yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
3eeabe9649
6,654 pages: 1,289 machines, 702 software, 460 companies, 64 history, 17 articles, 59 fun. 4,336 media files so far; references to files not downloaded yet are left out. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
239 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
239 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: MAGNAVOX Odyssey²
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categories:
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- Consoles
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params:
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name: Odyssey²
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company: /companies/magnavox
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company_name: MAGNAVOX
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tabs:
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- photos
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- adverts
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- hardware
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- software
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- emulators
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- links
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photos:
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- title: ODYSSEY²
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: IN THE BOX
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: MANUAL
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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adverts:
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- title: 'ADVERT #1'
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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hardware:
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- title: VOCAL SYNTHESIZER
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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Extract from [The Odyssey² Homepage](http://www.classicgaming.com/o2home/index.asp) :
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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).
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image: /media/museum/hardware/magnavox_odyssey2_thevoice_1.jpg
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- title: MOUNTED ON THE SYSTEM
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/hardware/magnavox_odyssey2_thevoice_mounted.jpg
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screenshots:
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: SUB CHASE
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: ARMOURED ENCOUNTER
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOWLING
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BASKETBALL
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: SCREENSHOT
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subtitle: On the fairway...
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: SCREENSHOT
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subtitle: On the green
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: SCREENSHOT
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: MATCH-MAKER
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: LOGIX
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BUZZWORD
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: BOX ART
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: SPEEDWAY
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: SPIN-OUT
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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- title: CRYPTO-LOGIC
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subtitle: Screenshot
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text: ''
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image: null
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emulators:
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- title: LOEM - Linux Odyssey² Emulator
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url: http://loem.web-gratis.net/
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platform: Unix / Linux
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text: Linux Odyssey² Emulator
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- title: Odyssey² Home Page - Emulation Ressource
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url: http://www.classicgaming.com/o2home/media/emulation.asp
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platform: Other platform
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text: This excellent Odyssey² website has a very detailed page about Videopac/Odyssey² emulation
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- title: M.E.S.S.
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url: http://www.mess.org
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platform: Multiplatform
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text: MESS can emulate the Odyssey²
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- title: M.E.S.S. (the Multi-Emulator Super System)
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url: http://www.mess.org/
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platform: Multiplatform
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text: 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.
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- title: O2EM
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url: http://o2em.sourceforge.net/
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platform: Multiplatform
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text: 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.
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- title: O2EM
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url: http://o2em.sourceforge.net/
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platform: Multiplatform
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text: Excellent emulator which can play Odyssey²/Videopac as well as Videopac+ games !
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links:
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- title: Classic Consoles Center
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url: http://dieterkoenig.at/ccc/
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text: Excellent site with a lot of interesting info. Very complete Videopac software page too.
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- title: Ed Averett Interview
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url: http://www.dadgum.com/halcyon/BOOK/AVERETT.HTM
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text: Ed Averett almost wrote all the games for the Odyssey² !
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- title: Odyssey 2000
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url: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/3226/ody2000.html
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text: Brazilian website dedicated to videopac, with brazilian box art scans
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- title: Odyssey² FAQ
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url: http://www.digitpress.com/faq/odyssey2.txt
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text: Interesting info
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- title: Odyssey² Home Page
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url: http://www.the-nextlevel.com/odyssey2/
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text: Best Odyssey²/Videopac website ! Everything you wanted to know / see is here !
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- title: Retro Gaming
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url: http://home.wanadoo.nl/naninck/retro/index2.htm
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text: This site explains how to replace your faulty Videopac power switch !
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- title: www.videopac.org
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url: http://www.videopac.org/
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text: Excellent site ! Everything Videopac is here !
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comments:
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- author: GTBZdell (Canada)
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date: Saturday 13rd July 2019
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text: I had one of this. It was a great game console. I wish I saved it. Ya know, young and foolish!
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- author: Degoragon (United States)
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date: Thursday 12th October 2017
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text: |-
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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!)!
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All in all, its a fun underdog console both from a collecting and gaming stand point.
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- author: Bruce (Canada)
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date: Sunday 5th January 2014
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text: |-
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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.
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At the time the O2 was a distant 3rd-place, but it does have a retro charm to it. $$65279$
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- author: Todor DeOliveira (Brasilia, Brazil)
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date: Wednesday 17th August 2005
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text: |-
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In Brazil Odyssey2 was released as Philips Odyssey (with no mention to the "2") in the early 80´s.\
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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.
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- author: Elisha (male) (USA)
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date: Monday 9th June 2003
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text: 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...
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- author: Elisha (male) (USA)
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date: Monday 9th June 2003
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text: the games look a little like the atari2600 games but with a little better graphics.......its pretty cool !!!
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- author: Kris (USA)
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date: Wednesday 30th October 2002
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text: WOW that was my first com.... well play-something-station !!! I was 7-8 years old !
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related:
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- /museum/brandt-electronique-ordinateur-de-jeu-jo7400-jopac
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- /museum/continental-edison-saba-ordinateur-video-jeu-jo-1450-jopac
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- /museum/philips-videopac-c52
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- /museum/philips-videopac-g7000
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- /museum/philips-videopac-g7200
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- /museum/siera-g7000
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oc_id: 695
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230419201250/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=695
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date: '2023-04-19'
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---
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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](/museum/atari-vcs-2600/), [RCA Studio II](/museum/rca-studio-ii/) or [Fair-Child Electronics Channel-F](/museum/fairchild-channel-f/).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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](/museum/philips-videopac-c52/) in France. Even the Odyssey3 prototype (which never came out), was somehow released in Europe as the Philips G7400 system, Videopac+ and [Jopac](/museum/brandt-electronique-ordinateur-de-jeu-jo7400-jopac/) systems.
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---
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Information on the European version by **Taneli Lukka** from Finland:\
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The European version of this system, Philips Videopac G7000, has a couple of quite weird charasteristics.\
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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.\
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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.
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