Atari Jaguar-Related VR Units Show Off Virtuality

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing out videogame auction site Bidiots has a pair of Virtuality SU2000 Atari Jaguar-related VR pods for sale. These 1995-era 'virtual reality' arcade machines originally cost "$33,000 - $35,000 per seat", and the machines come bundled with compatible software titles, including Dactyl Nightmare 2, a multiplayer networked shooter in which, if you're not careful, the "awesome [eponymous] beast will pick you up in its claws, and fly hundreds of feet above the playing arena before dropping you to certain death!" A set of specifications for the SU2000 reveals more information, including exciting action shots of the device, and elsewhere, Atari Explorer has pictures of the unreleased Jaguar VR system, an "ambitious plan for a home VR headset at under $300" which used similar technology to this device.

Comments

The Virtuality pods weren't based on the Jaguar.

[samdu]

They were Amiga 3000s. An arcade here on the Isle of Palms had one. They were interesting, not so much for what they were, but what they portended for the future. Unfortunately, that future has not come to pass. Still cool stuff, though.

Re:I had these

[samdu]

If I recall correctly, the PCs were simply for network communication. The real engines of these beasts were the Amigas. Primative? By today's standards, yeah, but oh the promise they showed for the future. Alas, VR is dead on the vine. I still dig the idea of throwing on an immersive headset and completely abandoning the real world for a bit to blast away at baddies in a full 360 degree artificial reality. :(