Was the Atari 7800 and Atari Jaguar more popular in the UK t

[nosweargamer]

Since I'm a US gamer, I'm curious how the 7800 and Jaguar did across the pond. I know that systems like the Master System did much better over in the UK. I know over here both bombed pretty bad. I owned a 7800 as a kid, but I never, ever ran into anyone else who did. I'm also guessing most gamers didn't realize the Jaguar was out when it came out and to this day it gets very little attention.  I also notice some of the rarer 7800 titles can be found in PAL format much cheaper over here.

[TrekMD]

The 7800 actually did pretty well for Atari in the US.  It may not have been like the 2600 or like the success the NES had but it sold well enough for Atari (likely thanks to the backwards compatibility to the 2600).  Sadly, Atari made too many mistakes and delaying the launch until 1986 (after a false start in 1984) hurt sales.  Had they properly launched in 1984, the NES would have had a harder time in the marketplace.  I'm in the US also but I do know that the 7800 did nicely in Europe.  Other folks here who are from the EU can tell a better story, though.

With the Jaguar Atari had just made too many mistakes, which is unfortunate because the console was capable and it was never pushed to its limits. I hardly saw much about it when it was launched.  It also seems to have done better in Europe than it did in the US. 

[AmigaJay]

Araghgh! Bloody browser keeps crashing, 3rd time typing this out!!
The 7800 felt out of date by the time it launched, so did the NES but the saving grace for that was the huge software library, most Atari consoles lacked big 3rd party support.
The Jaguar had HUGE media attention at launch, most mags covered it in detail, if you were a gamer then you would have known about it!
It really killed itself before the competition came along with high software prices and lack of games in the first vital year to get a foothold in the market, that along with it was launched between hardware cycles really giving (jag, 3do, cd32) no chance even before they launched.

[Cryptic33]

Yeah, I go along with AmigaJay.

From personal memory, the 7800 was hardly heard of and largely ignored when launched because it was just too late (as AmigaJay points out). The Jag on the other hand was THE console to have for a very brief time because it was like Turkish Delight, full of promise and the list of forthcoming games was exciting. I seem to recall, the Jag was dropping in price after it's first year - a sign of losing ground but this made it obtainable for tight budget gamers like myself and I love it. The Jag was very well received in Europe and developers there knew how to program it as it's hardware configuration was very similar to arcade machines of the day.

I was also big on car boot sales in the early 90's and traded hundreds of 2600 titles but the 7800 was just not popular or well known despite being a decent console. I owned one for a short while and some games were very good but there didn't seem to be many 7800 specific titles out there so it just died.

[sloan]

So, it sounds like both systems did mediocre on both sides of the Atlantic. Here in midwestern states, 7800 was in lots of stores, but I remember it setting there and not moving very well. NES was flying out the door.

When Jaguar broke, I remember seeing it at Kay Bee and Toys r Us, but not in any big chain stores like Target or K Mart. I bought mine when Atari sold out to some hard disk manufacturer and they were clearancing them through Tiger Direct catalogs. Went to a Kay Bee in the mall and they had a large bin of Jag games for $5 a piece so I stocked up.

All of this is to blame on poor planning and marketing by Tramiels and Atari during that era, plain and simple.

[TrekMD]

All of this is to blame on poor planning and marketing by Tramiels and Atari during that era, plain and simple.

That pretty much sums it up.

[nosweargamer]

Yeah, here in the states hardcore gamers knew of both, but like I said, I have yet to meet someone who owned a 7800 when it first came out. And whenever I looked at 7800 games in the store, I was always alone in that section. I remember Hugues of the Retro League saying that when he worked at EB when the Jaguar was released, the employees themselves where surprised when the first supply of Jags came unannounced and most shoppers either ignored it or where like "Wow, Atari is still around ". I don't think he sold any. (3DO had a similar fate, but Madden did manage to move a few systems)

As an Atari fan, it's a shame. What if Atari released the 7800 right away? What if they agrees to be the distributor for the NES in the States (Atari Entertainment System? Atari Family Computer?). What if they took more time developing the Jag so it could compete with the PS1 and Saturn?

Well, at least y'all in Europe got the better 7800 controller!!!!

[zapiy]

As above, had Atari dedicated more time and money in there promo I am sure thinks would have been different but then again all failed systems could say the same.

[onthinice]

Great question, Nosweargamer!!!

Great responses!!! Thanks Everyone for sharing your memories!!!

[sloan]

The thing that is largely ignored in discussions like this is that both systems were behind the times when they were released. Sega Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System both had tiling and scrolling in spades by 1984. Atari totally underestimated where the gaming trend was heading with the 7800. Had they looked to the success of Pitfall and Keystone Kapers on VCS, they would have seen that the gaming public wanted more than single screen shooters and maze games. When Jaguar released, Atari had some idea that gamers wanted a 12-number keypad like controllers from a decade earlier. Then, they had a convoluted Tom and Jerry processor scheme that many programmers steered clear of. Too many blunders by Atari to ever recover, and they paid the price.