Odyssey series facts for kids
| Manufacturer | Magnavox, Philips |
|---|---|
| Type | Series of home video game consoles |
| Generation | First generation Second generation |
| Retail availability |
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The Magnavox Odyssey is a famous series of home video game consoles made by Magnavox. These consoles were released between 1972 and 1978. The series includes the very first Magnavox Odyssey console. It also has many "dedicated" consoles, which means they only played built-in games. Later, the series included the Magnavox Odyssey 2, which used game cartridges.
After Philips bought Magnavox, they also released their own versions of these consoles in Europe. These were called the Philips Odyssey series.
Contents
The Magnavox Odyssey was the world's first home video game console sold to the public. Magnavox released it in September 1972. Ralph H. Baer designed this groundbreaking console. He first showed it off in May 1972.
The Odyssey used special cards that looked like game cartridges. You would plug these cards into the console. These cards didn't have programs inside them. Instead, they changed how the console's internal circuits worked. This allowed you to play different games.
After Philips bought Magnavox in 1974, Magnavox released a series of "dedicated" home video game consoles in the USA. These consoles had games built right into them. There were eight different consoles in this series, plus one TV with a game console built-in.
The Magnavox Odyssey 100 was released in 1975. It was a simple console with a basic design. Magnavox wanted to have a product ready in case their main chip supplier had problems.
This console had two games: Tennis and Hockey. It didn't show scores on the screen. It also had a simple buzzer for sound. The Odyssey 100 could run on six "C" batteries or an AC adapter. Each player used three knobs to control their paddle and the ball.
The Magnavox Odyssey 200 also came out in 1975. It was a fancier version of the Odyssey 100. It used a single chip design, making it more advanced. Besides Tennis and Hockey, it added a third game called "Smash" (which is like Squash).
The Odyssey 200 was the first dedicated system to show four paddles on screen. This made it seem like a four-player game. However, only two people could physically control the console. It also had a unique way of showing scores. A white rectangle would move across the screen each time a player scored. Like the Odyssey 100, it used batteries or an AC adapter and had three control dials.
The Magnavox Odyssey 300 was released in October 1976. It was designed to compete with other popular consoles like the Coleco Telstar. This console was one of the first to use a single computer chip for its design.
It had the same three games as the Odyssey 200. However, the games played more like Atari's Pong. You controlled the games with just one dial instead of three. The Odyssey 300 also had three difficulty levels: Novice, Intermediate, and Expert. It was also the first to show digital scores right on the TV screen.
The Magnavox Odyssey 400 was released in 1976. It was an improved version of the Odyssey 200. It added automatic serve and digital scoring on the screen.
It played the same three games: Squash (Smash), Tennis, and Hockey. It still had the three control dials for movement and ball spin. An extra chip was added to handle the on-screen scoring, so it didn't need the old mechanical score sliders.
The Magnavox Odyssey 500 came out in 1976 as a high-end console. It was a deluxe version of the Odyssey 400 with some cool new features. It was the first Odyssey console to have color graphics.
Instead of simple paddles, the game showed little player figures on the screen. There was a tennis player, a squash player, and a hockey player. You picked your game by matching the player to the right playing field. It also had a fourth game, Soccer, by using the squash player with the hockey field. The console had automatic serve, digital scores, and adjustable ball speed. It could be powered by batteries or an AC adapter.
The Magnavox Odyssey 4305 was a special product released in 1976 or 1977. It was a 19-inch color TV that had a Magnavox Odyssey 300 or 500 console built right into it! It was quite expensive at the time.
It came with two wired game controllers. These controllers were similar to others from that era, with one button and a paddle. This TV is very rare to find today.
The Magnavox Odyssey 2000 was released in 1977. It was an updated version of the Odyssey 300. Like the 300, it used a single chip design.
The Odyssey 2000 was for two players. It used a single rotating knob for each player's control, unlike the three knobs on older models. It had Tennis, Hockey, and Squash ("Smash") games. It also added a "Practice" mode for one-player squash. Scores were shown at the top of the screen, and the first player to get 15 points won. It ran on batteries or an AC adapter and had a built-in speaker.
The Magnavox Odyssey 3000 was released in 1977. It had the same games as the Odyssey 2000: Tennis, Hockey, Smash, and Practice. It was mainly for two players, but you could play Practice mode alone.
This console had a new, more modern design. It was less rounded and had flat buttons for serve and reset. The Odyssey 3000 was the first dedicated Odyssey console to have controllers that could be detached. It worked with batteries or an AC adapter.
The Magnavox Odyssey 4000 was the last dedicated video game console released by Magnavox. It came out in 1977. This console had six games: Tennis, Hockey, Soccer, Basketball, Smash, and Gridball. It also had a Practice mode for Basketball and Smash.
Like the Odyssey 3000, it had a skill switch for different levels: novice, semi-pro, and professional. It also featured automatic serve and adjustable ball speeds. A big improvement was that the Odyssey 4000 had detachable joysticks instead of paddles. It could display games in color and was powered by an AC adapter.
The Magnavox Odyssey 5000 was a console that was never released. It was a prototype that would have had seven games, including Tennis, Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball, Knockout, Tank, and Helicopter. With variations, these could have made 24 different gaming experiences. It was planned to allow up to four players and have a single-player mode against the computer. Even though it wasn't released, its ideas helped create the next Magnavox Odyssey console.
Philips Odyssey Series (1976–1978)
After the Dutch company Philips bought Magnavox in 1974, they started releasing their own versions of the dedicated Odyssey consoles in Europe.
Philips Odyssey 200
The Philips Odyssey 200 was the same as the Magnavox Odyssey 200 released in the USA. It came out across Europe in 1976. It was later replaced by the Philips Odyssey 2000 in 1977.
Philips Odyssey 2000
The Philips Odyssey 2000 was also very similar to its US version. The main difference was that the European version had thin controllers, while the American one had wider ones. It was released in Europe in 1977 and was replaced by the Philips Odyssey 2001 later that year.
Philips Odyssey 2001
The Philips Odyssey 2001 was Philips' version of the Magnavox Odyssey 4000. It had some differences in the games it offered. It also used detachable paddles instead of joysticks. Released in 1977, this console played Tennis, Hockey, and Squash. It also showed games in full color and had direct sound through the TV.
Philips Odyssey 2100
The Philips Odyssey 2100 was released in 1978. It used the same case design as the 2001. This console played 6 different games with many variations. These included Wipe-Out (like Breakout), Flipper, Tennis, Handball, Ice Hockey, and Football.
The Magnavox Odyssey 2 (also known as Magnavox Odyssey²) was a second-generation home video game console. Philips' Odyssey division developed it after buying Magnavox. It was released in 1978 and used game cartridges.
See also
In Spanish: Magnavox Odyssey series para niños
- Philips Videopac+ G7400 - This console was developed by Philips and was meant to be the Odyssey³. It could play games from the Odyssey².
- Philips Tele-Game series - This was an earlier series of consoles from Philips, before the Philips Odyssey series.
- Color TV-Game series - Another popular series of early video game consoles, made by Nintendo.
