Atari Jaguar VR system. Special thanks to Theodore Rusniak, owner.
Built in UK for Atari by Virtuality Tech. Inc. A brief history: The Jaguar VR unit was designed as the ultimate accessory
for a game system. Flashback 1995: Home virtual reality was thought attainable and on the near horizon. As a result, Sega, Atari, and Nintendo all announced some form of VR. In the
end, the only one that ever made it to market was the much maligned Virtual Boy. (I like it)Several third party VR headsets appeared to meet the intense interest in home VR.
VictorMaxx and Philips Scuba were the most notable. People soon discovered that the current 1995 technology couldn't deliver a true "VR" experience. Most were just TV headsets
disguised as VR. Ironically,the TV headset market hase survived and thrived (Unlike the VR market), and the excellent Glasstron and the I-Trek headsets available today can provide
clear virtual video 100 inches in size, all in a package the size of a pair of eyeglasses. The Jaguar VR: Unlike the Sega
prototype, the Jaguar VR actually works pretty well.The unit is fully functional, and there is a basic interface. Roughly how it works: The Jaguar video is fed into the
interface and out to the headset. There is a pass through for the controller port. This allows the head movements to be translated into direction and motion. The headset had a good
resolution for the time. However, as with all VR devices, you can feel sick and disoriented. This and the extreme cost, coupled with the dire financial straits that Atari was in lead
to it's demise. The controller is a gun like design with two action buttons. The
most readily imagined genre for VR gaming would be fist person shooter. Imagine Alien Vs. Predator VR. Who knows what great games could have been made.
An overview of all the components connected.I remember waiting with great anticipation for the Jaguar VR to appear.
Jaguar was supposed to be a promising start to new Atari hardware and a fresh look at gaming. Unfortunately, incompetent management once again lead to the demise of the reborn Atari.
Ultimately Atari was sold off, and soon looted of it's rich patent money. |
