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Revision as of 13:07, 9 February 2002 editDamian Yerrick (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers15,085 edits cache bug← Previous edit Revision as of 13:24, 9 February 2002 edit undoDamian Yerrick (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers15,085 edits more accurate explanation of the Jaguar's bugsNext edit →
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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 quite difficult to program for, as "Tom" had some serious hardware bugs in its caching system that prevented execution of code that crossed 256-byte boundaries. 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 .
The final nail in its coffin was the release of both the Sony ] and ]. The final nail in its coffin was the release of both the Sony ] and ].
In a last ditch effort, Atari tried to play down these two consoles by claiming the Jaguar was the only 64-bit system. In a last ditch effort, Atari tried to play down these two consoles by claiming the Jaguar was the only 64-bit system.

Revision as of 13:24, 9 February 2002

The Atari Jaguar and the Atari Lynx were the last two Atari systems to be developed, not by Atari but by outside contractors; Atari didn't want any direct involvement in hardware production. In 1990, Martin Brennan and John Mathieson said that not only could they make a console far superior to the Sega Genesis or the Super NES but be cost efficient at the same time. 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 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 . The final nail in its coffin was the release of both the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn. In a last ditch effort, Atari tried to play down these two consoles by claiming the Jaguar was the only 64-bit system. Their effort was in vain, and production of the Jaguar stopped after the sale of Atari to JT Storage.

Specs

CPUs: "Tom" (the video processor) - 32/64 bit graphics processor at 26.59Mhz, 64 bit object processor, 64 bit blitter, 64 bit DRAM controller

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

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