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Magnavox Odyssey CC Image – Wikipedia – Evan-Amos

Developer: Magnavox

Release Date: 1972

Origin: U.S.A.

Initial Price: $99 USD

CPU: None

Games Released: 28

Oh the days of simple home gaming! Remember the original grey Nintendo with Duck Hunt and Mario? Or the even earlier Pong on Atari? Well, before Nintendo, before Atari, there was the first original home gaming console – the Magnavox Odyssey. This innovative ground-breaker was the first wide-scale commercial attempt at convincing the public to play games in the comfort of their own homes.

With twenty-eight different game cartridges released and a slew of colourful overlays for your television screen, the Odyssey was a huge step up in home entertainment. You could play tennis, hockey, football, and try skiing in the comfort of your own living room. There were also some more creative games like submarine, haunted house, and geography options. Today, we look back at this technology and see a blinking square going back and forth between two other squares; but in the 1970s, this was a huge advancement.

Overlays and Accessories

The equipment involved looks pretty basic - a large box that holds the system brains, two bulky hand controllers, an RF cable, a switch box and six cartridges. There were a number of different upgrades available as well, including a special carrying case, the shooting gallery pack with an electronic rifle and some additional games. Using the system is pretty basic. Stick an overlay onto your television screen to create an environment, pop in a cartridge and use the controllers to send your little square up and down or right and left. Some games used other accessories like fake money or dice to complete the ruse.

Home Pong Revolution

The Odyssey took years to create and even longer to reach the public market. Ralph Baer was one of the genius minds behind the console and oversaw it from it's final revisions in 1968 until it was finally picked up and distributed by Magnavox in 1972. Although coveted by youngsters across the country, the Odyssey was quite expensive, starting at $100 plus $25 if you wanted the rifle. Few households had the income to afford such luxuries. Also, due to some lacklustre marketing in Magnavox stores, sales were relatively low initially.