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Collector Spotlight - James Griffith
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James Griffith is the perfect example of a true classic gaming collector. I first met James a few years ago, and quickly struck up a friendship with him based on our mutual obssession with old video games. I quickly realized two things; he is extremely knowledgable about his retro gaming, and also hoplessly addicted to everything related to the Atari Jaguar. Speaking with James last week, we setup a time for me to visit him at his home in St. Louis Park to take photos of his constantly expanding collection of Atari Jaguar systems, games and memoriablia for my ongoing photographic record of classic video games. After the photoshoot was finished, I asked James if he would be willing to sit down and talk about how he got started with being an Atari Jaguar collector, and a bit of the history of the system itself:
Tim: When did you get started in Atari Jaguar collecting?
James: Roughly sometime around 1997.
Were you interested in any of the other systems that were out at the time?
One of my friends had an original Playstation, and I remember he paid a couple of hundred dollars for it. It really wasn't someting that my parents or myself could afford to go out and buy, and even if they could, I wouldn't want them to either.
Did you have any other systems before the Jaguar?
Some old Atari stuff; the 2600 and the 5200. I think I had an old NES too.
So what drew you to the Jaguar? By 1997, Atari had pretty much closed up shop...
Oh, it was at the end of its life. It came out in 1993, and Atari more or less fell apart in late 1996. So by the time I got to the Jaguar, they (Atari) were pretty much done.
So it was the price tag that made the Jaguar so appealing?
Definitely. I went out, as a kid, and was able to earn enough of my own money to be able to buy the system. It was $29 at Kay-Bee Toys, brand new and it came with the game Cybermorph. It was great.
Was it easy to find games for it still?
Yeah, Kay-Bee Toys had a bargain bin full of games. The selection was pretty slim though.
So it's safe to say that when you bought the Jaguar, you knew you were buying a dead system?
Oh yeah. Actually I had a friend that knew I was into the old Atari systems. One day he told me 'You know, Kay-Bee has the NEW Atari on clearance', and I really hadn't heard about it. I was too young when the Jaguar first came out in 1993 that I didn't remember any of the advertisements or anything for it.
Well, I don't think anybody remembers the advertisements. They ran them at 4 AM on UHF stations.
Yeah, no kidding. So anyway, I went and checked it out, and decided that I was going to come up with the money to go buy the Jaguar. Because, honestly, how could I go wrong for 30 bucks? If it sucked, who cares? It was only mowing a few lawns worth of money.
So by the time you bought one, pretty much everything had come out for the Jaguar, like the Jaguar CD add-on, right?
Yeah. I actually ended up with the Jaguar CD not long after I bought the Jaguar. I acutally learned about the existance of the Jaguar CD on the back of the box my system came in. I thought it was pretty cool, and wanted one.
Did that mean another trip back to Kay-Bee Toys?
No, actually I found it at a Babbage's Software in Oklahoma City. One day when I was in there, I asked them if they carried the Jaguar CD anymore. The clerk told me that they hadn't seen any for a while, and they weren't really getting much in anymore. But, they offered to put my name on a list, and two weeks later, I got a phone call that they had gotten one.
Wow, they actually called you back? How much was the Jag CD?
Brand new in the box; $29.
Wow, that's awesome! How much would that go for now in that condition?
Probably around $220 or so, which isn't too bad considering that's still $30 cheaper than what it sold for when it first came out.
Changing gears here, you mentioned that you actually got rid of all your original Jaguar stuff about 8 years ago. Why?
Well, my Jaguar CD quit working on me, and I just got incredibly fed up with trying to track a new one down, so I sold everything to a guy in Brazil via eBay.
Seriously? Your entire collection?
Yep. My system, about 40 mixed cartridge and CD games. All of it was all in pretty good condition. I really regret that decision now (laughs).
So what got you back into collecting the Jaguar again?
Moving to Minnesota (laughs). Honestly though, I noticed around 2006 that the prices for a lot of vintage consoles were starting to skyrocket; the Jaguar included. It seemed like collecting was really starting to take off. It made me regret even more that I had more-or-less given away my collection, compared to how much it was worth now. That just made me frustrated, because I missed how much fun I used to have playing it, and I started looking around for a used Jaguar. It took off from there.
This seems to be a common thread with collectors; people don't seem to just randomly pick a console. You don't just suddenly turn 30 and say 'Oh, a 3DO, I will collect this'. It seems that people obsessively collect for the systems that they either had as a kid, or the systems that they always wanted, but never had. That's how I am with the 3DO; I lusted after it when I was younger, but we could never afford it. But now that I'm older, and I can afford it, I obsessively collect things for it, even the completely awful games. Is that what it's like for you with the Jaguar?
It is. But the fact of it is that there are a number of titles for the system that are quite good, even though most people don't really associate the Jaguar with a quality selection of games. Aliens vs. Predator is a great example. Even when I got it in 1998, the graphics and gameplay were very impressive, and it still holds up really well. And yes, there are probably around 50 titles for the Jaguar that are just garbage, and I do own them, but I love the stupid thing! There were some really awful games for the Jaguar...
White Men Can't Jump comes to mind...
Oh yeah, that's probably one of the worst video games I've ever played.
And you have a sealed copy of it?
(laughs) Yes, what a horrible game...
So how large is your Jaguar collection currently?
Approaching 50 games total. A mix of CD-based and cartridge.
How many games are there for the Jaguar? The system wasn't around for very long, right?
A few companies actually produced games up until mid 1998 or so. But there were a lot of games that were never quite finished, but did end up getting released by fans. Games like Skyhammer and Battlesphere, titles that really show off what the Jaguar can do.
Well, on that note, what are some titles you'd recommend for somebody wanting to start collecting the Jaguar?
I'd say my essential titles are Tempest 2000, Alien vs. Predator, and Missile Command 3D. The first two are pretty common, but Missile Command 3D can be a little tough, but worth it. I guess one more would be Cybermorph. It's one of those defining titles for the system, especially since it's the one that came with it. Skyhammer would be another one, but since that's a pretty rare title, expect to pay a lot more for it.
Tell me about Skyhammer. You showed me the game at the last Retro Party, and it completely floored me that the Jaguar could pull off those kind of graphics...
Yeah. Skyhammer was originally developed by Rebellion, but it was cancelled before it was finished, due to the demise of the Jaguar. Eventually, Songbird Productions purchased the rights to it, finished it, and then released it for sale. There's a few games like that actually, most of them came out between 2000-2001. The Jaguar community was really pushing for someone to bring out these games that really showed off what the Jaguar could do, and thankfully, Songbird Productions did.
So, in closing, what's some advice you could give to anyone interested in becoming a serious Jaguar collector?
Be patient. Especially if you're looking for the extremely rare titles. There's not very many places you can simply walk into and find them. Hit eBay and try to find a nice bundle of the system and a few games. Usually, you can find a core system and a few loose games pretty cheaply, and it makes a great starting point to your collection.
Excellent. Well, thanks for taking the time to talk to about the Jaguar with us.
No problem.
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