AtariGeneration 5
Atari Jaguar
1993
AU Release
1 January 1994
AU Launch Price
$699 AUD
~$1530 today
Units Sold
250K
Technical Specifications
Processor
Motorola 68000 @ 13.3 MHz + 'Tom' & 'Jerry' (dual 32-bit custom chips)
Memory
2 MB RAM
Storage
None
Media
Cartridges (Jaguar CD add-on available)
Best-Selling Atari Jaguar Games
Global lifetime sales
Cultural Impact
The Atari Jaguar was Atari's last attempt to recapture the hardware market it once dominated, and it ended in commercial failure. Controversially marketed as 64-bit — a claim technically supported by the 64-bit data bus shared between its two custom processors, 'Tom' and 'Jerry' — the Jaguar struggled to attract third-party developers who found its unusual architecture difficult to program. Despite this, it produced Tempest 2000, widely considered one of the greatest game remakes ever made, and creditable ports of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. The Jaguar's commercial failure sealed Atari's exit from hardware manufacturing entirely. In 2004, Atari officially declared the Jaguar an open platform, meaning anyone can legally develop for it — and a small homebrew community continues to do so today.
Did You Know?
Atari's '64-bit' marketing claim for the Jaguar was technically based on the 64-bit data bus — but the main CPU was a 32-bit Motorola 68000, creating one of gaming's great marketing controversies
Tempest 2000, the Jaguar's best game, is considered one of the finest arcade remakes ever made — Jeff Minter's psychedelic reimagining of the original Tempest is still fondly remembered by retro enthusiasts
In 2004, Atari Corporation officially released the Jaguar as an open platform — meaning it is now 100% legal to develop and sell games for a 30-year-old console without a licence
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