[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Jaguar on Clearance (Atari Jaguar Turns 20)
November 11th, 2013 by Benj Edwards
Atari Jaguar on Sale in 1997: “Includes RISC Processors!”
The Atari Jaguar launched at retail 20 years ago this Friday — November 15, 1993.
In April 1994, I received a Jaguar for my birthday, and it was one of the most exciting days of my life. That Christmas, my parents gave me Doom for the Jaguar, and I had a blast. After that, not many truly great games came out for the Jaguar (I’d say Tempest 2000 is the system-exclusive standout).
Partly because of that lack of great software, the Jaguar sunk fast — especially in the face of strong competition from Sony, Sega, and Nintendo (throw in some 3DO and Neo-Geo in there as well). The mid-1990s was a hard time to be a video game console.
By 1997, the Jaguar was toast. If I recall correctly, TigerDirect bought up a huge inventory of unsold Jaguar and Jaguar CD systems and sold them through their catalog.
This scan is a page from a 1997 TigerDirect catalog advertising the Jaguar for a mere $59.99 and the CD add-on for $89.99. Lucky for me, this is how I bought my Jaguar CD system, along with the advertised ultra-cheap game packs. CD exclusives Myst and Cybermorph 2 were worth the purchase alone.
So happy birthday, Jag. Sorry I can’t write more about you now. But I’ve written a lot about you on VC&G in the past. To read more, check out the links at the bottom of this post.
Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite Atari Jaguar game?
—
See Also: Rayman and Frustration (RSOTW, 2013)
See Also: Atari Jaguar Debut Photo (RGOTW, 2013)
See Also: War + Mech = “Kinda Cool” (RSOTW, 2007)
See Also: Anatomy of a Young Collector’s Room (2006)
See Also: The First Atari Jaguar Press Release (2005)
November 13th, 2013 at 10:23 am
Other than Doom I only had Wolfenstein and Tempest 2000 for the system. I worked at Tiger Direct in the mid-late 90s and at the end they had Jaguar systems on clearance for $20. That’s where I bought mine well after the system was dead. Those awful controllers were what killed that system. Atari has always had horrible controllers.
November 13th, 2013 at 11:16 am
Favorite part of the ad: “Includes RISC processors!” Remember when that was considered a strong selling point?
November 13th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
RISC, smisk. I’d settle for one of those ultra-powerful MMX PCs.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:16 am
The Jaguar was not released in NY or SF on November 15, 1993, it was released on Thursday November 18, 1993.
November 14th, 2013 at 8:20 am
TigerDirect and KB Toys… I remember a pallet of the Jaguars sitting in the entrance to the store… had one in my hands, but my wife talked me out of it. This would have been around 1997.
April 6th, 2020 at 2:30 am
I’ve had this page in my collection of random Atari stuff I kept as a kid, for the past 20+ years! 😀