The Letters Page
- Babbage
* Babbage and Jaguar support
- Baldies
* Maybe a bug in this game
- Club Drive
* Someone likes the game
- Jaguar
* Whats wrong with the 64Bit Jaguar?
- Atari
* What chance have Atari now? + 2 responses
- Atari 2
* More thoughts on Atari
- Atari 3
* And even more on the Atari
- Atari 4
* This is a busy subject
- Video Games
* Views on the Video Games industry
- Jaguar Party
* Someone had a Jag party, I was not invited,
- Question
* A sort of Hardware Question,
From: khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley)
I know there was a thread a while back complaining about the shoddy
Jaguar support in many local Babbage's stores. The same was
true of my local Babbage's, they were 4 months behind on the games
and had little/no stock in.
Well, I stopped by yesterday after not having been in there for 3 weeks
and saw a big transformation.
A Jaguar sign was out front. The Jaguar display had been moved to
the front of the counter and they had full stock! They had the
base system and CD unit again, plus the cables, controllers, and
Memory Track cartridge. They also had all the newest games, including
Myst, NBA Jam, Baldies, Battlemorph, Atari Karts, and others. It
was set up really nice, unlike in the past, where the display had
often been neglected.
Something obviosuly has changed in their attitude towards the
Jag. Anyone notice changes at other Babbage's stores? I
was impressed.
On a related note, my local Wal Mart finally got a big stack of JagCD
units in with various games. They also (finally) have posted signs
with the prices of the games and hardware.
FROM: kce@netcom.com (Big Bad Wolf)
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login:
guest)
Reply Index No: 77426
I believe I've found a bug in Baldies. Well, 1 confirmed bug and one other
unconfirmed bug. The first occurs when you build a house too close to the
endge of land/water boundary. When the time comes to build the house that
has the maximum Baldy producing ability (the one with the little playpen
on the side), the game goes blank, and all you have remaining is the
hand pointer. Weird, very weird.
The second bug is what I call unconfimed because I have 3 separate built-in
video switches on my TV (1 for cable , 1 for jag, 1 unused, and 1 for VCR).
So I'm switching between regular TV and the Jag, while playing baldies and
waiting for resources to become available .. when I wated a particularly
long time (10 minutes), and when I switched back to the Jag, it was
totally blank! This happened twice. Verrry strange ..
BTW FYI, there are some inventions that you can do that aren't listed
in the manual, such as the what I like to call "no-fly sparkles" which
vaporize any flying baldies which come near it. Also, not all houses
can become castles even if you put 10 baldies to work as builders
in it. The houses have to be built on the correct type of terrain .. which
seem to be very rocky ground, for what I'm guessing to be a good foundation.
A very good game! I've been playing it in between attempts to install
a new HD on my PC. That music has been burning into my head though ..
Da da dum da dum dum dum ..
--
Keith C. Estanol / kce@netcom.com / Internet Member since 1989
Atari and OS/2 Fanatics unite!
From: david.jacksch@swsbbs.com (DAVID JACKSCH)
m.o.r,
Club Drive is my favorite Jag game, although it MAY end up #2 (I just
bought BattleMorph). The physics of the cars is practically perfect,
for toy cars, except that they right themselves. It's a wonderful game
for kids, they catch on quick, and have a BLAST. I always set them up
on 180 seconds (for Tag), 2-player, and let them choose Tag or
Powerball, and the arena.
I play 1-player race mainly to search for secret areas. But there are
some real nasty tricks you can play in Tag (rewind, for instance). It's
quite a challenge playing against someone who also knows all the Tag
tricks.
What's up with the 64 BIT Jaguar??
by Ralph F. Mariano
Much water has passed beneath the "proverbial bridge" as far Atari
Corp. and this reporter is concerned. Most of which was and is extremely
fond memories. Memories of watching my family mature while using all types
of Atari high tech hardware. From the membrane keyboard of the Atari 400 to
the IBM Selectric Typewriter look-a-like Atari 800 to ultimately the TT030
with 26mb of memory, a 540mb hd and a 24" Monochrome Monitor. Of course,
all the Atari peripherals were there too. Including both flavors of Laser
SLM Printers. In light of all this.. it wasn't very difficult to make up my
mind, after almost four years, to invest in another enticing and innovative
Atari product. The 64 bit Atari Jaguar Game Console and of course, the CD
ROM Player, the memory card and a bunch of games both Cartridge and CD. I
felt I had "The Cat's Meow". Until.
A strange thing occurred. I was in SEARS of Orange Park and a
commotion in the electronics toy department caught my attention. Upon
further investigation, I found a slew of youngsters and their parents very
busy "trying out" the "NEW" Sony Playstation Game Console (PSX). After
watching the kids. ages 8 or 9 to young adult (and older) carry on over the
PSX, I spent some time at the controls myself. When we decided to leave
Sears and go home, a complete PSX ensemble went with us. To this day, I am
not, in the least bit, dissatisfied with the PSX and its software.
Anyway, on the way home.. I was thinking to myself about how the 32 bit
PSX would stack up to the 64 bit Jaguar. It didn't take very long to see
the differences. With the two machines side by side the comparison was easy
to make. The Jaguar, has its own strengths and is now mostly used for its
superb light show. The 32 bit Sony Playstation literally, BLEW the 64 bit
Jaguar's doors off! This I believe is due to shabby early on programming by
inexperienced developers for the Jaguar.
At first, I actually paid little or no mind to this finding. After
all, the "NEW" of the 32 bit PSX at our house had to wear off. But then,
after I kept seeing this constant harping online about how great the 64 bit
Jaguar was and how the greatest games in the world .AvP, etc., were on the
64 bit Jaguar and nowhere else I started digging. Sure, I read these things
in the Jaguar areas, but one would expect even the most avid fan to be
truthful in an obvious situation like comparing the output of both machines
.. side by side. After all, it could be done anywhere by most anyone. This
wasn't happening at all. Instead, I found the vast majority yapping about
how superior the 64 bit Jaguar was. After all, the Jaguar was 64 bits and
the PSX was ONLY 32 bits. This turned out to be the sorriest joke of all
being perped on both Atari and the unsuspecting masses. If only Atari had
been publicly told the truth "way back when" instead of being lulled into a
false sense of having a leading edge. This I blame the "mindless online
cheerleading" for. Here's how I discovered this "minor factoid".
There I was.. sitting at home comparing the two machines, the mighty 64
bit Jaguar and the new kid on the block, the 32 bit Sony Playstation. Lo
and Behold.. I began having some serious doubts about the Atari Jaguar's
claim to fame.. this "ever elusive but much touted" 64 bit performance!
Where? When?
Out of a sense of fairness, I kept giving the Jag the benefit of the
doubt because I had yet to obtain the "top banana games" with amazing
graphics and super, superior playability everyone was hollering and jumping
up and down about. I kept wondering if, in fact, once I had one of these
games running if it would be the mesmerizing, stupefying, hypnotizing,
spellbinding thrill most everyone in the Atari areas was yapping about.
Well Dearies, I finally got a few of the so-called super hot titles.
Alien Vs Predator, Baldies, Atari Karts, Highlander, Battlemorph, Power
Drive Rally, Ultra Vortek, Cybermorph, and the Tempest Soundtrack. Finally,
NOW, I was ready for the big showdown!! I asked two of my sons who were
experienced in the use of the PSX and the Jaguar to conduct the comparisons.
After all, the players are the key to the truth ..not the observers or
commentators.
Let the Games Begin!
Try as they might.. None of the Atari Jaguar "super" titles came close
to overcoming the quality of the PSX. Some easily matched the PSX, but none
outdid it. Now then, this is where the questions become somewhat serious.
Did Atari's brass know of this obvious short coming of the Jag? Were they
aware of the fact that a 32 bit machine was easily matching and in many
cases running circles around their omnipotent 64 bit machine? Or, did they
only recently discover the fact their 64 bit machine was being dogged by the
PSX in every way imaginable. Like perhaps at the recent CES show where they
had a suite of rooms and a semi-private thing going on? If. they had known
about the Jaguar's programming shortfall for any length of time then they
certainly didn't correct the shortfall quickly or did they try and found
their programmer corps lacked the necessary skills? (It could be a given
that they had more than ample opportunity to view the output of the 32 bit
Sony at Last Year's CES and E3 shows.) Now, with the most recent price cut
for the "64 bit Advanced Technology, US Made Atari Jaguar Game Console".
More people are buying the Jaguar than ever before. Are they too to be
disappointed by the poor programming of many of the titles? I firmly
believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Buying the Jaguar at
$99.00 is a real value. The consumer is, in effect, getting in on the
ground floor. With all the tumult of the last two months, its certain the
quality of programming for the Jaguar will improve dramatically. In the
meantime, there are a number of excellent titles available that are bound to
entertain.
The bottom line is simple for me. While I know and think highly of
many of the folks who work or, have worked at Atari, I must be up front
with my readers. My informed opinion is; "while the claims of 64 bit power
for the Jaguar were being made far, wide, and handsome. the truth is. it
never performed like a 64 bit machine should have." Especially, after the
manner in which the Jaguar is promoted by Atari.. "The only 64 bit
machine".. "made in the USA" etc., all of this should lead to a machine that
was an absolute powerhouse with stunning graphics and equally superb
gameplay. It did not, does not and unless serious changes in the
programming for the Jaguar are accomplished .never will.
Which leads to the thought. "perhaps the Jaguar's claim to 64 bit power
is nothing more than, "a wish upon a star." While I have nothing to prove
anything as such, it has been implied many times in the past year or so in
just about every gaming magazine and recent hardware/software review
published. If anything, I'd say; "The presence of the Jaguar's 64 bit power
and performance was and still is a Myth." While we've been witness to most
everyone's opinions that the 32 bit Sony Playstation can blow the 64 bit
Jaguar away time in and time out. its time to either make the necessary
changes to properly compete or, give up the ghost. That's exactly what
Atari is doing in my humble opinion. Seemingly, "the curtain has fallen to
the floor and exposed the "Wizards" to be far better at Vaudevillian
Performances than sheer, honest to goodness, Wizardry." (Wizards meaning
programmers). The time for serious change is now at hand. What will
actually be accomplished by the changes is yet to be seen.
Looking at this from a consumer's viewpoint I must, once again, say the
Jaguar is a genuine gaming value at $99.00 and even has some very good games
for all ages. Games that exhibited indications it was a "high performance
64 bit machine". Mind you, it looks good and sounds good as long as the
right software is loaded. But the much expected continued flow of 64 bit
power "just ain't there". This I believe is the fault of the current crop
developers. Not Atari or the Jaguar itself as it has been hinted at by
some. Personally speaking, all of the games on the Jaguar were better
looking than those I'd seen and grown accustomed to playing on our three
"outdated" Atari 2600's and two Mattel Intellivision consoles.
In all fairness to the Jag, I'd go so far as to say the majority of the
games I saw for the Jag were of up to date quality but are, at the same
time, aimed a younger age bracket. Baldies resembles the old fashioned
overhead view games. The "movie" in Baldies, (if you want to call it that)
was strangely reminiscent of "Clay Animation". "Oooh Nooo .Mr. Bill!!"
Atari Karts . is real cute, guaranteed to appeal to the pre-teen and very
early teens, has excellent graphics and very smooth scrolling but its still
no match for any of the "more mature" contemporary racing games available on
the PSX. AvP was in so many words, when compared to DOOM on the PSX .SAD.
Good in game play for a youngster or new player, sad in sound, slow action
and mediocre graphics. Doom is good. Rayman is good. Blue Lightning is
very good and BattleMorph has its great moments. NBA Jam is excellent.
Primal Rage is very entertaining and looks just as good on the Jaguar as it
does on any other machine. Highlander is again, very good looking and
should be quite appealing to the younger set. Atari and it's developers
need to address the matter of their overall target audience and theme of
programming.
I'm afraid the Jaguar was destined to marketing problems from the day
it hit the market. If for no other reason than it simply did not have a
chance to live up to all the hype poured forth about it. In stark reality,
it never had a "snowball's" chance. First, the Tramiels put it on the
market far too early. Second, they bundled garbage software with it instead
of using a "free game of your choice" certificate and thirdly, they were far
too proud of the Jaguar.. They seemingly lost sight of the competition's
potential and got nailed and nailed hard by, incredibly.. a 32 bit machine.
"The Jaguar will always be remembered as "the soldier sent into war without
a weapon or ammo." Now, at least with the newer titles beginning to hit
there appears to be some hard evidence of the 64 bit power showing up.
Which, by the way, lends credence to the impression of "64 bit Power
for Only $99.00. Hey! Power without the Price! Now, there's an old,
familiar friend.
For as long as "Forever and a Day" lasts, the Jaguar shall be
remembered as the only "White Elephant" Atari, from Bushnell `till present,
ever foisted upon the savvy technological marketplace. For this and this
alone, forget the dead computers etc., the Tramiels will long be remembered
as having "blown it .big time!"
The pitiful little old, Jaguar is bearing the brunt of this onslaught
because of a number of early on blunders. One in particular ..the hardware
and software developers for the Jaguar were not "whipped into shape" by
Atari. The delays coming from this area of supply have been simply
horrific!! The developers need to be producing quality goods on or, ahead
of time! NOT consistently LATE!... So far, the results of their efforts
are very self evident.
From: mkdud@aol.com (MK DUD)
" Well is there a chance for Atari, what do you
think gamers? "
I agree. Atari has "leaned down" from an expense standpoint, has a
good bit of capital reserves, and several "moneymakers" in the vault,
waiting to be released. This is a good time to buy Atari stock.
However, as a game player, (and a Yak fan), I wouldn't care if they
spent 10 million signing Jeff to some kind of a long term deal - at least
4 years - either for the Jaguar or any future platforms. It is my
contention that they owe much (if any) success that the Jag (or Jag CD)
has had to Jeff's writing. Without the YAK, I just don't know....
I'm sure there are some promising writers that Atari may be able to
recruit (if they - as a company - intend on producing software at all).
I feel they need the YAK in a "leader" position to (1) develop first rate
software, and (2) as a catalyst to recruit other inspired writers, and to
lead a new team of developers on ALL platforms - PC, Jaguar, and other
formats.
I don't think anyone can name a person that would be as valuable as
Jeff Minter if you are a company that intends on developing entertainment
software. In ANY format. He is to an entertainment software company what a
lighter would be to a stick of dynamite - he could really light the fuse.
He understands everything about what makes a game appealing, addictive,
and a hit.
What do you think? Please respond.
RESPONSE 1 ************
From: douglas@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu (Doug Erickson)
khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley) uttered:
>Ok, Mister Enlightened-know-it-all. Tell us what else Atari can do
>to ensure them success. Since you've apparently gone out on a limb
>here to enlighten us with your own beating of the dead horse [Jaguar]
>you have a step-by-step plan for Atari's recovery, right?
Me? If I was the sort of business mogul who could magickally bring
Atari back from ruin, I wouldn't be toiling over a college education. Buuuut,
since that isn't the case, let me tell you what I believe Atari SHOULD have
done, 'specially when they had that nice influx of cash from the Sega deal:
A) Swallered their pride and licensed as many popular Japanese fighters
and drivers from Capcom/SNK et al. Kissed the collective ass of EA until
they screamed. Given the lowest common denominator what they wanted, and make
money doing it.
B) Enforced a higher standard of quality with regards to software. Yes,
I'm aware that the Jag was in desperate need of titles during its drought,
but had titles like Checkered Flag, Club Driver, Dragon, Bubsy, and Trevor
McFur never been introduced into the marketplace, the Jag-bashers and Atari-
-nay-sayers would have had much less fodder.
C) Possibly changed their name, to avoid association with the "old,"
unhip Atari of the early '80's and the Lynx. Kids don't want their father's
Oldsmobile, or so the media tells them.
D) Exploited the Sega deal for what it was worth. Demanded the
rights to Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, at the VERY least, and developed
them. Invested that cash in developing some high quality software, or
used it, as stated above, to bribe Capcom/Konami or buy one of their myriad
of popular and immediately recognizeable license.
Of course, very little of this appeals to the die-hard Atarian,
becuase it wouldn't have isolated his/her Jaguar as a "special system,"
chock-full of "non-mainstream" games and "small, renegade, garage" development
houses. Bah. Pandering to the likes of such an insignificant minority, whose
only noteworthy aspect is the drooling sophistry they slaver all over USENET
will NOT garner sales, even if it DOES garner a twisted brand of consumer
loyalty. If these people were so concerned about owning "innovative" (and I
uce this term VERY loosely), they can save up a bit and buy a PC. There are
more kinds of "innovative" games on it then there ever would have been on
the Jaguar.
Atari made a mistake by not selling out. It may hurt to admit, but
it's true. In capitalism, you have to give the people what they think they
want, especially when you lack the money to tell the people what they want.
(see Nintendo/Sega/Sony)
>Didn't you just tell us to "lighten up?" "What's the big deal?" you
>say? Didn't follow your own advice I see, eh?
>Some people are concerned about a product they like, called the Jaguar.
>What's YOUR big deal? Why did you waste so much of your time on
>this? Especially since you have no concern for it anyway.
I find it hilarious to think of this small legion of rabid people,
all chanting in ASCII: "Don't die, Atari! We won't LET you!!" If Sony/Sega
dried up today, you certainly wouldn't catch me crying. The Neo-Geo hasn't
been on store shelves for some time, and people still seem to enjoy it...
hmmmm.
I waste my time on this because, quite frankly, I find Atari
fanaticism beyond amusing. It's rather quirky to read the futile diatribes
of hopeless nostalgics, who think that they will be able to buck the trend
and recapture what they believe were the halcyon days of gaming, all the
while completely failing to comprehend that people actually like the
current fashion du jour in arcades. I read these silly posts of people who
believe that the popular fighting/driving games of today are inherently
unfun, and that we, as arcade consumers, have somehow deluded ourselves into
liking them. The Jaguar was pushed as an overt strike against this trend,
and, as with all things fringe, immediately developed a loyal following by
those who felt alienated. Waa waa. It's a special brand of consumer politics,
and it's as funny as all get out.
>Let them write letters if they want to. Big deal.
Never said they couldn't. I just want to reserve the right to laugh
myself into catatonia. :D
>> Actually, kids, get over it.
>Why don't YOU get over it? I'm still wondering why you're wasting your
>time in this group.
Wasting time? Maybe. It's *entertainment*, at any rate. You no like?
You no listen. I'm offering my commentary on the current events as I see
them. You're more then welcome to have a hearty kick at my soapbox,
assuming you have the leg to stand on.
RESPONSE 2 ************
From: douglas@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu (Doug Erickson)
khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley) uttered:
>Ok, Mister Enlightened-know-it-all. Tell us what else Atari can do
>to ensure them success. Since you've apparently gone out on a limb
>here to enlighten us with your own beating of the dead horse [Jaguar]
>you have a step-by-step plan for Atari's recovery, right?
Me? If I was the sort of business mogul who could magickally bring
Atari back from ruin, I wouldn't be toiling over a college education. Buuuut,
since that isn't the case, let me tell you what I believe Atari SHOULD have
done, 'specially when they had that nice influx of cash from the Sega deal:
A) Swallered their pride and licensed as many popular Japanese fighters
and drivers from Capcom/SNK et al. Kissed the collective ass of EA until
they screamed. Given the lowest common denominator what they wanted, and make
money doing it.
B) Enforced a higher standard of quality with regards to software. Yes,
I'm aware that the Jag was in desperate need of titles during its drought,
but had titles like Checkered Flag, Club Driver, Dragon, Bubsy, and Trevor
McFur never been introduced into the marketplace, the Jag-bashers and Atari-
-nay-sayers would have had much less fodder.
C) Possibly changed their name, to avoid association with the "old,"
unhip Atari of the early '80's and the Lynx. Kids don't want their father's
Oldsmobile, or so the media tells them.
D) Exploited the Sega deal for what it was worth. Demanded the
rights to Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, at the VERY least, and developed
them. Invested that cash in developing some high quality software, or
used it, as stated above, to bribe Capcom/Konami or buy one of their myriad
of popular and immediately recognizeable license.
Of course, very little of this appeals to the die-hard Atarian,
becuase it wouldn't have isolated his/her Jaguar as a "special system,"
chock-full of "non-mainstream" games and "small, renegade, garage" development
houses. Bah. Pandering to the likes of such an insignificant minority, whose
only noteworthy aspect is the drooling sophistry they slaver all over USENET
will NOT garner sales, even if it DOES garner a twisted brand of consumer
loyalty. If these people were so concerned about owning "innovative" (and I
uce this term VERY loosely), they can save up a bit and buy a PC. There are
more kinds of "innovative" games on it then there ever would have been on
the Jaguar.
Atari made a mistake by not selling out. It may hurt to admit, but
it's true. In capitalism, you have to give the people what they think they
want, especially when you lack the money to tell the people what they want.
(see Nintendo/Sega/Sony)
>Didn't you just tell us to "lighten up?" "What's the big deal?" you
>say? Didn't follow your own advice I see, eh?
>Some people are concerned about a product they like, called the Jaguar.
>What's YOUR big deal? Why did you waste so much of your time on
>this? Especially since you have no concern for it anyway.
I find it hilarious to think of this small legion of rabid people,
all chanting in ASCII: "Don't die, Atari! We won't LET you!!" If Sony/Sega
dried up today, you certainly wouldn't catch me crying. The Neo-Geo hasn't
been on store shelves for some time, and people still seem to enjoy it...
hmmmm.
I waste my time on this because, quite frankly, I find Atari
fanaticism beyond amusing. It's rather quirky to read the futile diatribes
of hopeless nostalgics, who think that they will be able to buck the trend
and recapture what they believe were the halcyon days of gaming, all the
while completely failing to comprehend that people actually like the
current fashion du jour in arcades. I read these silly posts of people who
believe that the popular fighting/driving games of today are inherently
unfun, and that we, as arcade consumers, have somehow deluded ourselves into
liking them. The Jaguar was pushed as an overt strike against this trend,
and, as with all things fringe, immediately developed a loyal following by
those who felt alienated. Waa waa. It's a special brand of consumer politics,
and it's as funny as all get out.
>Let them write letters if they want to. Big deal.
Never said they couldn't. I just want to reserve the right to laugh
myself into catatonia. :D
>> Actually, kids, get over it.
>Why don't YOU get over it? I'm still wondering why you're wasting your
>time in this group.
Wasting time? Maybe. It's *entertainment*, at any rate. You no like?
You no listen. I'm offering my commentary on the current events as I see
them. You're more then welcome to have a hearty kick at my soapbox,
assuming you have the leg to stand on.
From: csjjh@news.cts.eiu.edu (Jonathan J. Hunt)
Hello there,
I've been wondering what the future market of Jags and Jag games will be
several years after Atari quits manufacturing any new Jag stuff. Let's
say (just for the hell of it) that after the 20 or so games planned for
release this that's it. I sure hope it's not but let's just say it is.
The Jag, while not having the hundreds of games the VCS, NES or 16
bits do but what it does have is on average pretty good and several Jag
games are head and shoulders above the 16 bitters. Here's a few Jag games I
think all these people wanting to sell their jag and giving up on it all
will come to miss and wish they had back given a few years time:
1) Tempest 2000
2) Alien VS Predator
3) Iron Soldger
4) Misille Command 3D
4.5) VLM (not really a game but still cool!)
5) Battlemorph
assuming they see the light of day:
6) Defender 2000
7) Battleshpere
8) Breakout 2000
I think those games alone are enough to warrent a good demand for used
Jags in the years to come, not to mention other good games like Ultra
Vortek, Power Drive Rally, Pinball Fantasies, Val d'Isere Skiing and
Snowboarding, etc...
What about you colectors out there? Anyone think Jag stuff will be in
demand in the years to come as people never seem to appreciate a good
thing till it's gone. I sure hope this year does well for them and they
decide to trickle some more games to us (and more classics at that!) beyond '96.
Peace,
JJH
From: kevcallaway@usa.pipeline.com(K. Boudreau)
All Jag supporters/bashers-
Even I, who have owned a Jag since it came out in Dec. '93 must admit that
the days Atari will be in the home video game system market are limited.
They are losing millions and millions of dollars due to the fact that
1-they aren't getting big name games out and 2- they have lost the trust of
the gaming public by not keeping their release dates.
What Atari will do though is continue to make shit-ass PC's that can
basically only play games. They make money off of this stuff! Before the
Jag, Atari was in the "black." Another possible venture is that they will
enter the "hollow Pc" market. These will be computers with internet
software only and if you want other programs, you have to download them
on-line. This idea would make pc's affordable for everyone. Microsoft
hates this!!
Well the gaming war is up to 3do and Ultra 64. Sega is pretty dead and
while Playstation is great Sony knew that their plan was to make a killing
for a couple months before Ultra-and it's working. But it is a short term
idea at that. Great companies always know how to make a quick buck!!
From: Scott Le Grand
Part of the appeal of the jaguar as opposed to the Playstation and
the Saturn is that there is little or no content control being
imposed by its clueless masters...
As a result, we've gotten (or are getting) Cybermorph, Tempest 2000, Battle
Sphere, Defender 2000, Iron Soldier, Phase Zero and Battle Morph which really
don't have analogs on any other system: reason enough for the true fanatic to
own the ol' Atari bedpan... It's cool to see what the little guys
do when their only weapon is creativity.
OTOH that same cluelessness proudly brought us Club Drive, Hover Strike,
Checkered Flag, I-War and a myriad of other winners as if they were
technological wonders whilst the competition mainly tries to slip
their respective dogs onto the shelves unnoticed... The only people out
there praising the likes of Air Combat, Kileak, Cyber Speedway and
Ghen War are the truly deluded... I say buy 'em all free copies of
Home Alone 2 and Bassmasters and they'll shut up for a while...
What kind of sucks about the whole matter is that we've watched the
industry's idea of gameplay get increasingly lost in a mad dash to
up the look and production values of games. Atari was such a dishrag
operation that this didn't matter to them: their only weapon was
gameplay. And on that count, they delivered enough times to make
me happy... Now had they gotten Madden, Mortal Kombat II, a Street
Fighter, and an Earthwormm Jim or two, there'd have been reason
for the kiddies to buy it and that failure is Atari's own damned
fault.
Luckily, the occasional MechWarrior 2 or Command and Conquer still
slips ouv somebody's door...
Did Atari have an influence on the videogame industry with the
jaguar? Hell yes, they scared the fudge out of Nintendo and Sega
in 1993... Sega's still paying the price for worr{ing about Atari with
their rush job on the Saturn while Nintendo got a clue and realized that
the Tramiels couldn't market immortality. Phear was a jaguar creation that
could have made Atari millions which are going to go to Nintendo instead.
Criticom clearly ripped the idea of gaining a person's moves by defeating them
from Fight For Life...
In the words of Jumping Flash: Too Bad...
From: lobo@nb.net (Manifered H. Wolfe, II)
Hi, all!
(sorry if this doesn't follow a logical pattern, they're just my thoughts)
You don't have to read this if you don't want to, I don't really care, but I
just want to offer some of my thoughts about the video game scene as it
stands in early 1996. First off, it's very disappointing to see game
hobbyists behaving like children with all the system bashing. These are
discussions better suited to the playground, not a newsgroup. The people in
stereo-related newsgroups are not dancing and swearing on one particular
company's CD player over another, there's really no reason to do it here.
Sure, the Playstation has more games than the Jag, and the games are also
alot more polished. But it should be remembered that the PS is to pop/R'B as
the Jaguar is to alternative/punk. Those of us who like the Jag like it
because it is so rough around the edges and the games come from a
programmer's heart, not his/her PR people. Mainstream game developers are
like the bands recording with all the best equipment and playing arenas. Jag
developers are the guys sitting around the garage playing for the sheer
enjoyment of it with the occasional gig at the bar on the corner
(occasionally playing a few covers...like NBA Jam TE). The Jaguar, without
question, is the choice of the hardcore and no-one should have a problem with
that. And if you feel the need to come up with some silly attempt at humor
through some pointless Jag flame, please do not consider yourself a member of
the videogame community because you're just the 10 year old under the
basketball hoop defending the system your parents got you for Christmas. Ok,
now for my views on the rest of the industry...=)
I am a retailer, and I can tell you that Playstation games outsell Saturn
games at about 17 to 1 (at least at my store). In fact, I sell more NES and
2600 games than I do Saturn games. Future prognosis: Sega will have to woo
Jaguar fans if Atari goes under since they'll be the new niche system. I
don't think it's possible for 3 systems to share equal market share, so the
mainstream systems of the rapidly-current "next generation" will be Ultra 64
(Please, please call it the UNES! For tradition's sake, I beg you Nintendo!)
and Playstation. 3DO has pretty much"fallen into the""Green Day" category -
sorta punk, sorta pop...won't be around muah longer, 2 years max. I talked
to Goldstar at CES a few weeks ago and they have completely given up, that's
the reason for the markdown. It's a good deal now, worth picking up if you
don't have one. I feel that right now the best system to own, id you can
only have one, is definitely the Playstation. However, if you are a true fan
of video games, your second system really should be the Jaguar. I still get
alot more excited over Jag releases than I do PS releases, but that's just
me. You don't have to agree with me, I really don't care.
As for PC gamers, well, I think you kinda fit into the classical category in
my music/video games categorizing. The machines are very expensive and alot
harder to play with (considering the infinite configuarations out there and
having to get games to work with yours) just like the instruments in an
orchestra. And PC gamers tend to be older and wealthier, just like classiccl
music buffs! Qo if that's what you like, hey, that's cool." But there's"no
need for you to bash consoles, PC's and consoles are pretty much apples and
oranges. So, to sum up:
Playstation = U2 (poplular, but still cool)
Saturn = Madonna"(populap, on"the way mut)
3DO = Green"Day"(kilda aool, kinda sell-outs)
PC = Mozart (sophisticated)
Jaguar = The Dead Milkmen (relatively unknown, but super-cool)
Well, thanks for listening. All flames will be either largely ignored or
largely laughed at, I'll be the judge. And, hey, lighten up people! I'm
sure stamp collectors don't get at each others throats over Elvis stamps! =)
-Manifered Wolfe
Lobo Electronics
lobo@vicon.net
PS - A special thank you to Mr. Sinclair...every kingdom needs its jester and
you've done an admirable job keeping us all amused here in Atariland. =)
PPS- When will this group be about Atari only instead of 75% cross-posts from
everything else?
From: tanatoes@netcom.com (Andrew S. Wheat)
Hey all!
Well, I probably shouldn't be mentioning this in a public forum, but I
just had to say something with substance after killing about 50 PC vs.
Console threads.
I had a big Jaguar party at my houst this weekend and in addition to
playing 4-player NBA Jam TE and networked Doom (with no crashes at all
once we got it running, and we were at it for about 45 minutes) we also
were able to sneak peeks at Defender 2000 and an early Phase Zero! Here
are my quick reviews:
Defender 2000 was everything I was hoping it would be. In Classic and
Plus modes it was just as hard as I remembered Defender being in the
arcades (although I notice on a nit-picking edge that humanoids in
Classic can survive falls of over half the screen in height without
splatting, whereas in the arcade a quarter screen fall would kill them.)
Plus mode had great psychadelic graphics, the llightnign llaser and these
ABSOLUTELY HUGE ships with shields which came out of nowhere a few levels
into it. People have said that the psychadelic mountain ranges made it
too hard to see the humanoids, but I didn't find it to be problem. One
slight flaw in Plus might be that your ship is pretty big, which is okay
in 2000 mode because the playfield scrolls up and down to accomidate
bigger sprites, but in Plus it just makes you one huge target. o balance
this out, though, you have a hell of a lot of firepower in Plus, and it
quickly becoames a mighty blastfest. Oh, and just so you can't say I
didn't warn you, there IS slight slowdown once in a while in Plus mode
when there are around 50 swarmers on the screen at a time. I didn't
notice any slowdown at all in 2000 or Classic modes.
2000 mode is definately my favorite though. I agree with the AEO
reviewer who said that you'd often find yourself flying by radar, simply
because the sprites are so many, and so large that they're often upon you
before you're ready if you're not keeping a careful watch on the radar.
If you're familiar with the true Minter style of game (examples being of
course Tempest 2000 and Llamatron 2084) you'll be ready for Defender
2000. In my mind Minter is the one true god of gaming chaos. The best
times in all his games are when there's so much going on on the screen
and you have so many powerups active, that you can no longer conciously
keep track of the action and you fall into a trance state, watching in
amazement as your character on screen becomes a terrifying death
machine. I got into this zone several times in D2K. When you have 5
humanoids dangling beneath you, a shield around your ship, 2 AI droids
and the llightning llaser then you need fear nothing. You fly around
watching as everything in the universe explodes before you. And the
graphics in D2K are astounding to watch. Huge prerendered enemies
everywhere, extremely fast and smooth parallax scrolling, and what
appears to be z-moded textures on the ground as well. Beautiful. And
the music is often so remeniscent of Tempest that I often found myself
wondering if I was listening to some of the out-take tracks from the
Tempest CD (this is a good thing!) In particular let me call attention
to the 2000 mode warp round soundtrack, which seems to have been inspired
by the "A Fifth of Beethoven" disco number, but with more voice samples
and a more techno feel. It was always a great disapointment to leave the
warp stage, because I was enjoying so much listening to that tune.
In short, Defender 2000 actually held up to all of my expectations, and
will clearly become an instant favorite for me. (Oh, one other little
detail I loved. It gives you a little evaluation of your performance
after you die, with a quote under the end game meltovision like "My
sheep, Flossie, flies better than you." When it said to me after one
particularly dismal game "Where did you learn to fly? absolutely
everybody in the room broke into gales of laughter. Thank you Jeff
Minter for enriching our lives with this game!)
Phaze Zero was stunning as well. Now the version we got to play was
supposedly only an early beta, and the gameplay may involve much
revision, but what I saw of it blew my socks off. I don't know if you've
seen the still shots of this game on the Hyper Image WWW page, but they
in no way prepared me for the glory of this game. If I had to sum it up
in a single word that word would be FAST, quickly followed up by
BEAUTIFUL. When i shot the trees and the burst into lovely pre-rendered
flame I thought perhaps I was playing a much faster version of Magic
Carpet. Indeed Magic Carpet on speed, ith less defending of castles and
more destroying of SGI prerendered beetle-like badguys pretty much summs
up the game. It's mission based, so you have this HUGE area to explore
and solve (with shield walls to turn off and such ala. Cybermorph.) I
don't know if I can convey how large the worlds that make up this cart
are. For example, on level 3 I was exploring to find a way through
canyons into this one mesa and decided to look at the map, and was
flabergasted to find that I had explored little more than a fifth of the
map in about 10 minutes of play. Yow! The control of your tank is to be
commended too. (Although I kept trying to press C to accellerate,
because I've been playing a lot of Battlemorph lately, which made me
strafe a lot.) A and C allow for easy circle strafing. B fired (very
intuitive that.) Forward is forward, back is back and sideways turns.
All very simple. And the access to options like shield maintenance, the
map or weapon selection is inspired and simple. Indeed, the entire
transparent HUD is very well laid out, although it at first appears a
little cluttered. I was awed by the graphics of this game, and if the
cart I saw was not a completed version then I have extremely high hopes
for the final product.
Note: There was an option to start network play, but we couldn't test it
because we didn't have more than one cart. I wonder if Hyper Image are
using 4-Play's catnet code so we can play huge 8-player games? One thing
I believe would be a problem with networked games is the sheer sise of
the maps. You'd almost never run into your foe. I hope they have
smaller arena like areas for deathmath play.
Note2: There seemed to be no in-game music. I only much later wondered
if I had inadvertantly hit 0 and turned it off.
So that was my weekend... ho was yours? (And now I'm off to buy Space
Ace, Myst and Zoop.)
-Silverblade the Grey Wanderer
P.S. My guests feel that for my next Jaguar party I should have guest
speekers. Anybody in 4-Play wanna visit Boston and bring a couple
catboxes and Battlespheres sometime?
From: mrathwel@uoguelph.ca (Mark Rathwell)
Can anyone tell me which games (currently, or in the works) support
Atari's peripherals? I've got:
Team Tap:
----------
1. White Men Can't Jump
2. NBA Jam TE
3. Fever Pitch Soccer
JagLink:
---------
1. Doom
2. Aircars (assuming this ever comes out ... it's been 'finished' and
laughed at twice)
3. Phase Zero (assuming we ever see it either. Good looking game, but the
dates are always being pushed back)
Voice Modem:
-------------
1. Ultra Vortek
Any others? Personally, I hope Atari gets more games out that
support the Jag-link. One game (and a buggy one at that) is not enough.
PROWLER The Atari Console Disk Magazine February 27, 1996
Copyright (c) 1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 01