Magnavox Odyssey

The Magnavox Odyssey was released in August 1972 and it was the first games console that you can connect to your television. The creator of the console Ralph Baer had the idea for the video game console in 1950. He was the first person ever in the US to graduate with a bachelor of science in television engineering. Which would mean that he was familiar with the newest technology at that time.

When he was working on test equipment that was creating lines and checkerboard patterns on the television screen, he started to think about what if the circuity could be advanced into a game to be played on the TV and what if a TV could be using for something other than just watching TV programs. This is the idea that would launch a whole entertainment industry. in August 1972 the Magnavox Odyssey was released. It sold a total of 130,000 units.

The console went through many different stages of development before it was finally released. There were 7 different prototypes of the console. The 7th version was dubbed the brown box. The brown box actually had some more advanced features than the final console. It had a colour circuitry which had allowed games to be played in full colour. There was also some games that were going to be included with the release of the console. But Magnavox decided to cut costs and they had to remove some features that they thought wouldn't effect the console as a whole.

The 7th prototype dubbed the 'Brown Box'.

The final released console.

One of the most popular games for the Odyssey was 'Table Tennis' which is very similar to 'Pong'. Pong actually helped boost the sales of the Odyssey in 1974 when Pong exploded in popularity people when out an bought the Odyssey and the table tennis game because they were so similar. The Odyssey was the first home console and 'Table Tennis' was essentially a home version of Pong. Atari decided to capitalize on its success and release a Pong console that could rival the Odyssey in 1975.

Technical Specifications

Processor: AY-3-8500

ROM: Pinout cards

Power: 9V DC.

This video highlights the Table Tennis game from the Odyssey.