This week at Flashbak, I remembered the age of the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game in history.
Here's a snippet and the url (http://flashbak.com/thought-action-reaction-age-magnavox-odyssey-1972-46539/):
"I’ll
admit it, I don’t actually remember this console, the Magnavox Odyssey.
It was released on the market when I was just
four years old, in 1972. Yet it is
historically important, since video game scholars mark it as the first
commercially available home video game system.
Created
by Ralph Baer with Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch, the Magnavox Odyssey is
described in its promotional material as “the
exciting Electronic Game Center for children and adults.”
The
same advertisement notes that the game system makes TV into more “than
something to just sit and watch,” transforming the boob tube into a “challenging electronic playground of fun and
learning for the entire family.”
The
Magnavox, its manufacturers note, is “thought,
action and reaction. It is a play and learning experience for all ages.”
The
Odyssey is very different from the other game systems that I have covered here,
for certain. For example, the Magnavox
Odyssey features no sound card, runs on six C batteries, and features color
overlays that you can place over the TV set to make it appear that the games
are produced in color.
The
Magnavox Odyssey also was sold with poker chips and dice, so that you could
play casino style games with the machine (like “Roulette.”)
In
1972, 100,000 Odyssey units were sold, and over its life, 27 Odyssey games were
produced. Twelve came with the console unit (including “Table Tennis”).
One
of the most interesting add-ons for the Magnavox Odyssey is a pump action rifle
or shot-gun to be used with such games as “Shooting Gallery,” “Shoot Out,” “Dog
Fight” and “Prehistoric Safari.”
The
makers of the game also faced a lawsuit from Atari, because the Odyssey’s Tennis
game apparently too closely resembled the popular Pong arcade game..."
No comments:
Post a Comment