Most of the games used special While Baer had developed several different control schemes for different types of games, the final system only shipped with one: the three dial control that allowed the player to move his dot horizontally or vertically as well as exert a small amount of control over the machine-controlled dot. [20][21] The 100 and 200 were released in November 1975 to replace the Odyssey for US$69.95 and US$109.95, respectively. It was remarkable how the atmosphere in the room changed after Gerry Martin In July, Ralph Baer and Lou Etlinger, Sanders Associates’ Corporate As Baer told Kent in The Ultimate History of Video Games, he was so desperate to motivate the frustrating engineer that he let him work on a pet project involving changing the octave of notes played on a guitar in addition to the TV game project. [11] With the system now largely complete, as the team began filing for patents they were unsure whom to approach to sell it until a Sanders patent attorney recommended contacting television manufacturers. Meanwhile, Ralph worked mostly with Bob Fritsche, who had become Magnavox’ The 1974 Export Odyssey differs from the above variants, and was sold in several countries listed on a large Patents Label - The Odyssey, as sold in France [12][15] Magnavox performed market surveys and playtests in Los Angeles and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and demonstrated it to dealers in Las Vegas in May 1972. design. The player has only so many “rocket blasts” to reach the planet. The very top of the shield has four parapets recognizing the home of Magnavox; Fort Wayne, Ind. - The extra games of the Odyssey the accessories rather than with the elementary graphics shown on the screen. game rules. a coin-operated arcade Ping-Pong game, which he named "PONG.” There is also no doubt that PONG helped Odyssey sales late in 1972...after all, Although the Odyssey was legally imported to foreign countries, at least three clones are known to exist. started shipping a very nice-looking, pump-action plastic rifle, for which The original $99.95 price was rather high, and the console was other Magnavox dealerships in major cities throughout the country laid on As the term "video game" was not yet in use, the company described the console as "the new electronic game of the future" and "closed-circuit electronic playground". [16][17][21] The console was released that year with different games in 12 other countries: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. Apex-Magnavox (Miami, FL) released a special 2-in-1 blue card This campaign culminated in a demonstration of the technology at Magnavox headquarters in Fort Wayne on July 17, 1969, for Gerry Martin, the VP of the Magnavox Console Products Planning Division. After multiple deals fell through at the last minute, Baer finally enticed Magnavox to build his TV game, and the long journey that began on a bus terminal step in August 1966 ended in September 1972 with the debut of the first home video game system, the Magnavox Odyssey. In England, modified US Odyssey units were exported around 1973 and sold by the Export version with ten games, which seems to be a very last marketing For these reasons, has also found its place in many international museums (Germany, Japan, etc.). [1] Baer, then the head of the Equipment Design Division at military contractor Sanders Associates, came up with the concept of using a television to play games, and the next morning wrote up a four-page proposal for a "game box" that would plug into a television screen, costing around US$25. [6] The product planning for the console was initially overseen by Bob Wiles of the color television division, but was turned over to product manager Bob Fritsche as its own category of product in September 1971. only exists in RUN 2. Victor’s main competitor, Columbia, also turned them down.

I am the great niece of Bill Harrison and the facts given were very nice to know. [17] Fritsche's team proposed the creation of alternate versions of the Odyssey, a "lite" version with five games and a version of four controllers and a dozen new or updated games. Once their new company was established, Jensen and Pridham turned their attention to developing a more sensitive telephone that could pick up signals transmitted from a greater distance. box had two large ITT stickers covering the original Magnavox logos. These firms were already using the exact same components contained within the Brown Box in their TV sets, so ramping up manufacturing would be relatively simple. serial sticker or stamped in red on the serial sticker. Bill Harrison and Ralph made trips to Fort Wayne in March and June of

got even more enthusiastic and urged Magnavox management, headquartered in Fort One player maneuvers the dot along the path, while the other attempts to shoot it. [10] Though the pair found Rusch difficult to work with, he soon proved his value to the team by coming up with a way to display a third, console-controlled spot on the screen in addition to the previous two player-controlled ones, and proposing the development of a ping pong game. All of the game information was contained in the dedicated hardware, and inserting a new circuit card was really no different an act from flicking a toggle switch. He went back to the Magnavox management located, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to take a look at the potential of the Brown Box. games were added. Thank you for the kind words! Argentinian Telematch played only three Odyssey games (Tennis, Squash and

Either way, these represent fairly modest sales for a product on the market for four holiday seasons. One by one, Etlinger invited some of the most prominent TV manufacturers — RCA, Zenith, Sylvania, General Electric, Motorola, Warwick, and Magnavox — to view the Brown Box in action. Shooting Gallery, the Odyssey add-on Rifle: The original Brown Box prototype allowed playing some games with a light gun.

Analogic (Game Card #3): An arithmetic game presented with the conceit that it takes place in a “numeric maze of a computer-charted galaxy.”  The overlay consists of a grid in which each square has a number. In Argentina, Odyssey was also modified (if not cloned) and called [8][34][35] Many of the defendants unsuccessfully attempted to claim that the patents only applied to the specific hardware implementations that Baer had used, or that they were invalidated by prior computer or electronic games. Back in April, Magnavox put on shows for dealers and the press all around New York city showing off their product line and invited Ralph Baer to come see one of the shows. bounce or erase either a player or a ball spot when there is a collision with a similar shows for the press and for their captive dealers.

Once that was in place, the Brown Box and all the design data Original German Export Model made in 1973. Glad you are enjoying my work. console was completed, refer to David Winter's Odyssey Dating article. Baer demonstrated the new prototype to Campman, who enjoyed the shooting game, increased funding, and recommended Baer demonstrate the project to senior management. Except for early renewals, renewed Odyssey units had their model updated to 1TL200BL99 Well, I can tell you that there was a console that came before that called the Magnavox Odyssey.

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In 1972, four years before Atari and Intellivision came along, Magnavox produced the Odyssey home-video game. During the winter of ’72 – ’73 Ralph Baer designed several advanced