Austin Gaming Expo

Fans of the Atari Jaguar have always been hardcore in their devotion to their system, as has been evidenced by the annual JagFest event. Now on its seventh year, JagFest has served as a mecca for diehard devotees of the Atari Jaguar to meet, socialize, compete in tournaments, and to see and experience the entire Atari Jaguar experience. Events have been held across the United States and in Europe mainly as a standalone event. However, many of the previous organizers decided to hold separate JagFest events at many of the video gaming shows across the country in order to give many more fans a chance to experience the Atari Jaguar. The first annual Austin Gaming Expo is proud to include "JagFest on Tour" into the event!

JagFest History

The first annual JagFest was held in Chicago, Illinois on July 19, 1997. The year prior, Atari had merged with JTS and had dropped support for the Jaguar, yet fans weren't willing to give up on the system. JagFest was created as a way for the dedicated fans to continue the spirit of the Jaguar, and in essence, keep the system alive. Subsequent JagFests were held on an annual basis in cities such as Corfu, NY, Rochester, MN, Austin, TX, Milwaukee, WI, and St. Louis, MO, with each show bringing its own particular flavor to the event. Following JagFest 2002, the organizers are expanding JagFest by bringing it to various classic gaming related shows across the country, with the latest iteration at the Austin Gaming Expo.

Tempest 2000 Tournament

One of the classic Atari arcade games, Tempest, found its way to the Jaguar in the form of Tempest 2000. Created by legendary programmer Jeff Minter, the Jaguar version is a psychedelic shooter that takes Tempest to new heights, quickly absorbing you into its fast-paced, frenzied, colorful environment. In the Tempest 2000 Tournament at AGE, you'll compete with other attendees to see who can last the longest and rack up the most points.

The winner of the Tempest 2000 Tournament will receive a copy of Protector: SE for the Jaguar, donated by Songbird Productions. Runner-up will take home a copy of Black Ice/White Noise, donated by Ambient Distortions Productions Studio.

BattleSphere Network Tournament

BattleSphere is a space combat game that takes some cues from Atari's classic Star Raiders game, but features great graphics, multiple gameplay modes and network support. JagFest @ AGE will feature a four-way BattleSphere tournament, with BattleSphere cartridges and ScatBox networking hardware supplied by BattleSphere creator ScatoLOGIC. Four players will duke it out in real-time space combat against one another and only one will come out on top!

Winner of the BattleSphere Network Tournament will walk away with a ScatBox donated by ScatoLOGIC.

Robinson's Requiem Unveiled

Robinson's Requiem is an unreleased Jaguar CD game that was completed in April of 1996, but was never commercially released. Robinson's Requiem is an adventure game where you must escape imprisonment from the alien planet Zarathustra. But escape, and survival, are not going to be easy! You must monitor your body's vital stats in real time while fighting off predators as you seek a way off the planet. The Austin Gaming Expo will mark the first public appearance of Robinson's Requiem, which you can experience firsthand at the Ambient Distortions table.

Unreleased Jaguar Software on Display

In addition to Robinson's Requiem, a large number of other unreleased Jaguar titles and demos will be on display. For example, Ambient Distortions Productions Studios will be demonstrating several revisions of the ambitious and graphically impressive "Black Ice/White Noise". This game features gameplay elements and graphics which had yet to be seen on any system during the time it was in development. Even though the game is incomplete, it remains an impressive display of what could have been. Several side-by-side comparisons of Jaguar titles versus the same game or released versions of the same game will also take place. Here is a partial list of the software you'll be sample:

Robinson’s Requiem for Jaguar CD (Unreleased)
Black Ice/White Noise Rev 19/21 for Jaguar CD (Unreleased)
Ladybug Demo / Football Field Demos
Arena League Football Demo
Side by Side Fight For Life (Pre-Release and Final Release)
Side by Side Ultra Vortek and Ultra Vortex (Pre-Release and Final Release)
Side by Side Highlander for JagCD and PC
Side by Side Zero 5 for JagCD and Falcon
Space War 2000
Q*Sound Dev Demo
Phase Zero
Brett Hull Hockey for Jaguar CD
Soul Star for Jaguar CD
Caves of Fear for Jaguar CD

View Rare Jaguar Hardware

No JagFest event is complete without giving many Jaguar fans a chance to experience rare and never released items for the system, and the Jaguar has no shortage of prototype hardware. Many of these items will be on display at JagFest @ AGE, including the extremely rare prototype JaguarVR system, a hardware virtual reality addition which was planned and developed for the Atari Jaguar, but never released. A partial list of the items on display includes:

"Jaguar II" motherboard, a prototype of Atari's planned successor to the Jaguar
Jaguar Duo mockup, a prototype case for a planned Jaguar model which included both the base console and CD-ROM add on in one unit
Jaguar development hardware, including full development kits used by Jaguar game developers
JaguarVR System
Notes from the Jaguar designers
Many other rare and unique items

Additional JagFest @ AGE Highlights