Magnavox Odyssey was the first video game console marketed for home use. A video game console is a specialized computer that enables people to play games using their televisions . The television manufacturer Magnavox released the Odyssey in 1972.
The Odyssey console had a white plastic case with black and woodgrain trim. The player used a brick-shaped controller with dials on either side to control a dot displayed on the television screen. The controllers connected to the console via a thick cord.
The Magnavox Odyssey was limited by the technology of the time. The console did not have a central processing unit (CPU), the centralized part of modern computers that processes data. Instead, it relied on relatively simple electronics to achieve its effects. Most of its games relied in part on nonelectronic components for their play. For example, the Odyssey came with several transparent plastic overlays that players placed over their televisions for various games. It also came with dice, decks of cards, stickers, and scoring pads. Owners could purchase additional games and accessories separately.
The Odyssey’s game cards resembled the game cartridges used in later consoles. But unlike those cartridges, the game cards did not have games stored in memory. Instead, they activated display components stored within the Odyssey. Some games shared the same game card. Players would use different plastic screen overlays or other accessories to get a new gaming experience.
In the mid-1960’s, the German-American inventor and engineer Ralph Baer came up with the idea of a console game device that could connect to a television. Baer envisioned that people could use the same console to play different games. He convinced his employer, the electronics company Sanders Associates, to build a prototype (original example) as a research and development project. The company finished the prototype, nicknamed the Brown Box, in 1968. Sanders Associates marketed the Brown Box to different companies before the idea was purchased by Magnavox. The company modified the console’s design and marketed it as the Magnavox Odyssey.
At the time that Magnavox introduced the Odyssey, the company sold its televisions in exclusive stores. The Odyssey was compatible with most televisions of the day. But some salespeople at Magnavox stores told potential buyers that the Odyssey only worked with Magnavox-brand televisions. Magnavox’s advertising also confused some consumers into thinking the console would not work with other brands of television. Baer and others claimed that this confusion hurt Odyssey’s sales. Nevertheless, Magnavox sold about 350,000 Odyssey consoles from 1972 to 1975.
