I made a ton of Jaguar YouTube vids this week. (Watch them! ;-))

[Kevincal]

Ya, I'm a shameless self-promoter. ;) Honestly, I just want some feedback on them. Comments, favorites etc.. Anything except criticizing me for my ghetto recording method! :D

SuperCross 3D - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaun0ZAriVQ&fmt=18

Trevor McFur - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HroaCi4I124&fmt=18

RayMan - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ye7M4xaCNo&fmt=18

Atari Karts - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7VfJSPT3sw&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLR5x7fZe8U&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiVDR3P8Ox0&fmt=18

Super BurnOut - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhtN213Pipc&fmt=18

Iron Soldier - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9_h3TL25yc&fmt=18

CyberMorph - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9csM8iYkIA&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIR73fhsz24&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa4Q8eyBo28&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY6x4cb4Kwo&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9XdmOXft4&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 7 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGvpQDB0I5k&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 8 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmSRiMumaqw&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 9 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN77p4Dbmys&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 10 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eibC-UGy4_Q&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 11 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TheCOeXcdM&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 12 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eX8JKsXLKU&fmt=18

Jeff Minter Jag Demo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2T1fkntAIc&fmt=18

Jeff Minter Flying Robots - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGxEc5sqtD0&fmt=18

SeaPlane Demo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8_uSbJeVdk&fmt=18

Jag Asteroids - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIy2CD2tHbM&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 13 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqLhX4w6Y4&fmt=18

Virtual Light Machine 14 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIuoRJqyDEc&fmt=18

Myst - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybMueOHNy4Y&fmt=18

Native - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2if-Jcdi-1Q&fmt=18

And non Jaguar related, but cool nontheless. :) Amp from MTV circa 1997. It was a 1 hour show devoted to techno music and trippy visuals. Quite reminiscint of the Jag CD's Virtual Light Machine. This is the first of 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WSePSjcEC4&fmt=18

[Dangerboy]

Ah, i love looking at video games I don't want to see what I'm not missing. You may want to invest in a Dazzle or video capture with pass through - that way it's direct video and you can watch it on the TV while you record.

Good stuff though - I haven't puked from watching a game since Descent. : )

[cityside75]

Thanks for posting these, this was the first time I've actually seen some of these games in motion.

When I see these late era Atari games (I've owned a Lynx with about 20 games since 1990), I can't help but picture them still being developed in nondescript offices by a bunch of 20-something stoner kids like the 2600 games were. Their production values were so much lower even by the standards of the era, some of them almost look like homebrew games.

I've always had an interest in acquiring a Jag, but I'm sure it would be a short-lived thrill at best. The hardware definitely intrigues me, but the software just seems so amateurish in many cases, which was the same issue I had with my Lynx. I'd love to know what the hardware would have truly been capable of with someone like Nintendo, Sega, or EA developing games for it.

[Kevincal]

Thank you cityside. Ya, true enough about how Atari games are developed. A much more relaxed atmosphere with probably less pressure to make awesome games. I have a soft spot for the Jag because myself and 2 other friends had Jaguars in the mid 90's. We had great fun with CyberMorph, AvP, Doom, Iron Soldier, RayMan, Wolfenstein, Zool 2, Tempest 2000 and others back then.

Most people who only buy a Jag these days, because they are curious, probably won't like it very much or have any sort of attachment. I've found I'm like that with systems anyway. It's all about nostalgia. :-)

I also wonder how awesome of a game Nintendo, Sega, or EA or any other large game maker could make on the Jag.

Then again, there are some examples of Jag games being just as good as PS or Saturn games. AvP is just as good as Alien Trilogy, Doom is almost as good on the Jag as the PS or Saturn (Doom 1 atleast), Tempest 2000 is just as good on the Jag as the PS or Saturn, Rayman just as good on the Jag as PS or Saturn. MYST, Dragon's Lair, Space Ace. Iron Soldier was really impressive. I dunno. Obviously PS and Saturn are a bit more powerful and have a lot bigger game library.

One thing the Jag has over the PS and Saturn in spades is the Virtual Light Machine for the Jag CD. It's simply awesome. :D I could sit and stare at the patterns and colors with good music playing all day. :-D

[Iron Draggon]

I wish that Asteroids game was a complete game... I'd buy that one in a hurry!

I remember using my Jag CD for the VLM more than I used the Jag for anything else... perhaps that's what wore my Jag CD out and broke it

IMHO, Ruiner Pinball is a perfect example of what the Jag could've been in the hands of all the big developers like Sega & Nintendo... the multiball modes show how the Jag does scaling effects far better than the Genesis or the SNES do, and the rest of the game shows how none of the 16BIT & 32BIT systems could deliver anything on par with the Jag's 64BIT power... the next-gen war after the 16BIT revolution really should've been between the Jag and the N64... Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Playstation, and 3DO all had nothing on the Jag but far better first & third party support, and Ruiner Pinball proves it

it's a crying shame that Atari put so much emphasis on the Jag's 3D polygon capabilities, when its 2D sprite capabilities are its strongest advantage... none of the Jag's 3D games looked any better than any of the competition's 3D games, but its 2D games blew all the competition's 2D games away... even the NeoGeo's 2D is inferior to the Jag's 3D... but unfortunately we only have Ruiner Pinball to prove it... all the other 2D games on the Jag were just ports or sequels of 2D games on other systems, so they show no real advantage over them... but Ruiner Pinball shows what the Jag's true power really is

it's also very interesting to me how the Jag's library shows that it was more than capable if doing anything and everything that its competition could do, and then some... compare 3D games on Genesis, SNES, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Playstation, 3DO, and N64 to the Jag's 3D games, and you'll see no difference... the Jag could do 3D as well as any of those other systems... then compare 2D games on all those other systems to 2D games on the Jag... what you'll find are ports that are on par with the originals, and unique titles that blow away the most unique titles found on all the other systems

so why did the Jag fail? the answer is Jack Tramiel! if the Jag had fallen into the hands of a man like Tom Kalinske, it would've trampled all its competitors, but sadly it fell into the hands of an idiot instead... the Jag is a beast that was muzzled by an incompetent CEO... were it not for that, it would've been a beast that dominated the industry... perhaps even through the current cycle... I think it could still hold its own against all the current consoles, in capable hands... especially now that the Wii has proven that gaming isn't just all about graphics... the Jag is as good as anything else out there... it just didn't get all the games that it needed to prove it in time to make a difference... otherwise the majority here would be singing its praises as well

[cityside75]

it's also very interesting to me how the Jag's library shows that it was more than capable if doing anything and everything that its competition could do, and then some... compare 3D games on Genesis, SNES, Sega CD, 32X, Saturn, Playstation, 3DO, and N64 to the Jag's 3D games, and you'll see no difference... the Jag could do 3D as well as any of those other systems...

Come on man, you sorta had me until this statement which is just silly and demonstrably false. Show me anything on the Jag that even suggests it has the power to create a Gran Turismo 2, Virtua Fighter 2, or Super Mario 64 level of 3d graphics. It's not there. I agree that the Jag had untapped power, but as you said earlier its strength was not 3d where its capabilities look to slot right between 32x and 3do in my opinion.

It makes sense, too, since it wasn't built with dedicated 3d hardware like the later systems were. It does appear to have been built with awesome sprite manipulating capabilities, and I won't challenge your assertions of its 2d power. But to suggest it had the 3d power to be on even footing with the Sat/PS/N64 is just plain wrong.

[Iron Draggon]

Come on man, you sorta had me until this statement which is just silly and demonstrably false. Show me anything on the Jag that even suggests it has the power to create a Gran Turismo 2, Virtua Fighter 2, or Super Mario 64 level of 3d graphics. It's not there. I agree that the Jag had untapped power, but as you said earlier its strength was not 3d where its capabilities look to slot right between 32x and 3do in my opinion.

It makes sense, too, since it wasn't built with dedicated 3d hardware like the later systems were. It does appear to have been built with awesome sprite manipulating capabilities, and I won't challenge your assertions of its 2d power. But to suggest it had the 3d power to be on even footing with the Sat/PS/N64 is just plain wrong.

have you never seen Alien VS Predator on the Jag? it looks as good as any 3D FPS on any other system does... so do Doom and Wolfenstein 3D... Fight for Life looks as good as any other 3D fighter, and alternate versions of it found on the net prove that it could move as well as any other fighter too

Super Mario 64? N64 games are blurry compared to Jag games... sorta like Playstation games compared to Saturn games... you don't notice it that much until you compare them side by side, and then it becomes obvious

the problem with proving that the Jag has as much or more power than any other system of its era is that none of its games really show off its full potential... they only hint at what it's capable of, so it's difficult to prove

but do you really think that all those flat shaded poly games are the best it can do in 3D? hardly... it was fully capable of Virtual Reality games, but the VR helmet was never released, so its full 3D potential was never revealed... however, you know that to do VR it basically had to be capable of running two 3D games simultaneously, one display for each eye... could any other system of its era do that? if they could, none of the others did it either!

[cityside75]

I believe one of the VR Games that was scheduled for the Jag VR was Dactyl Nightmare. That game literally looked like it was made of about 50 flat shaded polygons moving at a blistering 10 fps in the arcade, and they called that "virtual reality" (and had the gall to charge like $8.00 for a 5 minute play session, but that's a different story). So I wouldn't be so blown away by the fact that the Jag was "fully capable of Virtual Reality games.

I've seen all the games you referred to above, and while SOME of them were impressive for the time (I haven't heard too many people pull out Fight for Life as a plus for the system though) they aren't nearly enough to convince me the Jag was on a par with those other systems. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one