All Magnavox Game Consoles

Previously, I’ve talked about Atari, and how its strong breakthrough in the gaming industry has heavily influenced the competitors at the time. Companies such as SEGA and Nintendo not only used that influence to make games but also to change the way gamers would look at games in the future.

When looking at how gaming has evolved from simple pixelated graphics to big triple-A games full of surrealism and mind-boggling physics, it makes one yearn to learn about the past, and how exactly gaming felt in its early years. Today we’re taking a nostalgic trip, back to the past. Back where gaming has all started.

The Beginning – Ralph H. Baer

With the rise of television in the 50s where around 90% of American homes had at least one TV set, questions about the possibility of revolutionizing the TV to an interactive device began to emerge. The television would no longer remain an object used simply to receive programs, but also a device that consumers could fully interact with. Some of the early attempters to put the idea into paper were Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr, and Estle Ray Mann who previously worked at Dumont Company in 1947. Thomas and Estle wanted to explore the concept of allowing viewers to play with their television, and so they filled a patent for what is known as a Cathode-ray tube amusement device.

Ultimately, after one year, they were granted their patent on December 14, 1948.  The device was inspired by the radar displays used in World War II, and would have allowed players to launch rockets at moving targets by using the CRT’s electron gun. While the idea looked impressive on paper, it was sadly never commercialised. However, such an innovative idea makes this theoretically the first interactive electronic game ever.

The Cathode-ray tube amusement device

Years have passed, and more people interested in bringing the possibility to play games on the screen began to pop up. The 50s up to the 70s was a wild period for video games, specifically since the concept of playing video games was pretty much considered impossible at the time. However, engineers and designers don’t know when to give up as innovation and dedication is something that goes through their veins.

The year 1951 saw the release of what’s called the Nimrod, an early computer custom-built to play Nim, which in return was directly inspired by the Nimatron, an electro-mechanical machine that also played Nim. The Nimrod was the first computer designed by John Makepeace Bennett, and Raymond Stuart-Williams capable of running a video game.  Howbeit, it was thanks to the American William Higinbotham who made it possible by using a program to calculate trajectories and an oscilloscope. As a result, that technique created the first video game to be played by two people, Tennis for Two or known as Computer Tennis. It was a table tennis simulator released back on October 18, 1958.

Despite all these early concepts and devices that are now considered primitive, the notion of playing games on the screen remained an obscure term. Yet a few years later, when pretty much everyone gave up on bringing to the world what Thomas and Estle hoped, a man known as Ralph H Baer took it upon his shoulders to go beyond the original idea.

Born in Germany back on March 8, 1922, Baer is considered to be the father of video games. His early adventure into video games began specifically in 1951 while working at Loral Electronics Company, and his attempt to convince the higher-ups in 1951 to let him create what was in his mind. The latter did not want to go further with the idea and has eventually refused. While working for the defence contractors Sanders Associates, Baer came up with the idea of creating a game using the television screen. Determined to make it work this time, he filled a proposal to the company which he was able to convince Baer’s boss, Herb Campman. Ultimately, he was granted $2500 and the time of two employees to help him design a prototype. That prototype would end up becoming what’s called the Brown Box from 1967 to 1968.

The Brown Box, which is now owned by Baer and the Sanders company

Things did not stop here as Baer began seeking buyers of the system by approaching several companies who were uninterested in the unit. Three years later, Baer managed to strike a deal with Magnavox who licensed the unit as the Magnavox Odyssey and released it to the public back in May 1972. This marked the beginning of video games, the beginning of something that would change the entertainment industry forever.

Below, I will be delving into Magnavox’s complete line of home game consoles starting from 1972 up to 1978. Enjoy.

Magnavox Odyssey (1972)

The year 1972 saw the release of the Magnavox Odyssey, a technical marvel that’s considered the World’s first commercial home video game console.  Pre-dating the Atari Pong home console by three years, the Odyssey was designed by Ralph H. Baer and initially showcased at a convention in Burlingame, California on May 24, 1972. Design-wise, the consisted of a white, black and brown box that connected to a regular Television set and two controllers in the shape of a rectangle as shown above. The Odyssey is connected to the television set through the use of a switch box. The device allows users to switch the television input between the odyssey regular TV input cable. This technique would go on to become the standard for video gaming in the future.

Unfortunately, since the console was pretty much the first commercial video game console, it only managed to display only a few small white blocks and a vertical line in the middle of the screen. And perhaps what would surprise modern gamers these days is the fact that the Magnavox Odyssey was also released with nonelectronic game accessories such as decks of cards, dice,  poker chips and even play money. Perhaps this was a move from Magnavox to make the console feel like the physical accessories that were released at the time.

Magnavox Odyssey 100 (1975)

While the Magnavox Odyssey used cartridges, the 100 release did not.  The latter only played two games that were displayed in black & white, including Tennis and Hockey. These games could be selected using a simple switch on the device, and the system itself was powered either by six batteries or by an AC adaptor. The use of these power supplies would end up being an influential staple in the industry, to the point where companies such as Microsoft used them on the Xbox 360

Compared to Magnavox’s main competitor, the Atari Pong, The Odyssey 100 was nothing but a basic system that was sadly missing many crucial features at the time. In addition, the console did not count the player’s score on the screen. Instead, players were forced to mark their final score manually. Such mistakes had led Magnavox to fail against its competitors and hence the Odyssey 100 was deemed a failure.

Magnavox Odyssey 200 (1975)

Released the same year as the MO100, the MO200 has proven to be an improvement over the former. The system introduced a new third sports game titled Smash that can be played by up to two players. The Odyssey 200 is arguably the first to implement such a feature that brought meaning to ” home console gaming “.

Displaying a very basic on-screen scoring using small rectangles, the Odyssey 200 still lacked any digital scoring at the time, which led players to count their scores manually. Gameplay-wise, players had to score points, and each time the player scored, their white rectangles starts shifting to the right. The process of picking up the winner was decided when a player’s rectangle reach the rightmost position on the screen. The highest points in the game meant absolute victory.

Magnavox Odyssey 300 (1976)

Released back in 1976, the Magnavox Odyssey line of series kept on improving with each new release. The Magnavox Odyssey 300 wasn’t an exception. The former has improved upon its predecessors by introducing several technical features that would once again go on to become the standard for today’s gaming.

The Magnavox Odyssey 300 was one of the first dedicated consoles to use a single IC chip as the focus of its design rather than multiple computer chips seen in previous models (e.g Magnavox Odyssey 100). The M0300 had the same titles as its predecessor along with the option to be played with a second player, but a new feature was implemented; difficulty settings. The M0300 had three difficulties: Novice, Intermediate, and expert. These difficulty settings were, of course, implemented to put the player’s skills to the test like any form of video game out there. And while the Magnavox Oddysey series’ original competitor was the Atari Pong, The Odyssey 300 was Magnavox’s answer to Coleco Telstar.

Magnavox Odyssey 400 (1976)

The Magnavox Odyssey 400 was an improved version of the M200, hence explaining the obviously similar design. Similar to the M300, the console re-introduced digital on-screen scoring that facilitated the way players would count their final scores. And while this looked impressive, the M0400 hadn’t introduced any new games to the table.

Magnavox Odyssey 500 (1976)

Released as a powerful support to the Odyssey 300 and Odyssey 400 consoles, The MO500 is considered a deluxe version of the MO400 and comes packed with several new improvements. The first striking improvement is the introduction of colour graphics instead of the black & white visuals seen in previous systems. The introduction of colour graphics has helped detail games and brought a new experience at the time.

The second improvement is the addition of Soccer as a fourth game. And while the M0500 retained the difficulty setting option, it sadly did not feature four on-screen players mode. Players had to make do with just two players.

Magnavox Odyssey 4305 (1976)

The Magnavox 4305 came out as a surprise to many at the time since it was released as a 19-inch colour tv with either a built-in MO300 or M0500 system. And unlike its predecessors, the MO4305 cost around US$499 upon its release which was pretty expensive. Design-wise, the particular system included two gamepads that were similar to the Ping-O-Tronic.

Magnavox Odyssey 2000 (1977)

Released back in 1977, the MO2000 is an improved version of the MO300. One can say that they look and feel almost the same if it wasn’t for the addition of Practice as a fourth game. Unlike the MO500, the Magnavox Odyssey 2000 retained the black & white visuals of its predecessors. The console did not also include the Soccer game seen in the MO500 for an unknown reason.

Magnavox Odyssey 3000 (1977)

With the release of the MO3000, Magnavox has opted for a different case design, focusing entirely on delivering a more neoteric style. Similar to previous systems, the console featured the same line of games, but with a small improvement. The console can be played with two players, but the player can also individually play Practice mode for Smash.

Magnavox Odyssey 4000 (1977)

The Magnavox was the last video gaming console to be released by Magnavox. With it came new improvements, and the end of an era that would go to influence future companies to finish what Magnavox has started. Design-wise,  one can see the similarities between the Atari 2600, SG-1000 and the MO4000 as they interestingly share the same peculiar design.

The MO4000 featured up to 6 games, including :

• Hockey
• Tennis
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Gridball
• Smash

Thanks to the AY-3-8600 chip, this enabled the Magnavox Odyssey 4000 to display games with colours, and provide an enjoyable experience at the time.

Magnavox Odyssey 5000 (Prototype)

Just when everyone thought Magnavox was done with video games, the company was already working on a new model that would be titled the Magnavox Odyssey  5000 or abbreviated as the MO5000. On the technical side of things, the system would have contained two chips, Signetics’ MUGS-1, and National Semiconductor’s MM571068.

Featuring up to seven games to experience, the system would have allowed up to four players and included a Practice mode for solo play. Unfortunately, the console was never released to the public and remained a mere idea that would go on to pave the way for the next generation Magnavox home console, the Magnavox Odyssey 2.

Magnavox Odyssey 2 (1978)

The Magnavox Odyssey 2 ( or stylized as The Magnavox Odyssey²) is Magnavox’s answer to its ruthless competitor, the Atari 2600. While the MO2 wasn’t as powerful as its competitor, it took advantage of the modern technology of programmable ROM modules. Additionally, the Odyssey 2 featured a full alpha-numeric touchpad keyboard, which was solely used for educational games. A design choice that Atari would soon implement in the Atari XEGS.

Unlike its predecessors which included only a handful of games, the MO2 had over 47 games. However, due to the lack of third party support at the time, the console suffered from arcade copycats that were already released on the Atari 2600. One of those games was K.C. Munchkin! which strikingly resembled Pac-Man in so many ways. Basically, one can simply call it a shameless rip-off. Such a game managed to generate countless lawsuits by Atari simply because of the obvious similarities.

Regardless of the lawsuits, the MO2 sold very well and was surprisingly more popular in Europe than in any other region. Perhaps what made the MO2 and the Atari 2600 unforgettable experiences are the box arts. Despite not reflecting the actual quality of the games showcased on the box, the art itself was incentive enough for consumers to get their hands on the game.

You can experience the Magnavox Odyssey 2 today on either everything by using Retroarch. Check the guide if you’re unfamiliar with the program.

Magnavox Odyssey 3 (Unreleased)

A follow-up to the Magnavox Odyssey 2 was in the works with far-flung ideas that were ambitious for their time. One of these ideas was the following:

• Backwards compatible with all the old Odyssey 2 software
• A handful of games from the MO2 were supposed to be remade for the MO3
• More games to play with detailed hi-res background graphics.
• A clickable keyboard
• A voice module built-in

Unfortunately, the video game crash that occurred from 1983 to 1985 was the bullet to the project. As a result, the console was never released. If the console launched, perhaps it could have stood a chance in the market due to its ideas that were ahead of their time.

The Magnavox has had a long journey, and without its existence along with the Atari, gaming wouldn’t have existed. We can always look back at the history of the Magnavox Odyssey to get a glimpse of how things were, and what they have become.

That’s it for the list, thank you for reading.