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Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration features titles from a number of classic systems, including the Jaguar: a home console from 1994. It was the first console to advertise 64-bit graphics at a time when 32-bit was the standard. Developer Digital Eclipse has worked on many notable video game collection titles, but this one serves as an interactive journey through 50 years of video game history rather than just titles from a single franchise. Atari titles played exclusively on the Jaguar have not been available in any officially licensed collection of games until now, and it was not a simple process to get them together.
Digital Eclipse editorial director Chris Kohler spoke with Game Rant about how classic Jaguar games became playable in Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Players can access nine Jaguar titles among the over 100 total across the complete collection, which pulls from seven home console systems.
How Atari 50 Brings Historical Context to Video Games
Unlike previous collections released by Digital Eclipse, Atari 50 has its games arranged in chronological order. Kohler said this was done to put the player on a suggested path so they can learn about these games and their place in history as they are worked through. "This isn't just an aesthetic choice; we believe that by positioning these games in their proper historical context, playing them will be more meaningful."
All included Jaguar titles are original releases, and players will quickly notice similarities between them and other titles playable on various classic collections. Games like Atari Karts and Cybermorph have graphics reminiscent of Super Mario Kart and Star Fox for the Super Nintendo. Other games are reminiscent of old-school home and arcade games, but they are all Atari-published. There are no Capcom games like Alien vs. Predator, nor Midway games like Primal Rage, but additional content and games are unlocked as players progress through the Atari 50 collection.
"This is also the first time that Lynx and Jaguar games have been playable on these platforms. We've actually developed an all-new Atari Jaguar emulator from scratch for Atari 50, and this is going to be the first time that people who don't actually own an Atari Jaguar console can play these games for themselves."
Bringing The Atari Experience Home Again
There are seven groups of games to choose from in Atari 50. The Jaguar family of games is unique primarily due to their availability, as previously published Atari game collections look at arcade and home console titles from the pre-Jaguar era. Although the selection of titles for Jaguar is limited, players are likely to find a game that resonates with them, whether for the playability or the nostalgia.
Even though the Jaguar's popularity paled in comparison to other home console competition, the content produced made enough of an impact that Digital Eclipse was happy to be able to represent the system. Kohler has his own memorable title from playing on the Jaguar, which hopefully other players will now be able to replicate.
"Working on this collection brought back great memories of buying an Atari Jaguar and Tempest 2000 [on deep discount clearance prices] at Kay-Bee Toys [...] and having way more [...] fun with Jeff Minter's brilliant re-imagining of Tempest! We're thrilled to have Tempest 2000 in Atari 50."
Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.