The Video Game Console Library - Atari Panther (Proto)

Atari Panther
PROTOTYPE	DW FACTS by Dark Watcher	PROTOTYPE
Page content, development and design by Marriott_Guy

Developer	Manufacturer	Release Date	Country(s)	Initial Price	Model Number	Game Releases	Overall Rating
Atari	Atari	Proposed for 1991	N\A	Unknown	N\A	3 Developed	N\A
Ratings	Reviews	Pictures\Media	Specs\Manuals	Games\Emulation	Models	Clones	Links

Picture courtesy of Home Computer Museum.

Ratings
Consoles are rated based upon the available technology at the time of its release. Ratings based upon a 10 point scale (10 being excellent\very rare).
Console Design (appearance, functionality)	N\A
Console Durability (sturdy or frail and fragile)	N\A
Controllers (design, response, feel, use)	N\A
Graphics (graphical capability and presentation)	N\A
Audio (sound, music, speech, effects)	N\A
Media (game media format, design, durability)	N\A
Packaging (appeal, durability of packaging)	N\A
Game Library (quality, quantity of game library)	N\A
Innovations (technological industrial strides)	N\A
Gamer Value (good investment for the gamer?)	N\A
Collector Value (good collector investment?)	N\A
Games Rarity (general availability of games)	N\A
Console Rarity (general availability of a system)	N\A

Reviews

Atari Panther proto

Atari Panther Development Unit. Picture credits unknown.

DW FACTS
- by Dark Watcher

The Atari Panther was scheduled to be launched in 1991 at the same time as the SuperNES. Technically it could have out performed the SuperNES. Even though the Panther used a 16-bit Motorola processor, the system used a 32-bit object oriented graphics processor.

The Panther was nearing completion when Atari was approached to assist in the development of a multiprocessor console dubbed "Flare 2". Atari continued to develop both consoles simultaneously. Development of Flare 2 began to progress at a rapid pace. The Atari USA's President of Software Development at this time, Larry Segal, made the costly decision to halt all development on Panther in favor of the renamed 64-bit Atari Jaguar. The games that were written for Panther, such as Crescent Galaxy and Cybermorph, were subsequently converted to the Jaguar console.

Atari Panther logo

The Panther was near its final stages of development when it was suddenly scrapped. It will never be known if the Panther would have been the console to steal the thunder from Sega and Nintendo during the 16-bit console era. Perhaps if they did Panther at the same time as SuperNES things would have turned out differently for Atari.

HANDS ON REVIEW

Unfortunately a HANDS ON REVIEW will never be available since this console was never released.

Pictures & Media

Various picture\media for this console.

The following are conceptual drawings based on technical documents obtained for the Atari Panther. Pictures are courtesy of AtariMuseum.de

Atari Panther - Top

Atari Panther - Top

Atari Panther - Front

Atari Panther - Front

Atari Panther - Back

Atari Panther - Back

Atari Panther - Side

Atari Panther - Side

The following are 3D Model images of the Atari Panther created by krupkaj at AtariAge

Atari Panther 3D Model

Pictures of the Atari Panther Development system courtesy of Home Computer Museum. Click images to enlarge.

Specs & Manuals

For the hardware enthusiasts out there - all the detail you\we love.

Though this system was never released, detailed specs have been made available
due to the finding of an Atari Panther tech manual in a dumpster outside of Atari's HQ.

Processor Type	Processor Speed	Other Processor Information	RAM \ Video RAM
Motorola 68000	16 MHz	Blossom Video Card	32 KB fast static RAM \ N\A
Screen Resolution	Color Palette	Polygons \ Sprites	Audio
320 x 200	262,144 colors / 7,860 on-screen	65,535 sprites \ 2000 Simultaneously	29 bit DSP (29 bit), Stereo PCM (16 bit), 25 Voices (independent)
Media Format	Media Capacity	Games Released	Other Supported Formats
Cartridge	6 MB	0 (four were developed)	None
Internal Storage	External \ Removable Storage	Game Controllers	Other Game \ Peripheral Devices
64 KB ROM	None	3 button Joystick	None
Controller Ports	Network Ports	Other Ports	Audio \ Video
Two (2)	None	Two Headphone Jacks	RF, RGB, S-VHS, Genlock option
Power Supply	Other Outputs	Other Details \ Notes
Unknown	None	None
Manuals
Not available.

Games & Emulation

Games screen shots and\videos released for this system.

Three games were developed for the Atari Jaguar: Panther-Pong, Cybermorph and Crescent Galaxy, with the latter two being ported to the Jaguar.

Third Party Emulators
Program	Website	Description
System was never released.

Models

Additional authorized releases for this console.

System was never released. The picture below is a concept drawing of the chassis based on the Panther's technical documentation.

Atari Panther Concept Drawing

Clones

Non-licensed releases (clones).

This system was never released.

Links

Highly recommended additional sites\resources for this system.

Name	Website	Description
HCM: The Atari Panther Story	http://www.homecomputer.de/pages/panther.html	Excellent article on this vaporware system.
AtariMuseum.de	http://www.atarimuseum.de/panther.htm	Atari Panther specs and more (in German)

visitors since 01-Apr-2008
Page last updated 11-Dec-2011

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