History of video games/Platforms/Odyssey series

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  The Odyssey 300

History

The Odyssey series was a follow up to the original Magnavox Odyssey console made following the acquisition of Magnavox by Philips in 1974. This series of consoles began to be released in 1975 as cheaper dedicated consoles with built in games, as opposed to the original Odyssey's ability to play multiple games via jumper cards. Unlike the original Odyssey which attempted to offer games from sports to a haunted mansion, Odyssey series consoles stuck to popular sports games.

The last Magnavox Odyssey series consoles were released in 1977 and the last Philips Odyssey console was released in 1978. The Odyssey series of consoles were followed by the Magnavox Odyssey², a far more capable console capable of running software on cartridges.

Models

As more models were released, significant technical improvements were made, though these improvements were mostly iterative rather than groundbreaking.

Magnavox Odyssey 100

The Magnavox Odyssey 100 was released in 1975. The system was built in the USA with a simple single layer circuit board and four Texas Instruments integrated circuits. Uniquely, the system uses cardboard shielding internally, instead of more durable materials or materials that offered improved radio frequency properties. The system can play either Tennis or Hockey and can generate sound, a notable feature which was not a given in video games at the time.

Magnavox Odyssey 300

The 1976 Odyssey 300 offered an improved experience with the ability to display game scores on screen. Previously scorekeeping on Odyssey consoles had been an exercise left to the player.

A different version of the Odyssey 300 that was built into a television set was also sold. This was part of a small trend aimed at a niche market where specific models of television sets were integrated with a specific model of game console, typically for the purpose of saving space, making setup easier, or adding a sales point to a television model at the cost of increased expense and lower reliability.

Gallery

Consoles

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  The Magnavox Odyssey 200.
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  The Philips Odyssey 200.
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  The Magnavox Odyssey 500.
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  The Magnavox Odyssey 300, featuring thin dials.
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  The Magnavox Odyssey 2000, featuring wider dials.
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  The Philips Odyssey 2000.
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  The Magnavox Odyssey 3000.
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  The Magnavox Odyssey 4000.
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  The Philips Odyssey 2001, the European version of the Magnavox Odyssey 4000.
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  The improved Philips Odyssey 2100.

External Resources

• Pong Story - Contains history, console photos, box art, and screenshots for the Odyssey series.
• Old Computers Museum - Odyssey 100 article.