Magnavox Odyssey

The Magnavox Odyssey is a 1972 released game console Magnavox. She was the first ever published video game console. It was developed by Ralph H. Baer prototype already in 1968. It was sold in Germany under the name Odyssey ITT Schaub- Lorenz.

Technology

The Magnavox Odyssey had neither memory nor a CPU -based and thus not like today's consoles on a digital microprocessor ( put this time still in its very early stages ), but on special diode - transistor logic circuits. Contrary to many rumors, there is not an analog computer in the proper sense. For this system, only 40 transistors were used for cost reasons. It could represent only a few, monochrome white dots and blocks on a plain black background; therefore it was (to use a game) necessary to first create a plastic pad with the pitch of the corresponding game on the TV screen. The included games were constructed similar to board games, there were, for example, in addition to the events on the screen a game board, game cards, game pieces, etc. This was necessary because, for example, to manage a score was beyond the technical capabilities of the console. The games were all designed for more players; to play alone against the console was not possible at that time.

There was no real modules for this console; the different available game were selected in each case by the insertion of a small pseudo - module; but it put no program, but only a few wires that certain parts of the built- console electronics in a certain way electrically switched together. In some cases, several different games with the same " module ", but with different screen backgrounds, additional materials and rules of the game were played.

The controllers each had three knobs, and a reset button. The horizontal and vertical position of the player square or the character could be affected with the two knobs. The third controller influenced the effect of the ball. The reset button served to restart the game. Deviating from the operation in the tracking and light gun games.

History

The first prototype of the Odyssey was designed by Ralph H. Baer in the years 1966-1968 .. Magnavox brought the console in 1972 on the American market. In Germany the console from 1973 ITT Schaub- Lorentz was sold under the name Odyssey. The starting price of the console was $ 100 in the U.S.; 1973 about 75 U.S. dollars; 1974 about 50 U.S. dollars. In 1975, the production of the Magnavox Odyssey, due to the appearance of the successor model Odyssey 100 was set.

Steven Kent said in his book "History of Video Games" 100,000, Ralph Baer in 1975 of 360,000 units sold. Approximately 10,000 units were sold in Germany.

In 1982, operational and won Magnavox legal proceedings against Atari for patent infringement, as Atari's Pong tennis game resembled the Odyssey. Three years later applied for Nintendo to drop the patents of Magnavox because William Higinbotham in 1958 had a similar game Tennis for Two developed. Nintendo failed the test.

On June 28, 2013, the Museum of Modern Art took the console first hardware into its permanent exhibition on the subject of computer games.

Successor

Appeared in 1975, the Odyssey 100 and the following year four more Odyssey versions, the Magnavox Odyssey 200-500. By 1977, still appeared the models 2000, 3000 and 4000. The Model 5000 was in development.

After Magnavox a subsidiary of Philips, was released in 1978 the console Philips G7000 in America under the name Odyssey ².

Games

It 28 games were realized by means of 12 cards. The games differ in that different additional material ( overlay films, playing cards, dice, etc. ) was used with different cards. There have been played up to six different games with a map and for some games cards were up to three used in the exchange.

At the games there are usually variations of Pong, Simon Says, racing or maze games and often had the character of educational games. The four games of cards 9 and 10 are shoot'em ups and were played with a light gun.