How did people in the late 90s find out about Telegames/Songbird releases?

[Gunstar]

And back then, Thunderbird was a cool guy, can you believe that?

 

Good times.

Only because everyone was treating him like a god because of Battlesphere, no one had seen his dark side yet. That's all.

[+Stephen]

When I got into the Jaguar in 1999-2000 the internet was there.

 

I followed the Jaguar Interactive 2 message base, which looked something like this:

http://www.atarihq.com/interactive/

 

Or actually more like:

http://web.archive.org/web/19991006112005/http://atarihq.com/interactive/

 

I actually met Scott, Thunderbird, Carl, and others after I had Battlesphere. Learned of the Nuon, which was also a blast at the time. So prior to the Jaguar Interactive 2, I was part of a Atari user group in Dallas from 1998-2000 so found out a lot about what was going on, like the development of Battlesphere and the Songbird games, from the meetings and our online club chat room.

 

Telegames is in Dallas, so that was kinda fun. I was excited when I found that out, called them up asked where they were and said I was coming by to check out their store. That kinda freaked them out. But they used to have their address on their website so thought they had a business or store. Oh well.

 

Interesting sidenote, the Telegame warehouse was hit by a tornado and a lot of the damaged merchandise found its way into local places like Electric Discount Sales where you can still find copies of Qix for the Lynx and Double Dragon till a few years ago. I bought a Felix and Rapier Jaguar development units in 2001 from the Game Exchange, a game store in Dallas at the time.

 

All I can say about the Jaguar in the late nineties was there was a lot of mystery about the Jaguar. Will we ever find the encryption key? Will Battlesphere ever be released? Songbird releasing four previously unreleased games. Oh hey, Hasbro just released the Jaguar to the public domain (that was cool.) And back then, Thunderbird was a cool guy, can you believe that?

 

Good times.

Cool - I was on there, but actually moved over from when it was hosted on the old redsun domain WAY back I had the last post (by chance) when Jag Interactive 2 went down - I just logged in at midnight and posted Happy April Fool's day or some such.

[82-T/A]

Back in the 1990s... we used the telegraph. It was very exciting... when a telegraph came in, a person from the telegraph office would run out into main street and announce the incoming arrival of a new telegraph. We would all gather around the front of the building and wait for the outcome of who was to receive it. It was either that, or we would receive it through Pony Express... but that was for the well-to-do people...

[Songbird]

As Songbird was (and is) a hobby business for me, I never did any kind of mass market advertising for new Jaguar and Lynx games. Usenet, Jaguar Interactive, AtariAge, and a big email list (500-1000 active members back in the day) were the key methods I used to reach out to Atari fans starting in 1998 with pre-orders for Lynx SFX, and then in 1999 with a slew of Jaguar and Lynx announcements.

 

Beyond that, I did purchase booths at many gaming shows, including multiple CGEs, one PhillyClassic, a JagFest I held myself in '99 in Minnesota, and several JagFest / Midwest Gaming Classics. I was able to get several European game stores to carry my games, but again I think they were isolated stores appealing to hard core Atari fans and not chain stores. I also got some very nice USA national coverage from several gaming magazines once my games were published, including Next Gen and GamePro and a few others I'm probably forgetting. There have been several times over the years when I could walk into a Gamestop or Barnes & Noble and find a magazine featuring Songbird games which was pretty cool.

 

Telegames did pay for ads in a few gaming magazines, and they did get their games into EB and possibly some other chains.

 

Even though Songbird orders and my free time to pursue games have both slowed down over the years, I am amazed and humbled by the support of both new and old Atari fans for Jaguar and Lynx releases. It's been a lot of fun and maybe I will be able to squeak out a few more releases in the coming years.

[+Stephen]

Hey dude - nice to see you still around!

[Brian R.]

I remember Radio Shacks were carrying Atari/Jaguar stuff for quite some time. There used to be a catalog in the store you could look through and order from. I remember looking at them, but never buying.

 

Late 90s... ah, maybe that was the dialup Internet days. And free Internet providers like NetZero and PeoplePC.

[Schmudde]

First, consider that the Telegames petition list was at 870 signatures (I'm #143) before they published Breakout 2000 and Towers II. They had published Brutal Sports Football sometime before, but were hesitant to continue supporting the system.

 

So having a core fanbase of ~900 people isn't a bad start for getting some positive word-of-mouth, which is still the most important form of advertising, even in 2014.

 

Carl already put in his 2 cents. I'll mention that I was already familiar with Songbird due to the projects he developed on the Lynx. And even though it didn't come until much later, Skyhammer was always one of the most notable lost titles on the Jaguar. Particularly due to its connection to Rebellion. So even if you only paid a little attention to Jaguar happenings, it was hard to miss when it was released.

 

~ü

[ovalbugmann]

Well I got my own first computer in 1996, but didn't go online at home till 2004, so until I got the internet I used: 1-800-GO-ATARI pretty much exclusively to get the newer Jaguar stuff and items for Jag I wanted. What I would do is, I got on the mailing list for GoAtari, they would send me a catalog similar to the above pics, I would save up money usually $200-$300 usd and fill out the mail-in order form, get a corresponding Money Order from the store and send it in, wait a few weeks and then it's Jaguar Christmas presents for me! when the box came. Later, prolly after year 2000 I started phoning in my orders using a credit card.

 

Also, I strongly agree with doctorclu in that there was a lot of mystery surrounding the Jaguar back then, a Jag fan was hard pressed to know was going on with the system. I suppose that was due to me being "late" to get onto the internet. And when I went to someone's house who had the internet, we were mostly looking at naked girls, and when I went to the library for internet it was for school or something else. I did see some Jaguar ads in magazines pre-2000 and that was about it man. If you weren't online you just did have all the information.

[Major Havoc 2049]

As Songbird was (and is) a hobby business for me, I never did any kind of mass market advertising for new Jaguar and Lynx games. Usenet, Jaguar Interactive, AtariAge, and a big email list (500-1000 active members back in the day) were the key methods I used to reach out to Atari fans starting in 1998 with pre-orders for Lynx SFX, and then in 1999 with a slew of Jaguar and Lynx announcements.

 

Beyond that, I did purchase booths at many gaming shows, including multiple CGEs, one PhillyClassic, a JagFest I held myself in '99 in Minnesota, and several JagFest / Midwest Gaming Classics. I was able to get several European game stores to carry my games, but again I think they were isolated stores appealing to hard core Atari fans and not chain stores. I also got some very nice USA national coverage from several gaming magazines once my games were published, including Next Gen and GamePro and a few others I'm probably forgetting. There have been several times over the years when I could walk into a Gamestop or Barnes & Noble and find a magazine featuring Songbird games which was pretty cool.

 

Telegames did pay for ads in a few gaming magazines, and they did get their games into EB and possibly some other chains.

 

Even though Songbird orders and my free time to pursue games have both slowed down over the years, I am amazed and humbled by the support of both new and old Atari fans for Jaguar and Lynx releases. It's been a lot of fun and maybe I will be able to squeak out a few more releases in the coming years.

Thanks for all the great Lynx and Jag games, Carl! I bought games from you at a few CGE's in the past and from your site. I remember Gamefan mentioned the Songbird releases in an article.

 

First, consider that the Telegames petition list was at 870 signatures (I'm #143) before they published Breakout 2000 and Towers II. They had published Brutal Sports Football sometime before, but were hesitant to continue supporting the system.

 

So having a core fanbase of ~900 people isn't a bad start for getting some positive word-of-mouth, which is still the most important form of advertising, even in 2014.

 

Carl already put in his 2 cents. I'll mention that I was already familiar with Songbird due to the projects he developed on the Lynx. And even though it didn't come until much later, Skyhammer was always one of the most notable lost titles on the Jaguar. Particularly due to its connection to Rebellion. So even if you only paid a little attention to Jaguar happenings, it was hard to miss when it was released.

 

~ü

Hahaha...I'm #27! Wow, aol.com email address back in the day. You Got Mail! lol

Edited April 15, 2014 by Major Havoc 2049

[atarifan49]

Usenet.

 

Exactly! Before websites like Atari Age we had newsgroups (alt.atari-jaguar.discussion). Email and Newsgroups were two of the first killer apps for the ARPANET, the DoD experiment that turned into the Internet.

 

Atari Gaming HQ's and Jaguar Interactive II were early websites that allowed us to discuss Atari online. We also had email discussions by sending emails to a list server that would re-broadcast your email to everyone subscribed to the list server. And we had online services like Compuserve and Genie. Genie had some great Atari related forums (aka roundtables) and file download archives, along with Compuserve. It was on Genie that I first heard about the Jaguar and Panther systems in development by Atari.

 

We also relied on BBS's (Bulletin Board System) and dial-up modems to access systems hosted by people on their personal computers to stay in contact.

 

It may seem archaic in today's terms, but we managed to spread the word quite well among each other!

 

Glenn

[atarifan49]

Hahaha...I'm #27! Wow, aol.com email address back in the day. You Got Mail! lol

 

I checked that Telegames list and I was at #422 with my old Falcon AFB email address!

[NinSEGA]

 

Exactly! Before websites like Atari Age we had newsgroups (alt.atari-jaguar.discussion). Email and Newsgroups were two of the first killer apps for the ARPANET, the DoD experiment that turned into the Internet.

 

Atari Gaming HQ's and Jaguar Interactive II were early websites that allowed us to discuss Atari online. We also had email discussions by sending emails to a list server that would re-broadcast your email to everyone subscribed to the list server. And we had online services like Compuserve and Genie. Genie had some great Atari related forums (aka roundtables) and file download archives, along with Compuserve. It was on Genie that I first heard about the Jaguar and Panther systems in development by Atari.

 

We also relied on BBS's (Bulletin Board System) and dial-up modems to access systems hosted by people on their personal computers to stay in contact.

 

It may seem archaic in today's terms, but we managed to spread the word quite well among each other!

 

Glenn

The stuff you are mentioning seems more like pre-Jaguar methods of communication.

[atarifan49]

The stuff you are mentioning seems more like pre-Jaguar methods of communication.

Your right, some are pre-Jag methods. I was just sharing some of the ways we managed to communicate before the world wide web really took off and provided great places like Atari Age.

 

Another great way we learned about things was thru Best Electronics catalog - the Sears Roebuck catalog for the Atari community!

 

At the time the original question asked about, we definitely had the email list server.

 

Glenn

[ovalbugmann]

Snail Mail: GoAtari's black and white ordering forms and game descriptions. lol

 

p.s. Hey Glenn, what's kinda Jagcart is that in your profile picture? looks interesting. jagtopus?

Edited April 15, 2014 by ovalbugmann

[+Atari_Warlord]

That Telegames petition list brought back some fun memories. If I ever need to know my old Compuserve email, it's on there.

[+Stephen]

First, consider that the Telegames petition list was at 870 signatures (I'm #143) before they published Breakout 2000 and Towers II. They had published Brutal Sports Football sometime before, but were hesitant to continue supporting the system.

 

So having a core fanbase of ~900 people isn't a bad start for getting some positive word-of-mouth, which is still the most important form of advertising, even in 2014.

 

Carl already put in his 2 cents. I'll mention that I was already familiar with Songbird due to the projects he developed on the Lynx. And even though it didn't come until much later, Skyhammer was always one of the most notable lost titles on the Jaguar. Particularly due to its connection to Rebellion. So even if you only paid a little attention to Jaguar happenings, it was hard to miss when it was released.

 

~ü

Cool to see that list again, I forgot all about it. I'm number 219.

[Zerosquare]

p.s. Hey Glenn, what's kinda Jagcart is that in your profile picture? looks interesting. jagtopus?

Nope, not Jagtopus. Dunno what this is, and Glenn won't tell

[Austin]

Telegames did pay for ads in a few gaming magazines, and they did get their games into EB and possibly some other chains.

 

This is how I first saw screenshots (magazines) and the later is how I would eventually buy a couple of these Telegames releases (EB).

[PeterG]

Nope, not Jagtopus. Dunno what this is, and Glenn won't tell

I always thought it is the Mpeg cart...

[minux]

The two manners I found out about the releases were the internet and the various articles and advertisements in the magazines back then.

 

Pre mainstream internet access, gaming magazines were a huge influence on the gaming culture. The remains of contemporary gaming magazines pale in comparison.

 

If you were a serious Jaguar fan, you had no issue in the late 90s hearing about new releases.

[JaguarBrett]

Ads in some of the mags at the time. I think I have the ads somewhere in my collection. I cut out all the ads, reviews and articles from the beginning of the Jag and later after the Jag died off and put them into binders. Where they are now may be a bit of a mystery though

I thought I was the only one who did this

Mine disappeared into the abyss as well lol

 

I remember first hearing about the telegames through a gamefan advertisement I believe. Songbird titles I was informed of by a fellow Atari fan, and have not stopped buying them since

[Umberto]

I got all the Telegames titles at EB games. Songbird I think I heard about from an email friend.

[high voltage]

Here's an ad from UKs Ultimate Future Games Issue 4 March 1995

[NinSEGA]

Here's an ad from UKs Ultimate Future Games Issue 4 March 1995

Songbird better get on that James Pond 3!

[JaguarGod]

I thought I was the only one who did this

Mine disappeared into the abyss as well lol

 

I remember first hearing about the telegames through a gamefan advertisement I believe. Songbird titles I was informed of by a fellow Atari fan, and have not stopped buying them since

Yeah, I did find a lot of the binders with the ads and reviews in them. I have 4 or 5 binders of information. Crap, I'm 40 years old and it may be a little embarrassing to think about it now Though my Wife and Children seem fine with it. But I truly enjoy being a Jag fanatic and do not apologize for that.