Magnavox Odyssey²

Release: 1978
aka: Philips G7000 Videopac, Phillips C52 (France), Odyssey (Brazil)

Magnavox, the company who created the Odyssey (the first home gaming system) and basically began the modern gaming market, decided to create a new version of their original system. They develloped prototypes of the Odyssey 2. This was a 4-player non-programmable system with 24 built-in games. However, when the next generation—cartridge-based systems—took the stage, Magnavox decided to go back and re-design their project.

The resulting Odyssey² was nothing like the original system. Now fully programmable, the Odyssey² could handle a vast variety of games. They could all be different, upgraded… the possibilites were endless. The Odyssey² would become worthy competition for Atari.

With time, Atari and Mattel surpassed the Odyssey², but Magnavox stuck with it—they kept programming games to be better for Odyssey² owners. By 1983, over one million Odyssey² systems had been sold in North America.

The Odyssey² was a hit worldwide. In Europe, it was marketed by Phillips, which had adopted Magnavox. In much of Europe, and other places worldwide, it was known as the Philips G7000 Videopac console, in France: the Phillips C52. In Brazil it was known as the Odyssey because its predecessor was never released there.

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