It was same as the Odyssey 100 but with two additional chips from Texas Instruments, which added a third game called SMASH and some on-screen scoring. Still in 1975, Magnavox released an improved version of the Odyssey 100: the Odyssey 200. The first Magnavox system to offer digital on-screen was the Odyssey 300 in 1976. Nevertheless, on-screen scoring was added in later systems although the first attempts used archaic graphics. On-screen scoring would have required additional components, which would have increased the cost of the system. In fact, this was just a question of technology. This could seem strange compared to the first Atari PONG systems which already had digital on-screen scoring. The serve couldn't be changed: it was automatic.
There was no digital on-screen scoring: the players marked their score using two little plastic cursors on the system. The knobs were fixed: there were no detachable controllers yet. The Odyssey 100 was very basic and didn't have the common features of the million-seller PONG systems of the next years. A simple switch selected the games, and the system was either powered by six batteries, or by an AC adaptor (such power supplies were widely used by other systems). It did not use cartridges and played two games: TENNIS and HOCKEY.
The Odyssey 100 was an analog system which used four Texas Instruments chips. It did, however, prove that consoles for the home could be designed. One of their mistakes was misleading consumers into believing that the Odyssey would work only on Magnavox televisions. While it did not perform badly, it did not take long before it succumbed to poor marketing by Magnavox retail chains. The Odyssey and its variants also lack sound capability (hence a silent console), which was not uncommon in early PONG systems of that era. Also, unlike any conventional console today, this system was powered by batteries.
Unlike most video game consoles, the Odyssey is analog rather than digital, which makes its invention all the more amazing in spite of its rather crude graphics and controller responsiveness. This prototype is affectionately known as the "Brown Box" to classic video game hobbyists. The Odyssey was designed by Ralph Baer, who had a working prototype finished by 1968. The Magnavox Odyssey is the first home video game console, predating the Atari PONG home consoles by three years.
0 kommentar(er)
