Atari Jaguar
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| |
| Jaguar with original PowerPad controller | |
| Developer | Atari Corporation |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | IBM |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fifth |
| Release date | NA: November 23, 1993 EU: June 27, 1994 DE: September 1994 JP: December 8, 1994 ESP: April 1995 |
| Discontinued | 1996 |
| Predecessor | 7800 XEGS Panther (canceled) |
| Emulated | ✓ |
The Atari Jaguar (AJ) was a fifth generation home video game console released by Atari in 1993. It had a Motorola 68000 CPU and 2 custom RISC CPUs. It has 2MB of RAM. Despite the intense marketing efforts by Atari, the Jaguar is, in fact, a 32-bit console with a 64-bit bus. The system's convoluted architecture didn't help matters either, which led most developers to just use the 68000 for gameplay logic. The console would prove to be the final home console release for Atari. There was also a CD add-on called the Atari Jaguar CD (AJ-CD).
In 2000, the console's patents were released into the Public domain, which effectively made it an open system - the homebrew scene for the Jaguar is particularly active compared to its competitors (e.g. the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and Sega 32X) as a result.
Emulators
[edit | edit source]
Comparisons
[edit | edit source]- BigPEmu
- The newest and most compatible Atari Jaguar emulator by Rich Whitehouse. It can be considered one of the best emulators of all time: boasting 100% compatibility, lots of enhancement capabilities and supports nearly all of the hardware features, peripherals. Written for Digital Eclipse as the Jaguar emulator for Atari 50, meaning it's not Open-source due to its private contractual obligations.
- Virtual Jaguar
- An open-source emulator based on the original by the same name. Use the link given as "libretro core" on this page and choose the most current version from there. As of 2026, it has been actively maintained by Provenance developer Joseph Mattiello, adding crucial GPU, DSP and blitter timing models to make several games playable. In addition, it is the second emulator to support the JagLink peripheral, the first emulator to support the unreleased Jaguar Voice Modem, and the only emulator to support true color Gouraud shading.
- Phoenix
- About 95% of Jaguar titles are compatible. No support for AJ-CD/AJ-VR games. The PC version of the emulator is only available in Russian, but an English patch is available.
- MAME
- Preliminary support. Some games boot but the emulation is far from perfect.
- Project Tempest
- Was the first ever working Atari Jaguar emulator. It emulates some games, but most have issues. As its name suggests it was primarily made for Tempest 2000, with other games as secondary goals. Project Tempest is the first Jaguar emulator that supports Jaguar CD games, but only two are compatible; Primal Rage and Baldies (the latter has sound distortion though). It has not been updated since 2004.
- IrataJaguar
- The Phoenix emulation project is released as separate emulators for Android, this is the Jaguar version. Identical compatibility to PC version according to the author. Requires fast 64-bit CPU 2GHz+ or better for full speed.
Enhancements
[edit | edit source]| Name | BigPEmu | BizHawk | VirtualJaguar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Controls | Input lag mitigating | ✓ | ? | ? |
| Mouse injector | ~[note 2] | ✗ | ✗ | |
| True/Dual analog control | ~[note 2] | ? | ? | |
| Turbo button | ? | ? | ? | |
| Graphics | Resizable internal resolution | ✓ | ? | ? |
| Texture replacement | ✓[note 2] | ? | ? | |
| Widescreen hack | ? | ? | ? | |
| Performance | Internal frame rate hack | ✓[note 2] | ? | ? |
| Overclock | ✓[note 2] | ? | ? | |
| Post-processing | AI-powered filter (Freestyle) |
? | ? | ? |
| Filters | ✓ | ✓ | ~[note 3] | |
| Inverse tone mapping compatible | ✓ | ? | ✓ | |
| Post-rendering anti-aliasing (FXAA, TXAA, and MLAA/SMAA) |
✓ Existing RetroArch anti-aliasing shaders automatic conversion with the tool. |
? | ? | |
| Post-rendering scaling (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos, and FSR 1) |
✓ | ? | ✓ | |
| Shader chain | ✓ There is a project called duimon-bigpemu which implements some of the Mega Bezel shader presets to BigPEmu, by Duimon. |
✗ | ~[note 3] | |
| Quality of life | Automatic updater | ? | ? | ? |
| Built-in custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes For using this on Windows, you need CRT Emudriver. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility". |
~ BigPEmu will auto-detect available display modes (resolutions at ideal frequency) and present them, which should include vertical resolutions down to 200p. |
Exclusive to libretro cores and GroovyMAME at the moment.
Also there is a project for achieving software emulators like libretro cores and GroovyMAME send the raw RGB data over a network to a core running on MiSTer, it basically turns the MiSTer into a GPU for the emulator allowing for easy setup and use with CRT TVs/Arcade monitors. | ||
| Big Picture Mode | ✓ | ✗ | ~[note 3] | |
| Built-in cheat manager | ? | ? | ? | |
| Built-in graphics mod editor/manager | ? | ? | ? | |
| Built-in patch manager | ? | ? | ? | |
| Command-line options | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Pause/Resume emulation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Per-game profiles | ✓ | ✓ | ? | |
| Portable and stealth Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary prerequisites and dependencies for your operating system if it is not statically linked. |
✓ | ? | ? | |
| Streamable compression format | ✗ | ? | ~[note 3] | |
| TAS features | Fast forward/Turbo speed | ✓ | ✓ | ? |
| Frame step (forwards and backwards) |
? | ? | ? | |
| Macros/Scripts/Lua | ✓ | ✓ | ? | |
| Movie recording/playback | ✓ | ✓ | ? | |
| Rewind | ✓ | ✓ | ? | |
| Save states | ✓ | ✓ | ? | |
| Misc. | Ambient sounds simulation Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises. |
✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Audio filters and presets Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware. |
Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment. | |||
| Debug features | ✓ | ? | ? | |
| EmuVR support | Exclusive to libretro cores at the moment. | |||
| Free Look Free Look is an enhancement feature that allows manipulation of the in-game camera. |
While freecam would be technically possible, it will require per-game patches.
Said patches would require a significant amount of time to reverse the game's engine, which means that only someone talented with enough dedication to a single game could do it. | |||
| Netplay Should not be confused with JagLink emulation. See hardware features and peripherals. |
✓ | ? | ? | |
| RetroAchievements | ✗ | ✓ | ~[note 3] | |
| Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported. |
? | ? | ~[note 3] | |
| Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically. |
You can use RetroArch's AI Service or the standalone offline bquenin's Interpreter. | |||
Hardware features and peripherals
[edit | edit source]| Name | BigPEmu | BizHawk | VirtualJaguar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware features | Analog input circuitry[note 4] | ✓ The author has  demonstrated the addition of analog inputs to Iron Soldier via Lua scripting language despite game lacking native analog input support. |
? | ~[note 5] | |
| System BIOS | ✓ | ? | ? | ||
| Peripherals | Atari Jaguar CD | ✓ | ~ Only a few Jaguar CD games work and playable. All other Jaguar CD games have issues and are nearly unplayable. |
~[note 5] | |
| Controllers | 3D flight stick with 6 degrees of freedom[note 6] | ✗ | ? | ~[note 5] | |
| ADC-Reg | ✓ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| Analog controller | ✓ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| Driving controller | ~ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| Light gun[note 7] | ✗ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| Head tracker | ✓ | ? | ✗ | ||
| Rotary spinner controller[note 8] | ✓ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| ST/Amiga mice and compatible trackballs | ? | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| JagLink | ✓ | ✗ | ~[note 5] | ||
| Memory Track Cartridge | ✓ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| Team Tap | ✓ | ✗ | ~[note 5] | ||
| Ultra Vortek Voice Modem[note 9] | ✗ | ? | ~ Only in the Libretro core. Only currently supports netplay but not voice chat | ||
| Unofficial | Atari Lynx connectivity[note 10] | ✗ | ? | ? | |
| CatBox/ScatBox/CatNet/ScatNet[note 11] | ✓ | ? | ~[note 5] | ||
| VR | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ||
| Misc. | Jaguar Game Drive Cartridge[note 12] | ✓ | ? | ~[note 5] | |
The Pro Controller is excluded from this list as its extra buttons are mapped to keypad buttons. L and R are mapped to 4 and 6, and Z,Y,X are mapped to 7,8,9. Therefore, there are no game requiring the use of the Pro Controller, and it acts like the standard controller for the purpose of emulation.
Atari CoJag
[edit | edit source]- Main article: Arcade emulators#Home console-based hardwareMAME only supports this variant.
Game-specific features
[edit | edit source]| Name | MAME |
|---|---|
| 64-bit ROM bus[note 13] | ? |
| Compact Flash-To-IDE support[note 14] | ? |
| Different CPUs[note 15] | ? |
| Dual light gun[note 16] | ? |
| Extra RAM[note 17] | ? |
| Hard disk drive[note 18] | ? |
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Libretro core is still active.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 BigPEmu offers an option to increase blitter speed, making low frame rate titles (e.g., Alien vs. Predator) much more playable. Also features a powerful scripting system. BigPEmu version 1.092 added analog/mouselook support to the AvP, Wolfenstein 3D, Iron Soldier scripts (includes always-strafe and always-run options). To use the new AvP/Wolf3D mouselook, enable the respective script, set either input device 1 or 2 to "Analog" as the device type, and bind the first 2 analog inputs to whatever you choose. Mouse, analog stick, whatever.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Only available for libretro core. Virtual Jaguar libretro core RetroAchievement support.
- ↑ Early K series NTSC Jaguars had supported the paddle interface (the motherboard 8-bit ADC converter) for analog inputs on its board but it was later removed to cut costs, as such analog controllers would require their own ADC chips on later consoles. With some soldering, the paddle interface can be reimplemented on later models, but the only games to support analog joystick is BattleSphere and BattleSphere Gold.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Only in the Libretro core
- ↑ See the Jaguar Console Hardware Release Notes on p. 20 for this yet another unreleased controller. It's unknown which games if any have support for it in their code.
- ↑ Homebrew only
- ↑ Rotary spinner controller with analog stick input instead of (or complimentary to) the standard D-Pad was apparently to be released by Atari but scrapped. Tempest 2000 has hidden rotary mode which supports it. Homebrew games Kobayashi Maru and Impulse X are also known to support it. There're unlicensed 3rd-party controllers, though.
- ↑ Around a hundred unreleased prototype units were produced for multiplayer functionality in Ultra Vortek.
- ↑ Jaguar's board has ComLynx signal I/O, and you can get a ComLynx cable hooked up with some soldering as Atari planned connectivity support between the two, but there's no official software to run and the feature is unused. Homebrew can be potentially written to utilize it.
- ↑ Needed to max out AirCars at 8 players and BattleSphere at 16 players (32 players when two players are playing co-op on a single console). JagLink alone without this will only support 2.
- ↑ Enables bank switching in ROMs below 6MB
- ↑ Instead of Jaguar's 32-bit bus
- ↑ Used by modders instead of HDD
- ↑ Motorola 68020 (Area 51) and MIPS R3000 (Maximum Force) instead of Jaguar's Motorola 68000
- ↑ Jaguar supports only 1 light gun
- ↑ 4MB instead of Jaguar's 2MB
- ↑ 1 GB for Area 51 and 2 GB for Maximum Force
References
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]- Digital Foundry's Inside the Atari Jaguar with Rich Whitehouse
- BigPEmu 1.09 - New network modes, Alien vs Predator multiplayer!
- BigPEmu 1.12 - Linux, SDL2, D3D12, Blitter Captures, the Hidden Power of Conditional Breakpoints
- Checkered Flag for the Atari Jaguar, Made Incredible by BigPEmu
- Emulating the Atari Jaguar - Rich Whitehouse PRGE 2023 Portland Retro Gaming Expo
- RetroRGB: Atari Jaguar Emulator with Creator Rich Whitehouse
