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Atari Jaguar CD

Peripheral for the Atari Jaguar video game console From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Atari Jaguar CD
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The Atari Jaguar CD is a CD-ROM peripheral for the Jaguar video game console. Only 11 games were released for the Jaguar CD during its lifetime. However, previously unfinished and homebrew games have since been released.

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History

Atari announced a CD-ROM drive for the Jaguar before the console's November 1993 launch.[1][2] Codenamed Jaguar II during development,[3] the Jaguar CD was released on September 21, 1995 for US$149.95 (equivalent to about $310 in 2024).[4][5] It was originally scheduled for launch during the 1994 holiday shopping season, with multiple delays.[6] In mid-1994 Atari and Sigma Designs signed an agreement to co-develop a PC board that would allow Jaguar CD games to be played on home computers, with a scheduled release by the end of 1994.[7] However, it was never released.

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Technicals

The drive fits into the ROM cartridge slot atop the console, with its own pass-through cartridge slot to optionally run software that uses cartridge only or that uses cartridge and CD in tandem.[8] The Memory Track cartridge stores saved game position and high scores. Several publications have criticized the Jaguar CD's design for resembling a toilet.[9][10][11][12]

The Jaguar CD has a double-speed (2×) drive[13] and built-in VLM (Virtual Light Machine) software by Jeff Minter, using a spectrum analyzer for a sophisticated video light show for audio CDs.[8] It is bundled with Blue Lightning, Vid Grid, the Tempest 2000 soundtrack CD, and a Myst demo disc. Every startup screen is unique, using the VLM for a random light show.

Jaguar CDs can store up to 790MB,[14] more than conventional CD-ROMs. Its proprietary CD format is based on the audio CD format, instead of standard CD-ROM data formats. It allows for more storage, and its incompatibility foils casual piracy, at the expense of reduced error correction.

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Game library

See also

References

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