 million manufacturing deal with IBM.

Initially the system sold well, but because of poor games it was eventually considered a failure. The system was difficult to program for, as the hardware had a large number of bugs, including one in the memory controller that stopped some of its processors executing code from the system RAM . The final nail in its coffin was the release of both the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. In a last ditch effort to rescue Jaguar, Atari tried to play down these two consoles by claiming the Jaguar was the only 64-bit system, causing some controversy (some contended that the Jaguar's two 64-bit "processors" were essentially nothing more than graphics accelerators; its GPU was only 32-bit and its CPU was a 16-bit 68000). This advertising push was futile, and production of the Jaguar stopped after Atari purchased JT Storage in a reverse takeover.

Several peripherals were announced, such as a voice modem and VR headset, but the only peripherals released were the Atari Jaguar CD drive and the JagLink, a simple two-console networking device.

Specs

CPUs: "Tom" chip (contains 3 video-related processors), 25.59 MHz
  • Graphics processing unit (GPU) - 32-bit RISC architecture, 4K internal cache, provides wide array of graphic effects
  • 64 bit object processor - programmable; can behave as a variety of graphic architectures
  • 64 bit blitter - high speed logic operations, Z-buffering & Gourad shading
  • 64 bit DRAM controller (not a processor)

"Jerry" (the audio processor) - 32 bit DSP at 26.6Mhz

Motorola 68000 at 13.295Mhz
RAM:2MB
Storage:Cartridge - up to 6MB

External Links