Manufacturer | Magnavox, Philips |
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Type | Series of home video game consoles |
Generation | First generation Second generation |
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Magnavox Odyssey is the general brand name of Magnavox's complete line of home video game consoles released from 1972 through 1978. The line includes the original Magnavox Odyssey console, the Magnavox Odyssey series of dedicated home video game consoles, and the Magnavox Odyssey 2 ROM cartridge-based video game console released in 1978. Philips Odyssey is the brand name that includes the Philips Odyssey series of dedicated home video game consoles.
Magnavox sold a total of 1,773,918 units across the entire Odyssey brand between 1972 and 1981 with a total sales value of around $71,300,000.00. [1] Nearly half of those sales occurred between August 1972 and September 1976 with total sales at that time being around $45,000,000.00 selling 800,000 units. [2]
The Magnavox Odyssey, released by Magnavox in September 1972, is the world's first commercial video game console. Designed by Ralph H. Baer and first demonstrated on a convention in Burlingame, California on May 24, 1972, [3] it was sold by Magnavox and affiliates through 1975. The Odyssey uses a type of removable printed circuit board card that inserts into a cartridge slot, allowing the player to select the unit's various games by connecting different paths along the unit's internal logic circuitry. They do not contain any programming.
There are eight dedicated home video game consoles and one TV with a built-in game console in the Odyssey series. All of these consoles were released in the US by Magnavox after its purchase by Philips in 1974. [4]
The Magnavox Odyssey 100 dedicated console was announced in the Spring of 1975 with first shipments on October 30 [2] and a launch price of $99.95, [5] [6] although pricing dropped quickly with pricing listed at $80 by June 1976 [7] and by Christmas of 76 as low as $39.95. [8] It uses a multi-chip discrete component design, which makes it much simpler than all later dedicated consoles Magnavox would eventually release. Magnavox already had a single-chip design in mind that year, but wanted to have a product they could release immediately if Texas Instruments, the supplier of their single video game chips, was unable to deliver in a timely manner. [9]
The Odyssey 100 was designed around four Texas Instruments chips. It has two games (Tennis and Hockey). Neither game had on-screen scoring and the system used a crude buzzer for sound. The Odyssey 100 is powered by either six "C" batteries or a 9 volt AC adapter. Each player had three knobs for horizontal movement, vertical movement and ball trajectory adjustment ("English").
The Magnavox Odyssey 200 dedicated console was released in 1975 as a deluxe companion of the Odyssey 100. Marketed at the same time as the Odyssey 100, it began shipping units on November 12, 1975 [2] at $129.95. [6] Using the same TI multi-chip design, but adding 2 chips, [10] the console improved on the Odyssey 100 in several areas. In addition to Tennis and Hockey, the Odyssey 200 featured a third game variation called "Smash" (essentially, the sport known as Squash). The Odyssey 200 was also the first dedicated system to feature an option for four on-screen paddles instead of the customary two. [9] The game manual, as well as Magnavox's service documentation describe this as an option for two or four "players," although the console itself can only be physically operated by two persons; consequently, the 200 is frequently and erroneously described as a "four-player" console today. The Odyssey 200 also added a unique method of non-digital on-screen scoring in which a white rectangle moved one space to the right each time a player scored a point. Like the Odyssey 100, the Odyssey 200 is powered by either six "C" batteries or a 9 volt AC adapter and uses three control dials for vertical and horizontal movement and ball "english."
The Magnavox Odyssey 300 dedicated console, announced in May 1976, [11] it was released in October for US$69. [12] Unlike Magnavox's previous two dedicated console products, the Odyssey 300 was meant to compete directly with the Coleco Telstar. Like the Telstar, the Odyssey 300 uses the AY-3-8500 chip as its logic and was among the first dedicated consoles to use a single IC chip as the focus of its design rather than multiple computer chips or transistor–transistor logic. [13] The Odyssey 300 has the same three games as the Odyssey 200, although, owing to its usage of the AY-3-8500, their gameplay more closely resembles Atari's Pong than Magnavox's previous games; horizontal control was absent, ball angle was automated, and the games are controlled with a single dial instead of three. Unlike the 200, the Odyssey 300 console has three difficulty levels: Novice, Intermediate, and Expert. [13] Also owing to its implementation of the AY-3-8500, the 300 introduced digital on-screen scoring.
The Magnavox Odyssey 400 dedicated console was released in 1976 [14] for $100. [11] The Odyssey 400 is an updated version of the Odyssey 200 with automatic serve and on-screen digital scoring features added. The console plays the same three games as the Odyssey 200—Squash (known as Smash), Tennis, and Hockey—and has the same three control dials for vertical movement, horizontal movement, and "english" control. An additional Texas Instruments chip was used to implement on-screen scoring; [14] the mechanical score sliders of the 200 were dispensed with.
The Magnavox Odyssey 500 (model number: 7520) was released in 1976 for $130 [11] as Magnavox's high-end companion to the Odyssey 300 and Odyssey 400 systems. The Odyssey 500 is essentially a deluxe version of the Odyssey 400 with several crucial improvements. The 500 featured color graphics (the first Odyssey game unit to do so) and replaced the standard paddles with sprites representing the athletes of its various games: a tennis player, a squash player, and a hockey player. The three players and three playfields were each chosen by separate toggle switches; games were thus selected by matching the player to its appropriate playfield. In addition to the Smash, Hockey, and Tennis games, Odyssey 500 featured a fourth game, Soccer, by using the squash player graphics with the hockey playing field. [9] Unlike the Odyssey 400, however, the 500 does not support four onscreen "players."
The Odyssey 500's manual acknowledged that the player graphics, being of different sizes, essentially represented different difficulty options. Interestingly, while Magnavox exploited the "mismatching" of players and playfields to market the Odyssey 500 as having a fourth game, the remaining five possible game combinations were not advertised or documented.
Odyssey 500 offers automatic serve, displays digital on-screen scores between plays, and provides manually adjustable ball speed control. As with all previous Odyssey units, power is delivered via an AC adapter or six "C" cell batteries. [15]
The Magnavox Odyssey 4305 (model number: 3616R061A) was released in 1976 [16] [17] [18] or 1977 [19] and is a 19 inch [20] color TV with a built-in Magnavox Odyssey 300 [21] [18] or 500. [17] The label on the backside of the TV reads "October 1976". [22] It was sold for US$499. [23] [24] Its two wired game controllers are very similar to those of the Ping-O-Tronic, with each containing one button and a paddle. It is extremely rare. [17]
The Magnavox Odyssey 2000 (model number: BH7510) dedicated console was released in 1977. The Odyssey 2000 was basically an updated version of the Odyssey 300. Like the 300, the Odyssey 2000 uses the AY-3-8500 single-chip design (which is also used in the Odyssey 3000). The Odyssey 2000 is set up for two players and uses a single rotating knob for each player's game control instead of the three knobs used by earlier Magnavox dedicated video game consoles. In addition to the Tennis, Hockey, and Squash ("Smash") game variations, the Odyssey 2000 adds the Practice variation of one-player squash. [25] Points scored during gameplay are shown at the top of the screen when each player scores and the winner is the first player to gain 15 points. Like earlier Odyssey models, the Odyssey 2000 is powered by either six "C" batteries or an optional AC adapter. [15] : 18 The Odyssey 2000 has a built in speaker inside of it.
The Magnavox Odyssey 3000 (model number: 7508) dedicated console was released in 1977. The Odyssey 3000 features the same game variations as the Odyssey 2000 (Tennis, Hockey, Smash, Practice). The unit is set up for two players but a solo-play Practice mode for Smash is also available. A three-position handicap switch allows players to set skill level, and additional controls allow players to select automatic or manual serve, ball speed, and ball deflection angle (20 or 40 degrees). [15] : 21 With the Odyssey 3000, Magnavox abandoned its old case design with one with a more contemporary style. The console itself is more angular and less rounded; two flat buttons are used for the serve and reset functions [26] and the console settings knobs were reduced in size. The Odyssey 3000 uses a flat circular knob for selecting different games and unlike all previous Odyssey dedicated video game consoles, the Odyssey 3000 features detachable game paddles (without any fire buttons). [27] The Odyssey 3000 is powered by either six "C" batteries or an optional AC adapter. [15] : 21
Magnavox concluded their line of dedicated video game consoles with the Magnavox Odyssey 4000. The Odyssey 4000 (model number: 7511) dedicated console was released in 1977. Based around the AY-3-8600 single-chip design, the Odyssey 4000 features a total of six games (Tennis, Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Smash and Gridball and includes a Practice mode for solo-play in Basketball and Smash). As with the Odyssey 3000, the Odyssey 4000 offers a skill switch for novice, semi-pro, and professional skill levels. Additional features include automatic serve and variable ball speeds. [15] : 24–25 Unlike the Odyssey 3000, the Odyssey 4000 featured detachable joysticks. The AY-3-8615 chip enabled the Odyssey 4000 to display their games in color instead of black and white graphics. [27] The 4000 is powered by an included AC adapter.It's unknown how many Magnavox's Odyssey's 4000 were sold. [15] : 25
The Magnavox Odyssey 5000 would have contained two chips, National Semiconductor's MM571068 and Signetics' MUGS-1, and featuring a total of seven games (Tennis, Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball, Knockout, Tank, and Helicopter) which with variations could be expanded to twenty-four different gaming experiences. The unit would have allowed up to four players and included a Practice mode for solo-play against the computer. The console never was released commercially, and remained in development. [9] Its prototype helped shape the next generation of Magnavox Odyssey home console, the Magnavox Odyssey 2.
Dutch TV manufacturer Philips purchased Magnavox in 1974, [4] after which it began to release its own versions of the dedicated Odyssey consoles in Europe.
The Philips Odyssey 200 is the same as its US released counterpart. Released across Europe in 1976, it was replaced by the Philips Odyssey 2000 in 1977. [28]
The Philips Odyssey 2000 is the same as its US released counterpart, with the exception that the European version features thin physical paddles while the American one has wide paddles. Released across Europe in 1977, it was replaced by the Philips Odyssey 2001 in 1977. [29]
The Philips Odyssey 2001 is Philips' version of the Magnavox Odyssey 4000, with differences in the games offered and the use of detachable paddles instead of joysticks. Released in 1977, the Philips Odyssey 2001 is based on the National Semiconductor MM-57105 chip, which plays Tennis, Hockey, and Squash, and allows full color and direct sound on the TV. [30]
The Philips Odyssey 2100 was released in 1978 and uses the same case design as the 2001. Using the National Semiconductor MM-57186N chip, the Philips Odyssey 2100 plays 6 games with multiple variations: Wipe-Out (Breakout style, 7 variants), Flipper (7 variants), Tennis (2 variants), Handball (2 variants), Ice Hockey (2 variants), Football (3 variants). [31]
The Magnavox Odyssey 2 (stylized as Magnavox Odyssey²) is a second-generation home video game console developed by Philips' Odyssey division subsequent to its purchase of Magnavox in 1974. It was released in 1978.
The Magnavox Odyssey 2, also known as Philips Odyssey 2, is a second generation home video game console that was released in 1978. It was sold in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil and Peru as the Philips Odyssey and in Japan as Odyssey2. The Odyssey 2 was one of the five major home consoles prior to the 1983 video game market crash, along with Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Intellivision and ColecoVision.
Pong is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released on 29 November 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but Bushnell and Atari co-founder Ted Dabney were surprised by the quality of Alcorn's work and decided to manufacture the game. Bushnell based the game's concept on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. In response, Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement.
The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console. The hardware was designed by a small team led by Ralph H. Baer at Sanders Associates, while Magnavox completed development and released it in the United States in September 1972 and overseas the following year. The Odyssey consists of a white, black, and brown box that connects to a television set, and two rectangular controllers attached by wires. It is capable of displaying three square dots and one line of varying height on the screen in monochrome black and white, with differing behavior for the dots depending on the game played. Players place plastic overlays on the screen to display additional visual elements for each game, and one or two players for each game control their dots with the knobs and buttons on the controller by the rules given for the game. The console cannot generate audio or track scores. The Odyssey console came packaged with dice, paper money, and other board game paraphernalia to accompany the games, while a peripheral controller—the first video game light gun—was sold separately.
1972 marked an important landmark in the history of the video game industry with the releases of Pong and the Odyssey home console. The profile of electronic games rose substantially and companies began exploring the distribution of video games on a larger scale. Important mainframe computer games were created in this period which became the basis for early microcomputer games.
1975 had new titles such as Western Gun, Dungeon and dnd. The year's best-selling arcade game was Taito's Speed Race, released as Wheels and Wheels II in North America.
1973 saw a substantial increase in the amount of video games created and distributed in multiple sectors. In coin-operated games, a craze for Pong-style games ignited the first fad for video games both in the United States and other countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom. Time-sharing networks saw greater proliferation of popular programs through type-in listings. The PLATO network played host to some of the earliest massively multiplayer games.
The Color TV-Game is the first video game system ever made by Nintendo. The system was released as a series of five dedicated home video game consoles between 1977 and 1983 in Japan only. Nintendo sold three million units of the first four models: one million units of each of the first two models, Color TV-Game 6 and 15; and half a million units of each of the next two models, Block Breaker and Racing 112. The Color TV-Game series has the highest sales figures of all the first generation of video game consoles.
The APF TV Fun brand is a series of dedicated home video game consoles manufactured by APF Electronics Inc. and built in Japan starting in 1976. The systems were among the first built on the General Instrument "Pong-on-a-chip", the AY-3-8500, that allowed many manufacturers to compete against the Atari Home Pong. The APF TV Fun consoles were one of the earliest Pong clone consoles.
In the history of video games, the first generation era refers to the video games, video game consoles, and handheld video game consoles available from 1972 to 1983. Notable consoles of the first generation include the Odyssey series, the Atari Home Pong, the Coleco Telstar series and the Color TV-Game series. The generation ended with the Computer TV-Game in 1980 and its following discontinuation in 1983, but many manufacturers had left the market prior due to the market decline in the year of 1978 and the start of the second generation of video game consoles.
The TV Scoreboard is a Pong-like dedicated home video game console manufactured in Hong Kong from 1976 through the early '80s and made by Tandy. Distribution was handled exclusively by RadioShack.
The AY-3-8500 "Ball & Paddle" integrated circuit was the first in a series of ICs from General Instrument designed for the consumer video game market. These chips were designed to output video to an RF modulator, which would then display the game on a domestic television set. The AY-3-8500 contained six selectable games — tennis, hockey, squash, practice, and two shooting games. The AY-3-8500 was the 625-line PAL version and the AY-3-8500-1 was the 525-line NTSC version. It was introduced in 1976, Coleco becoming the first customer having been introduced to the IC development by Ralph H. Baer. A minimum number of external components were needed to build a complete system.
Unisonic Products Corporation was an American manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics from the 1970s to the 1990s. Although headquartered in New York City, Unisonic outsourced its manufacturing operations to various facilities in East Asia. Unisonic developed a variety of electronics, including calculators, CRT television sets, video game consoles, digital watches, telephones, answering machines, and digital alarm clocks.
The Ping-O-Tronic is a dedicated first-generation home video game console produced by Zanussi, an Italian home appliance company, and released under their Sèleco brand in late-1974 only in Italy. It was the first Italian video game console, excluding Magnavox Odyssey imports and clones.
The Philips Tele-Game series was a series of six dedicated first-generation home video game consoles manufactured, released and marketed between 1975 and 1978 by Dutch company Philips.
The Turnir is a dedicated first-generation home video game console that was manufactured by the Ministry of the Electronics Industry and released in 1978 only in the Soviet Union. It was manufactured between 1978 and 1982 and is the only known Soviet video game console that uses the AY-3-8500 chipset from General Instrument. The price for the system varied from 150 Soviet rubles in 1978 to 96 rubles in the late 1980s. The console uses an integrated AC adapter with a voltage of 9 volt and has a mass of 2.5 kg.
The Interton Video 2000 is a dedicated first-generation home video game console released in 1975 by Interton in Germany licensed by Philips (Magnavox), Germany. The console turns itself on automatically when a cartridge is inserted. This videoconsole uses cartridges to develop videogames.
The Interton Video 3000 is a dedicated first-generation home video game console that was released in Germany in 1976 by German manufacturer Interton and sold by Quelle. Due to the AY-3-8500 chipset from General Instrument, the console has six integrated games: Tennis, Football, Practice, Squash, Skeet and Moving target. It had a list price of 198 Deutsche Mark (DM).
The Coleco Telstar Arcade, commonly abbreviated as Telstar Arcade, is a first-generation home video game console that was released in 1977 in Japan, North America and Europe by Coleco. It is the most advanced video game console in the Coleco Telstar series, based on the MOS Technology MPS-7600-00x chips series. Each chip is a microcontroller capable of storing 512 words of ROM.
The Interton Video 3001 is a dedicated first-generation home video game console that was released in 1978 by Interton. It is a Pong clone console and the successor to the Interton Video 3000 and the predecessor of the Interton Video Computer 4000. It could output games in color.
The Wonder Wizard is a dedicated first-generation home video game console which was manufactured by Magnavox and released by General Home Products in June 1976 only in the United States.
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