website/content/museum/magnavox-odyssey2.md

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MAGNAVOX Odyssey²	Consoles	name image company company_name tabs photos adverts hardware screenshots emulators links comments related oc_id source Odyssey² /media/museum/photos/magnavox_odyssey2_1.jpg /companies/magnavox MAGNAVOX photos adverts hardware software emulators links title subtitle text image ODYSSEY² /media/museum/photos/magnavox_odyssey2_2.jpg title subtitle text image BOX /media/museum/photos/magnavox_odyssey2_box.jpg title subtitle text image IN THE BOX /media/museum/photos/magnavox_odyssey2_inthebox.jpg title subtitle text image MANUAL /media/museum/photos/magnavox_odyssey2_manual_1.jpg title subtitle text image ADVERT #1 /media/museum/pubs/magnavox_odyssey2_pub_ouridea.jpg title subtitle text image VOCAL SYNTHESIZER Extract from [The Odyssey² Homepage](http://www.classicgaming.com/o2home/index.asp) : The Voice of Odyssey² was released in 1982, and allows the console to emit realistic voices and sound effects. It is silver, the same color as the console, and fits snugly into the cartridge port. Once installed, an Odyssey² with a Voice looks like a single unit, not two things hooked together. The Voice has a self-contained speaker (the voices do not come out of the television), with a volume control. Regular cartridges will play normally through the Voice unit. Voice modules are uncommon, and every Odyssey² collector wants one, making them somewhat valuable. There is no European version of The Voice. In Brazil, a Voice module was announced but never released (see below). /media/museum/hardware/magnavox_odyssey2_thevoice_1.jpg title subtitle text image MOUNTED ON THE SYSTEM /media/museum/hardware/magnavox_odyssey2_thevoice_mounted.jpg title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_cart_armoured-encounter.jpg title subtitle text image SUB CHASE Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game-armoured_1.gif title subtitle text image ARMOURED ENCOUNTER Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game-armoured_2.gif title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_baseball_box.jpg title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_cart_bowling.jpg title subtitle text image BOWLING Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game-bowling_1.gif title subtitle text image BASKETBALL Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_basket_1.gif title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_cart_golf.jpg title subtitle text image SCREENSHOT On the fairway... /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_golf_1.gif title subtitle text image SCREENSHOT On the green /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_golf_2.gif title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_cart_football.jpg title subtitle text image SCREENSHOT /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game-football_1.gif title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_cart_logix.jpg title subtitle text image MATCH-MAKER Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_matchmaker.gif title subtitle text image LOGIX Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_logix.gif title subtitle text image BUZZWORD Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_buzzword.gif title subtitle text image BOX ART /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_cart_speedway.jpg title subtitle text image SPEEDWAY Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_speedway.gif title subtitle text image SPIN-OUT Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_spinout.gif title subtitle text image CRYPTO-LOGIC Screenshot /media/museum/software/magnavox_odyssey2_game_crypto-logic.gif title url platform text LOEM - Linux Odyssey² Emulator http://loem.web-gratis.net/ Unix / Linux Linux Odyssey² Emulator title url platform text Odyssey² Home Page - Emulation Ressource http://www.classicgaming.com/o2home/media/emulation.asp Other platform This excellent Odyssey² website has a very detailed page about Videopac/Odyssey² emulation title url platform text M.E.S.S. http://www.mess.org Multiplatform MESS can emulate the Odyssey² title url platform text M.E.S.S. (the Multi-Emulator Super System) http://www.mess.org/ Multiplatform Version 0.62 of M.E.S.S. for Windows features a partially functional Odyssey² driver that supports basic sound and runs a handful of games. MESS is a multiplatform emulator. title url platform text O2EM http://o2em.sourceforge.net/ Multiplatform O2EM is a freeware open source multi-platform Odyssey², Videopac and Videopac+ emulator. Here you can find O2EM binaries for Windows 9x / ME / NT / 2000 / XP, Linux and DOS, and also the source-code. title url platform text O2EM http://o2em.sourceforge.net/ Multiplatform Excellent emulator which can play Odyssey²/Videopac as well as Videopac+ games ! title url text Classic Consoles Center http://dieterkoenig.at/ccc/ Excellent site with a lot of interesting info. Very complete Videopac software page too. title url text Ed Averett Interview http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/AVERETT.HTM Ed Averett almost wrote all the games for the Odyssey² ! title url text Odyssey 2000 http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/3226/ody2000.html Brazilian website dedicated to videopac, with brazilian box art scans title url text Odyssey² FAQ http://www.digitpress.com/faq/odyssey2.txt Interesting info title url text Odyssey² Home Page http://www.the-nextlevel.com/odyssey2/ Best Odyssey²/Videopac website ! Everything you wanted to know / see is here ! title url text Retro Gaming http://home.wanadoo.nl/naninck/retro/index2.htm This site explains how to replace your faulty Videopac power switch ! title url text www.videopac.org http://www.videopac.org/ Excellent site ! Everything Videopac is here ! author date text GTBZdell (Canada) Saturday 13rd July 2019 I had one of this. It was a great game console. I wish I saved it. Ya know, young and foolish! author date text Degoragon (United States) Thursday 12th October 2017 I just got one of these, CIB for about $35 ($44 after shipping) on ebay, and I like it. The look of the console is neat, (and its HUGE, it dwarfs my Xbox!) The Controllers are well made and responsive (Although I don''t care for the hardwired nature of them, but it was a common practice), and quite a few games on there are actually pretty fun, I particularly enjoy Kc''s Krazy chase, and Dynasty, as well as UFO! plus, boxed games are some of the easiest and cheapest to find for any vintage console, even The Atari 2600 isn''t this easy of cheap when it comes to finding CIB games (And it''s loose games are the cheapest of any game console!)! All in all, its a fun underdog console both from a collecting and gaming stand point. author date text Bruce (Canada) Sunday 5th January 2014 I was about 12 or so when these first made an appearance. The cool kids got an Atari VCS, the kids (or parents) who were into sports got an Intellivision, and the nerdy kids whose parents wanted them to learn about computers got the O2. At the time the O2 was a distant 3rd-place, but it does have a retro charm to it. $$65279$ author date text Todor DeOliveira (Brasilia, Brazil) Wednesday 17th August 2005 In Brazil Odyssey2 was released as Philips Odyssey (with no mention to the "2") in the early 80´s.\ It was the major Atari VCS2600 competitor, but although it looked somewhat more advanced, I and the majority of the kids of that time preferred the old VCS just because it offered a zillion more game titles than Odyssey. author date text Elisha (male) (USA) Monday 9th June 2003 My 2 older sisters and my parents used to have one before i was born but it messed up when it got struck by lightning........ I would like to find another one... author date text Elisha (male) (USA) Monday 9th June 2003 the games look a little like the atari2600 games but with a little better graphics.......its pretty cool !!! author date text Kris (USA) Wednesday 30th October 2002 WOW that was my first com.... well play-something-station !!! I was 7-8 years old ! /museum/brandt-electronique-ordinateur-de-jeu-jo7400-jopac /museum/continental-edison-saba-ordinateur-video-jeu-jo-1450-jopac /museum/philips-videopac-c52 /museum/philips-videopac-g7000 /museum/philips-videopac-g7200 /museum/siera-g7000 695 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230419201250/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=695 2023-04-19

Magnavox (which merged with Philips in 1974) released the Odyssey² in 1978 to compete with brand new cartridge based video game systems like the Atari VCS, RCA Studio II or Fair-Child Electronics Channel-F.

Initially, Magnavox had developped a prototype system called "Odyssey 2". It did not have the ability to use cartridges but had 24 games built-in and could be played by up to 4 players simultaneously. But this console never made it to the shelves, and the Odyssey² (a complete different system in fact) was marketed instead.

The system is powered by an Intel 8048 microcontroller and a Video Display Controller (VDC) generating all audio & video. This VDC, which is a custom Intel IC, can generate 4 different types of graphic objects: a background grid, single characters, quad characters (made of 4 single characters) and sprites. A maximum of 4 independent sprites can be displayed. There are monochrome and of 8 x 8 pixels in size. Of course the VDC can detect sprite collisions.

The Odyssey² has 64 pre-defined characters (letters and graphic symbols) in memory. Up to 12 foreground characters can be displayed from this internal character set. Many games (especially eraly ones) used a lot those pre-defined characters: man walking, right arrow, slopes, tree, ships, plane and a ball.

The flat membrane keyboard of the Odyssey² was a major selling point. It was meant to be used for game selection, educational games, programming, entering its name for hi-scores,etc. Apart from the game selection, it was hardly used.

Though not as popular as the Atari VCS, or later Intellivision, the Odyssey² did well in the US and even better in Europe where it was marketed by Philips as the G7000 Videopac and Philips C52 in France. Even the Odyssey3 prototype (which never came out), was somehow released in Europe as the Philips G7400 system, Videopac+ and Jopac systems.

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Information on the European version by Taneli Lukka from Finland:
The European version of this system, Philips Videopac G7000, has a couple of quite weird charasteristics.
It has no power on/off button, the system is switched on just by plugging it into the wall socket. This is not very handy if you don't have a free wall socket nearby. Games can be inserted and taken out with the console on. You just have to press the reset button after inserting a game.
Late model machines also have all the cables (RF, power and controllers) hardwired to the system so you can only replace them by taking your console apart.