News: Tetrisphere's Jaguar origins

January 11, 2006, 02:30 PM

by brandon, via H20 Entertainment -
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phear.jpg Here's a little-known tidbit - Tetrisphere on the Nintendo 64 actually had its origins on the Jaguar. Rumor has it, according to Lawrence, that Nintendo saw it (the game was then called Phear) at the Atari booth at CES, and bought the rights to it. Lawrence relates the story in his neography blog, and also has linked the brochure, complete with atrocious typos. Here's a quote (not interesting for its humor, so much as its historical relevance): "Be blown away with the experience of moving, rotating, spinning and zooming into 4-demensions. Don't miss this ultimate experience! Using the power of Jaguar 64-bit entertainment system."

And some stats:
Phear Specifications:
Resolution: 384x240 pixels
Palette: 65,536 colours
Polygons: 50,000+ / second
Sound: 8-channel sound / FX
Playability: Awesome
Geometry: 4-Dimensional
Lastability: Virtually Addicting
Music: 12+ Modules
Release Date: January 1995