JagFest 2001

[KevinMos3]

While looking through some old photos recently, I found some pics of JagFest 2001.  I thought it might be nice to upload them here since most of the old sources are gone or only accessible through web archive.  I may remember something incorrectly or not remember at all, so feel free to add to or correct me if you were there.

 

Highlights that I remember:

• Hosted by Dan Loosen (the Goat Store)
• I had a booth at this one where I demoed:

1. the real Lynx AVP prototype (this was before it was widely available)
2. a Phase Zero prototype
3. a 3DO with the unreleased Jaguar games, such as Robinson's Requiem, Demolition Man, Creature Shock, etc.
4. an Atari Jaguar with every released game
5. an Atari ST with various games
6. an Atari 7800 with every game
7. an Atari 5200 with various games

• Micah Rowe had the Brett Hull Hockey cartridge for demo
• The Jaguar VR with Missile Command 3D
• Songbird Lynx tournaments: Ponx (1st place: me).  I remember playing Championship Rally, but I don't remember if it was comlynxed or if there was a tournament.
• Carl demoing Total Carnage, Protector SE, and other Songbird releases
• Dan hosting a Ram It tournament (which was the 1st time I think I saw or played the game)
• 10 linked Jaguars for an awesome BattleShpere tournament (I thought I remembered 16, but just saw some old articles and it was 10)
• Iron Soldier 3 for demo on a NUON
• A museum of classic systems
• A PCFX for demo
• I won a copy of Hoverstrike CD for something, but don't remember what.  Since I already owned every Jaguar game, I kept it sealed... still have it to this day.

While typing this up, I decided to check on a few things and found this old writeup:

Quote

Just home from JagFest 2K1!

Posted by Kevin Mosley (AC840DEA.ipt.aol.com) on July 02, 2001 at 05:13:10:

Hello everyone!
Well, Jagfest 2K1 far exceeded my expectations. A Great BIG thanks to Dan and all the others who did so much to make this year's fest a great success. In my opinion it definitely lived up to being the best yet.

There were a lot of great things to see and some cool protos to play, (Brett Hull Hockey, Slam Racers, Total Carnage, Protector SE, and others), but I'd have to say that my favorite part of all was meeting all the really great people. It was really nice to put a face with the names I've seen around online. That was truly an honor. I'll never forget Micah... everything just seemed to have such an unlucky twist for him that it was almost comical. ; ) But, only because he took it so well. Of course, meeting the man who has given the Jag new life most recently, Carl Forhan, was a pleasure. Thanks to all the rest of you who attended... Eric Armstrong, Randy Femrite and his wife, Ted Rusniak, Fard Muhammad, Clay Halliwell, Clint Thompson, Chad Tindle, Jason Data, Terrance Williams, Dan@AVC, Max and the Goat crew, Dan and Gary... and everyone else who I can't think of right now. Everyone was so nice. Obviously, the Atari community could not be so great without such great people in the community.

There were many items of interest. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw a working Jaguar VR there. Unfortunately, by the time I played it, the tracking was terrible, making it very hard to control. I guess so many people handling it and putting their fingerprints all over it caused its performance to drop.
There was a Library of systems from Pong and Odyssey, to Amiga, Mac, and todays newest systems. That was a really cool trip down memory lane. I had never gotten to play a Vectrex before, or even seen one in operation.
The Nuon was pretty cool, but I wasn't overly impressed with IS3, (there weren't many improvements from the Playstation version), and I still like Tempest 2K better than 3K.... (oops, did I say that? Just don't tell Jeff) : O
Micah Rowe had Brett Hull Hockey and a really cool collection of Atari Jaguar and Lynx reviews, articles, and ads from different publications over the years (including the ads and reviews for the newest games released by Songbird).
Speaking of Songbird, Carl Forhan kept stirring up excitement by announcing a different prototype for display every little bit.
It was great to be a part of the 10 linked Battlespheres. The Jaguar I was seated at failed to connect over, and over, and over, showing me a mocking, stuck out tongue a few more times than I cared to see. After checking all the connections, switching Jaguars, Catboxes, and Battlesphere cartridges, it seemed I was the only variable remaining. Finally, it was discovered that the wrong kind of cable was used on mine, and I was relieved to know that my Jaguar didn't have a personality that I had ticked off.
Lastly, I had a few things for display that I was very pleased to see a few people taking interest in, (mainly Phaze Zero and AVP for the Lynx). I had really hoped to contribute something to the fest this year and I feel like I accomplished a little of that regardless of how small.

As for my trip, I spent a total of 53 and 1/2 hours without sleep. This made for many of you at the fest receiving some blank, "no one's home" stares from me throughout the day. This has been a vacation that has really worn me out. I started by driving from Dallas, TX to Chatanooga, TN, then Lexington, KY to visit my parents. From there, I went to Eastern KY to visit more family and back. Then it was time to make the 8 1/2 hour drive from KY to Milwaukee. By the time I arrived at Jagfest I was out of it... totally hopped up on "yellow jacket" pills. A special thanks to Carl Forhan and Max for helping me unpack and pack. That was a major help. It wasn't until about 10:00 pm that I started feeling somewhat normal again. I apologize if I seemed like a zombie throughout parts of the day. ; )
Tuesday night, I drive back to TX where I'll immediately go to work when I arrive Wednesday evening. It's been a demanding vacation, but it was worth it. I would do it all over again.

Until next time........

Take Care,
Kevin Mosley

 

Unfortunately, the only JagFests I was able to attend were 1998, 2001, and 2003 (which was combined with the Austin Gaming Expo and was the last year for a U.S. JagFest).  While 2003 wasn't a dedicated JagFest, I still had a great time and was glad to make the trip with my friend DoctorClu.

Edited November 18, 2019 by KevinMos3

[Rick Dangerous]

Man look at young Carl F in these pics!  Awesome to see the Blue VR Unit out and about.

[PFG 9000]

That's awesome.  I would have gone if I would have been aware of it at the time.  I didn't find out about JagFest until a few years later when it morphed into the Midwest Gaminc Classic, and I've gone every year since then (maybe 2005ish?).  It's crazy to think what a massive event started out as a small group of dedicated Jaguar fans.  It's also sad to see what little representation the Jag has there today.

[Cobra Kai]

Cool!

[Songbird]

Awesome recap!

 

Who would you rather buy games from... that scruffy looking kid or the "seasoned professional"? You decide.

 

[Rick Dangerous]

37 minutes ago, Songbird said:

Who would you rather buy games from... that scruffy looking kid or the "seasoned professional"? You decide.

Both! 

[Cobra Kai]

That LYNX display was pimp though!

[Songbird]

I still have my Lynx banner and my Jaguar banner (both from 1990s Atari Corp). In fact I still have that Jaguar T-shirt from the old photo.  Don't have the NITB systems any more, though. Those are long gone.  

[82-T/A]

11 hours ago, Rick Dangerous said:

Both! 

Hah! I was just about to post the same thing.

[+thanatos]

Great post!  I went to Jagfest '99 in Rochester, MN, as I lived in Minneapolis back then.  I think I read about it on Usenet and took the Friday off from work to go as it was only an hour drive.

 

Many years later I started going to MGC.  I think in 2012 someone was playing a VHS tape of the event, and I saw myself playing in the Tempest 2000 tournament.  Much more hair and much less weight.   And I am still not nearly as good at Tempest 2000 that others I've met at both events!

 

As an aside, someone jacked the hell out of my car mirror at that Rochester, MN hotel.  Car is long gone, but man I was ticked when I got back to my car that day!