Magnavox Odyssey² / Philips Videopac G7000
Console Name: Odyssey²
Release Date: December 1978
Original Price: $179
Country of Origin: United States of America
Manufacturer: Magnavox
Publisher: Magnavox / Philips
Predecessor: Magnavox Odyssey
 

History
The story of the Odyssey² begins long before video games. In 1911, Peter Jensen and Edwin Pridham founded the Commercial Wireless and Development Company. In 1917 the firm merged with the Sonora Phonograph Distributor Company to form Magnavox. Magnavox grew into a major manufacturer of radios, televisions, and phonographs and, in the 1960s, produced early plasma displays for military and computer use.

In 1972 Magnavox licensed Ralph H. Baer’s “Brown Box” technology and released the original Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first home video-game console. It achieved moderate success with roughly 350,000 units sold. Magnavox was later acquired by the North American Philips Corporation. Under Philips management the company expanded its video-game efforts with a series of nine dedicated Pong-style Odyssey consoles released between 1975 and 1977. These machines sold a combined total of approximately 1.5 million units and were a clear commercial success.

By the late 1970s interest in dedicated Pong systems was declining rapidly with the arrival of the Atari 2600. To remain competitive, Philips decided to develop a fully programmable, cartridge-based console. The result was the Odyssey², which reached the market at the end of 1978. Ralph Baer, although not directly involved in the design, played a key role in 1977 by convincing Magnavox management to continue the project when it was briefly threatened with cancellation.

Release
The Odyssey² was released in the United States in December 1978 under the Magnavox brand at a price of $179. In Europe it was sold directly by Philips as the Philips Videopac G7000 (also known as the C52 in France and under other regional brandings such as Radiola and Siera). In Canada and Brazil the console retained the Odyssey² name but was distributed under the Philips brand. In December 1982 it was imported into Japan by Kōton Trading Toitarii Enterprise as the Odyssey²; Japanese units are now extremely rare.

The system featured a full alphanumeric membrane keyboard, two hard-wired joysticks, and a distinctive library that mixed action, educational, and strategy titles. One of its most notable accessories was “The Voice,” a speech-synthesis module released in the United States in 1982. The large add-on plugged into the cartridge slot and provided spoken phrases, sound effects, and enhanced audio for compatible games (including Type & Tell, Sid the Spellbinder, Nimble Numbers Ned, and several others). Europe never received The Voice; instead it received an exclusive Chess Module (C7010) that contained its own Z80-compatible processor.

Worldwide sales are estimated at around two million units, with particularly strong performance in Europe and Brazil. North American sales reached roughly one million units by 1983.

Demise
Like most contemporary systems, the Odyssey² was severely affected by the North American video-game crash of 1983. Sales in the United States and Canada declined sharply. New games continued to appear in Europe and Brazil for a time, but the arrival of the far more powerful 8-bit generation (particularly the Nintendo Famicom/NES) quickly rendered the system obsolete. Official support ended in the mid-1980s. A more advanced European successor, the Videopac+ G7400, saw limited release but never achieved significant success.

Technical Specifications

  • CPU: Intel 8048 microcontroller @ ~5.91 MHz (NTSC) / ~5.91 MHz equivalent (PAL)
  • Memory: 64 bytes internal RAM + 128 bytes external RAM (192 bytes total); 1 KB internal ROM
  • Video: Intel 8244 (NTSC) / 8245 (PAL) custom chip
    • Resolution approximately 160 × 200
    • 16-color fixed palette (8 base colors with brightness variation)
  • Sound: Single-channel audio generated by the video chip
  • Controllers: Two hard-wired digital joysticks (4-way + fire button)
  • Input: Full alphanumeric membrane keyboard
  • Media: ROM cartridges (typically 2 KB, 4 KB, or 8 KB)
  • Output: RF (channel 3/4)
  • Notable accessories:
    • The Voice (speech-synthesis module – USA only)
    • Chess Module C7010 (Europe only)

Magnavox Odyssey² Reference

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