The Magnavox Odyssey 2 (also called Magnavox Odyssey) is a home video game console from the second generation, 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 Odyssey2 (オデッセイ2 odessei2). The Odyssey 2 was one of five major home consoles before the 1983 video game market crash, along with 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. Later models followed with small improvements (see Magnavox Odyssey series). In 1978, Magnavox, which was then part of North American Philips, released a new version called the Odyssey 2.

In 2009, the video game website IGN listed the Odyssey 2 as the 21st greatest video game console out of 25 on its list.

Design

The original Odyssey had removable parts that allowed players to switch between built-in games. The Odyssey 2 improved on this by offering each game as a unique experience, with its own graphics, rules, scoring, and music. Some Odyssey 2 games were later released for the G7400 with added background details 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 tailored to their interests. Unlike other systems at the time, the Odyssey 2 included a full keyboard with letters and numbers, which was used for educational games, selecting options, or learning basic programming. Magnavox released a cartridge called Computer Intro! to teach simple programming skills.

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 an eight-direction stick in a square housing controlled by the other hand. Later models had a black controller with an eight-direction stick in a housing shaped like an eight-pointed star. Each controller had a single "Action" button—silver on the original and red on the black models. The games, graphics, and packaging were designed by Ron Bradford and Steve Lehner.

During production, some Odyssey 2 units had controllers that could be connected and disconnected from the console using a special connector, while others had controllers permanently attached to the back of the unit.

One of the system’s strongest features was its speech synthesis unit, a separate part that could be added to the console to improve sound, music, and effects. The Odyssey 2 is best known for combining board games and video games in The Master Strategy Series. The first game in the series was Quest for the Rings!, which had gameplay similar to Dungeons & Dragons and a story inspired by The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Two other games in the series were Conquest of the World and The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt, each with its own gameboard.

Compared to its main competitors—the Atari 2600, Mattel’s Intellivision, and the Bally Astrocade—the Odyssey 2 had limited color options and less advanced graphics, which were considered its weakest feature. At the time, Jeff Rovin listed the Odyssey 2 as the third best-selling system among the seven major video game suppliers.

Market life

The console sold reasonably well in the United States. Before the Mattel Intellivision was released nationwide in 1980, the video game 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, but it ranked third, far behind the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision.

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 made by Magnavox/Philips ended with an exclamation point, such as K.C. Munchkin! and Killer Bees!, except for Showdown in 2100 AD.

Until 1983, no other companies made games for the Odyssey 2 in the U.S. The lack of support from other companies limited the number of new games. However, the success of the Philips Videopac G7000 in other countries led two other companies to create games for it. Parker Brothers released Popeye, Frogger, Qbert, and Super Cobra, while Imagic released Atlantis*.

In Europe, the Odyssey 2 was very popular. It was most commonly known as the Philips Videopac G7000 or simply the Videopac. In some parts of Europe, it was sold under other 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, and a few are not compatible. For example, Frogger on the European console could not display the second half of the playing field, and Chess on the American model could not work with the extra hardware. Many additional games were released in Europe that were never sold in the U.S.

In Brazil, the console was released 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., and tournaments were held for games like K.C.'s Krazy Chase! (called Come-Come! in Brazil). Game titles were translated into Portuguese, and sometimes the stories were changed. For example, Pick-Axe Pete! became Didi na Mina Encantada! (Didi in the Enchanted Mine), referencing a comedy character named Renato Aragão, and it 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 DINGU company, under the name オデッセイ2 (Odessai 2). Japanese versions of the Odyssey 2 and its games used American boxes with katakana stickers and had cheaply printed black-and-white Japanese manuals. The initial price for the console was ¥49,800, which was about $200 at the time. It was not very successful, and Japanese Odyssey 2 items are now very rare.

Technical specifications

• CPU: An Intel 8048 8-bit computer chip that runs at 5.37 MHz for NTSC systems or 5.91 MHz for PAL systems.
• Memory: CPU-internal RAM: 64 bytes; CPU-external RAM: 128 bytes; Audio/video RAM: 128 bytes; BIOS ROM: 1024 bytes.
• Video: An Intel 8244 (NTSC) or 8245 (PAL) custom chip. Resolution: 160×200 (NTSC) with a 16-color fixed palette (8 basic colors: black, blue, green, cyan, red, magenta, yellow, and white, with half-brightness variations). Sprites: Up to 8 colors per sprite; 4 user-defined 8×8 single-color sprites; 12 8×8 single-color characters (must use one of 64 pre-built shapes from the BIOS ROM); characters can be placed freely but cannot overlap. 4 quad characters: Groups of four characters displayed in a row. 9×8 background grid: Dots, lines, or solid blocks.
• Audio: An Intel 8244/8245 custom chip with a mono 24-bit shift register and a noise generator. Clock frequencies: 2 options. Note: One chip handles both audio and video functions.
• Input: Two 8-way, one-button, digital joysticks (removable in early models, permanently attached in later models). QWERTY-layout membrane keyboard.
• Output: RF Audio/Video connector; Péritel/SCART connector (available only on the Videopac C52 in France).
• Media: ROM cartridges, typically 2 KB, 4 KB, or 8 KB in size.

• Expansion modules:
• The Voice: Adds speech synthesis and enhanced sound effects. Unlike Intellivoice, games compatible with The Voice did not require it.
• Chess Module: The Odyssey 2 lacked memory and computing power for a full chess game, so the C7010 chess module included a secondary NSC800 CPU with extra memory to run Gambiet 80. Compatible only with Videopac+/Jopac systems.
• C7420 Home Computer Module: Released in 1983 by Philips for Videopac+ and Jopac systems. Required an external tape recorder and came with a thick A4 manual. This module was the only reason for including a keyboard, which was designed to resemble an educational toy. However, it failed to compete with popular 8-bit home computers like the Atari 400, which was advertised as "The affordable home computer that's easy to use even for people who've never used a computer before."
• Note: The C7420 module is not the same as the cheaper cartridge #9: Computer Intro!

Emulation

An open source emulator called O2EM for the Odyssey 2 console is available for Windows and Linux, and as part of OpenEmu on Mac OS X.