The Magnavox Odyssey 2, also called the Philips Odyssey 2, is a home video game console from the second generation that was released in 1978. It was sold in Europe as the Philips Videopac G7000, in Brazil and Peru as the Philips Odyssey, and in Japan as the Odyssey2 (オデッセイ2 odessei2). The Odyssey 2 was one of the five major home consoles before the 1983 video game market crash. These consoles included the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Intellivision, and ColecoVision.
In the early 1970s, Magnavox started the home video game industry by releasing the first home console, the Odyssey. This was followed by later models with small improvements (see Magnavox Odyssey series). In 1978, Magnavox, which was then owned by North American Philips, decided to release a new version called the Odyssey 2.
In 2009, the video game website IGN ranked the Odyssey 2 as the 21st greatest video game console out of a list of 25.
Design
The original Odyssey had removable parts that held the built-in games. The Odyssey 2 allowed each game to have its own unique features, such as different graphics, gameplay, scoring, and music. Some Odyssey 2 games were later released for the G7400 with added background and updated graphics that the Odyssey 2 could not display. The system had great potential because players could buy individual games to create a collection of video games that matched their interests. Unlike other systems at the time, the Odyssey 2 included a full keyboard with letters and numbers, which could be used for educational games, selecting options, or programming. Magnavox released a cartridge called Computer Intro! to teach basic computer programming.
The Odyssey 2 used the standard joystick design from the 1970s and early 1980s. The original console had a silver controller held in one hand, with a square housing for the eight-direction stick controlled with the other hand. Later versions had a black controller with an 8-pointed star-shaped housing for the joystick. An "Action" button was located on the top of the joystick, silver on the original controllers and red on the black ones. Ron Bradford and Steve Lehner designed the games, graphics, and packaging.
During the Odyssey 2's production, some units had controllers that could be connected and disconnected from the back using a DB9 connector, while others had controllers permanently attached to the base unit.
A strong feature of the system was its speech synthesis unit, sold as an add-on to improve speech, music, and sound effects. The Odyssey 2 is best known for combining board and video games in The Master Strategy Series. The first game, Quest for the Rings!, had gameplay similar to Dungeons & Dragons and a story like The Lord of the Rings. Two other games in the series were Conquest of the World and The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt, each with its own gameboard.
The Odyssey 2's graphics and limited color options were its weakest features compared to competitors like the Atari 2600, Mattel's Intellivision, and the Bally Astrocade. According to Jeff Rovin, the Odyssey 2 ranked third in total sales and was one of seven major video game suppliers at the time.
Market life
The console sold reasonably well in the United States. Before the nationwide release of the Mattel Intellivision in 1980, the video game console market in the U.S. was mostly controlled by competition between the Odyssey 2 and the Atari 2600. From 1980 to mid-1982, the Odyssey 2 remained one of the three main consoles available, but it was far behind the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision in popularity.
To make the console look more like a home computer, the Odyssey 2 was advertised with phrases like "The Ultimate Computer Video Game System," "Sync-Sound Action," "True-Reality Synthesization," "On-Screen Digital Readouts," and "a serious educational tool" on its packaging and game cartridges. Most games, except for Showdown in 2100 AD, had names ending with an exclamation mark, such as K.C. Munchkin! and Killer Bees!
No games for the Odyssey 2 were made by companies other than Magnavox/Philips in the U.S. until 1983, when Imagic released Demon Attack. The lack of games from other companies limited the number of new titles available. However, the success of the Philips Videopac G7000 in other countries led two companies to create games for it: Parker Brothers released Popeye, Frogger, Qbert, and Super Cobra, while Imagic also released Atlantis*.
In Europe, the Odyssey 2 was very successful. It was most commonly known as the Philips Videopac G7000 or simply the Videopac. Some versions sold in Europe had different names, such as Philips Videopac C52, Radiola Jet 25, Schneider 7000, and Siera G7000. Philips used its own name instead of Magnavox’s for marketing in Europe. A rare version, the Philips Videopac G7200, was only sold in Europe and included a built-in black-and-white monitor. Most Videopac game cartridges work with American Odyssey 2 units, but some games have color differences or are not compatible. For example, Frogger on the European console could not show the second half of the playing field, and Chess on the American model could not work with an extra hardware module. Many games were released in Europe that were never made for the U.S. market.
In Brazil, the console was sold as the Philips Odyssey. The original Odyssey had only a limited release in Brazil by a local company, Planil Comércio, under license. The Odyssey 2 became much more popular in Brazil than in the U.S., with tournaments held for games like K.C.'s Krazy Chase! (called Come-Come! in Brazil). Game titles were translated into Portuguese, sometimes changing the story. For example, Pick-axe Pete! became Didi na Mina Encantada! (Didi in the Enchanted Mine), referencing a popular comedy character named Renato Aragão. This version became one of the most famous Odyssey games in Brazil.
The Odyssey 2 was released in Japan in December 1982 by Kōton Trading Toitarii Enterprise, a division of the DINGU company, under the name オデッセイ2 (Odessai 2). Japanese versions of the console and games used American boxes with katakana stickers and cheaply printed black-and-white manuals in Japanese. The initial price was ¥49,800, which was about US$200 at the time (equivalent to about $670 in 2025). The console was not very successful in Japan, and today, Japanese Odyssey 2 items are very rare.
Emulation
An open source emulator for the Odyssey 2 console, called O2EM, is available for Windows, Linux, and included in OpenEmu for Mac OS X.