CHICAGO — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics Show — Atari Corporation announced today that playing Jaguar games with opponents over a single telephone line will be a reality in the 4th quarter of 1994. New technology, developed by Phylon Communications Inc., leaders in advanced fax/modem/voice technology, permits two users to play Atari Jaguar video games against each other. Utilizing the same phone line, they may speak to each other as they play. The game experience is truly shared by the two gamers although they may be miles apart from each other.

The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator uses headsets for the players to hear each other speak as well as listen to the stereo benefits of the game being played. Users will also have call waiting indications, both at local and remote ends, to pause and resume a game due to an interrupting call in the middle of a game. Thus, this product can be enjoyed by the players without being a nuisance to others in the home. "By offering our voice-plus-data technology to leading OEMs and systems manufacturers, like Atari, Phylon is pioneering multimedia communications technology on the dial-up network," noted Dr. Hamdi El-Sassi, President and CEO of Phylon. 

The first games planned to exploit the features of the Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator are Doom(TM), Club Drive(TM) and Iron Soldier(TM). "Reports I have been receiving from Jaguar owners is that they are ready for this technology. We have it and we are going to offer it this Christmas," announced Sam Tramiel, President and CEO of Atari Corporation. "By reviewing each game we have in development, we have been able to make certain each one integrates every bit of power we can put into it." The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator is compatible with Atari Jaguar; the world's first and only 64-bit interactive multimedia home entertainment system. The Atari Jaguar and compatible software titles have been awarded multiple awards for technical achievement, design and innovation worldwide. The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator is packed complete with stereo headset and is engineered for user friendly, plug 'n' go operation. Future software options will enable the Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator to access existing and upcoming online services on the Information SuperHighway.