The Odyssey , produced by Magnavox in 1972, is the first Console of video game dedicated to the house, preceding three years the consoles Pong of Atari.

History

Odyssey has be conceived by Ralph Baer, which manufactured a functional prototype, which was its only besides, in 1968. This prototype is affectionately known by the amateurs of video games traditional under the name of “Brown Box” (brown box). With the difference of the majority of the game consoles of today, Odyssey is analogical rather than numerical, which makes its invention even more amazing, and that in spite of its graphics and a rather brutal answer of the levers. Moreover, unlike any conventional console of today, this system functioned with piles. Odyssey and its alternatives (other than Odyssey ²) did not have of sound capacities, which was not rare in the systems preceding Pong.

Odyssei used a type of charts with dismountable circuits which fit in a slit similar to a slit of cartridge. Those did not contain really programs, but changed the circuit of the machine to change returned to the screen. The system is also delivered with plastic transparencies so that the players can put them on their screen of TV to simulate colors, although only two sizes of screen are supported. Some of these transparencies could even be used several times consequently cartridge, with however of the different rules for the play. It was also delivered with tokens of play out of plastic and plasticized sheets of points, just like the traditional board games.

Odyssei left in 1972 and was not too expensive, but she died because of the little of marketing carried out in the stores of sale of Magnavox. She proved however that consoles for the house could be conceived. Magnavox also gained a business against Nolan Bushnell in a judgment for counterfeit in the design of the Pong of Bushnell, because it resembled slightly the play of tennis for the odyssey.

Odyssei was successful enough however to support an additional peripheral, a luminous rifle “light gun”. This one detected the light of the screen, however while directing the gun on a bulb one recorded a point nevertheless.

Ralph Baer invented the traditional electronic play “Simon” for Mattel in 1979, who became the portable electronic play most popular of all times|date=date . Magnavox later left several other consoles similar to pong based on Odyssey (which did not use cartridges or charts of play), and even at a time, a really programmable console, using cartridges, the Odyssei ², in 1978.

The first excursion of Nintendo in the world of the consoles, was to sell Odyssey de Magnavox in Japan, before they make them-even their own consoles.

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