************************************************************** ** The Official Odyssey FAQ ** ** ** ** by Robert D. Kaiser ** ** kaiser@pofvax.pnb.sunysb.edu ** ** ** ** Version 4/14/97 ** ** ** ** Odyssey2 Philips G700 and G7200 ** ** ** ** Odyssey3 Command Center Philips Videopac + G7400 ** ************************************************************** Welcome to the world of the Odyssey^2 , Odyssey^3, Philips G7000and G7400! Magnavox's Odyssey^2 was a popular American videogame console, sold in the United States from 1978 and 1983. It never was quite as popular as the Atari 2600 or Mattel's Intellivision, but it did sell more units that the GCE Vectrex, Bally Astrocade, Emerson Arcadia 2001, Fairchild Channel F or the RCA System II. It is less well known that the Odyssey^2 was even more popular in Europe, where it was marketed by Magnavox's parent company, Philips Electronics. In Europe (and in other parts of the world as well) the Odyssey^2 was sold as the Philips G7000 Videopac console. In France, it was known as the Philips C52. In Brazil it was known simply as the Odyssey, as the original Odyssey, a pong-like videogame, was never released in Brazil. Around 1983, the videogame market began to contract, which ended in the infamous videogame 'crash' of 1984. In this time period the Odyssey^2 totally lost its remaining market share to the next generation 8 bit videogames like the Colecovision, Atari 5200, and the 8 bit Nintendo Entertainment System. In order to compete, North American Philips/Magnavox developed their own next generation 8 bit system, code named the Odyssey^3. Later press releases revealed that it would be termed the Command Center. The Odyssey^3 Command Center was to have 16k ROM, 16k RAM, and a capacity for detailed background and foreground graphics. The keyboard was redesigned to have more keys, and a real computer keyboard was added in place of the Odyssey^2's flat plastic membrane. There was a built in joystick holder, so that one person could use both joysticks at once, for arcade style games. The unit also had two planned accessories: A voice synthesizer and a 300 baud modem. The Odyssey^3 Command Center was hyped to the press, and previewed at the 1983 Consumer Electronics show. It never was released. For years, American classic videogame collectors searched for prototypes of this unit. In time, the Odyssey^3 became known as vaporware. It became a 'holy grail' of classic game collecting among those videogame collectors who knew that a few prototypes really existed. In 1995 I believe I became the first American game collector to discover that Philips had indeed released the Odyssey^3 ! It was only sold for a limited time in 1983, and only 16 cartridges were ever made for it - but it did exist! It was sold only in Europe, and was dubbed the Philips Videopac + G7400. The Videopac + console had almost exactly the same internal hardware as the American Odyssey^3 prototype, but externally it was very different. The keyboard did indeed have extra keys, but a flat plastic membrane keyboard was used instead of a real keys to save costs. Also, there was no built in joystick holder. The Philips Videopac + G7400 could play four types of cartridges. (1) All the standard Odyssey^2 / Philips G7000 cartridges. The backward compatibility would ensure that many Odyssey owners would upgrade to this system and still be able to use all their old games. (2) A series of remakes, in which popular Odyssey^2/Philips G7000 games were re-released with high resolution, beautifully rendered background graphics, similar in quality to what one would see on a Colecovision. If these game were played on a regular Odyssey^2/ Philips G7000 the game would play just like the classic version, but the high-res background graphics would not be visible. (3) A series of totally new Odyssey games. These had standard Odyssey foreground graphics but also had high resolution background graphics. If these game were played on a regular Odyssey^2/Philips G7000 the game would play correctly, but the high-res background graphics would not be visible. (4) A series of totally new Odyssey^3/Philips G7400 only games that could only be played on the Odyssey^3 or G7400. These games not only had hi-res background graphics, but they had hi-res foreground graphics, scrolling screens, multiple screens and the ability for more complex gameplay. Only four such games were ever made: Norseman, Helicopter Rescue, Trans-American Ralley and the Home Computer Module. Rarity: C = Common U = Uncommon R = Rare ER = Extremely rare UR = Ultra Rare P = Only exists as confirmed prototype NR = Never released/No known prototypes. Games in this category may have been advertised, or just planned, but apprently never even made it to the prototype stage. ***************************************************************** * Magnavox Odyssey^2 * ***************************************************************** Model number / name Rarity ------------------------------------------------------------ AC9400 Speedway!/Spin-Out!/Crypto-Logic! C AJ9401 Blackjack! R AJ9402 Football! U AJ9403 Sub Chase!/Armored Encounter! C AJ9404 Bowling!/Basketball! U AJ9405 Math-a-Magic!/Echo! R AC9406 Computer Intro! U AJ9407 Matchmaker!/Buzzword!/Logix! C AJ9408 Baseball! C AJ9410 Computer Golf! U AJ9411 Cosmic Conflict! C AJ9412 Take the Money and Run! U AC9413 I've Got Your Number! R AK9414 Invaders From Hyperspace! C AK9415 Thunderball! R AK9416 Showdown in 2100 A.D. C AK9417 War of Nerves! U AK9418 Alpine Skiing! U AC9419 Out of This World!/Helicopter Rescue! R This game is not the same as Videopac #59 "Helicopter Rescue", which was only released in Europe. Only the titles are similar. AK9420 Hockey!/Soccer! U AK9421 Dynasty! U AA9422 Volleyball! R AA9423 Electronic Table Soccer! R AC9424 Pocket Billiards R AA9425 Pachinko! R AA9426 Casino Slot Machine! U AA9427 Blockout!/Breakdown! C AA9428 Alien Invaders - Plus! C AC9429 The Quest for the Rings! U AB9430 U.F.O.! U AB9431 Conquest of the World! U AM9432 Monkeyshines! R AC9433 Keyboard Creations ER AC9434 The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt R AC9435 K.C. Munchkin! C AC9436 Freedom Fighters! C AC9437 Pick Axe Pete! U AC9438 S.I.D. the Spellbinder (voice) ER AC9439 Nimble Numbers Ned! (voice) ER AC9440 Type & Tell! (voice) R AC9441 Smithereens (voice) ER AC9422 K.C.'s Krazy Chase! (voice) U AC9433 P.T. Barnum's Acrobats (voice) ER AC9445 Attack of the Timelord! (voice) R AC9446 Turtles (voice) ER AC9447 Killer Bees! (voice) ER AC9448 Power Lords UR This game is now available on the new Odyssey^2 multicart. ??7605 The Voice of Odyssey^2 R Voice and music synthesizer. Odyssey^2 Sherlock Holmes P Only one copy of this Master Strategy games has even been found by a collector, Jayson Hill. It may be a completed game, but is unplayable without the instructions (which have never been found). Odyssey^2 Pink Panther NR Rumor has it that a prototype version was shown at a Consumer Electronics Show in the early '80s (probably 1983 or 1984), but none has yet been found. Atari 2600 Pink Panther P In the dying days of the Odyssey 2, North American Philips tried to branch out into producing games for other systems. They were to release these games under the "Probe 2000" label. Probe 2000 planned to release four games on the Atari 2600: Pink Panther, Power Lords, War Room, and Lord of the Dungeon. Of these, only Pink Panther has been found. (Perhaps this is what people viewed at the Consumer Electronics Show?) Collector Steve Averitt owns the only known prototype of this game, and he wrote a review of it for the newsletter "The 2600 Connection." The review (plus screenshots) is available on its website. GE7710 Odyssey^3 Command Center P GE7610 Odyssey^3 Voice Module P Odyssey^3 Modem P Odyssey^3 Flashpoint P Odyssey^3 Baseball P Odyssey^3 Killer Bees P As an American release, this only exists as a prototype. The prototype for the American version has not yet been found, but I have seen a videotape of this game in action. An altered version of this game was released in Europe (UR), the difference being that the background graphics are completely different. In the American prototype video we see a colorful geometric background, while in the European release we see a yellow honey comb, and several large 'Killer Bees'. Odyssey^3 Attack of the Timelord P As an American release, this only exists as a prototype. However, this game was released in Europe as "Terrahawks +" (ER). Oddly, two large stars blink in the American version, yet are static in the European version. Odyssey^3 Freedom Fighters P As an American release, this only exists as a prototype. However, this game was released in Europe as "Freedom Fighters +" (ER). One notable difference is that the background graphics for this American version are not used on the European version. Instead these background graphics (of a big red floating asteroid and a starfield) are used on the European Videopac "Satellite Attack +" which is the European Odyssey^3/Philips G7400 version of "U.F.O.!" The G7400 version of "Freedom Fighters" features a background with several planets (one with rings) and a starfield. ***************************************************************** * Probe 2000 / Magnavox Odyssey games for Colecovision * ***************************************************************** War Room R This was the only Odyssey game that ever made it to the Colecovision market. It was sold under the label 'Probe 2000'. Power Lords NR This game was advertised with screen shots, but it was never sold and no prototype has yet been found. The Odyssey^2 version is UR, and was commercially released. It is also now easily available on the new Odyssey^2 multicart. Pink Panther NR Flashpoint NR Creatures and Caverns NR I have heard that Probe 200 was planning a game called "Lord of the Dungeon", which is most likely just another name for "Creatures and Caverns". All these games were planned but apprently never even made it to the prototype stage. No prototypes of these last three games have ever been found. ***************************************************************** * Imagic Odyssey^2 * ***************************************************************** Model number / name Rarity ------------------------------------------------------------ Atlantis ER Demon Attack ER Demon Attack Plus UR Demon Attack Plus was a limited release for the Philips G7400, known only to have been sold in France and Portugal. One known copy has a label showing that it was released by To Tec International, and licsenced by Imagic. In addition to the regular release of these Imagic games, they were also sold in some European countries under the Philips label. ***************************************************************** * Parker Brothers Odyssey^2 * ***************************************************************** Model number / name Rarity ------------------------------------------------------------ Popeye UR Q*Bert UR Super Cobra UR Frogger ER Tutankham NR While Popeye and Super Cobra both work on American Odyssey^2 units, Frogger and Q*Bert do not. Frogger shows the title screen, but the two play screens (the first being the road and the second being the river) are totally messed up and unplayable. Q*bert reportedly works fine on a few machines (Maybe about 10% ?) while on most other machines it is non-controllable. These games were also released in some European countries under the Philips label. Tutankham was advertised in some old German videogame magazines, but was never released, and no prototype has yet been found. ***************************************************************** * Philips Videopacs for the G7000, G7200, or G7400 * ***************************************************************** In the following list, if there is a '+' sign next to the Videopac number, then this means that there was a '+' version of this game released. Videopac number / name Rarity (followed by name of American version.) ------------------------------------------------------------ Philips G7000 ER Videogame console; equivalent to an Odyssey^2. Philips G7200 UR Videogame console with built-in B/W monitor. Philips G7400 UR Videopac '+' console, equivalent to the unreleased Odyssey^3 Command Center. 01+ Race/Spinout/Cryptogram C Speedway/Spinout/Cryptologic 02 Pairs/Space Rendezvous/Logic R Matchmaker/Out Of This World/Logix These games were released in the US, but not together on one cartridge. 03 American Football R Football 04 Air-Sea War/Battle R Armored Encounter/Subchase 05 Blackjack R Las Vegas Blackjack 06 Ten Pin Bowling/Basketball R Bowling/Basketball 07 Mathematician/Echo R Math-a-Magic/Buzzword 08 Baseball R 09 Computer Programmer R Computer Intro 10 Golf R 11+ Cosmic Conflict R 12 Take the Money and Run R 13 Playschool Math UR I've Got Your Number 14 Gunfighter R Showdown in 2100 A.D. 15 Samurai ER Dynasty 16 Depth Charge/Marksman R Never released in US 17 Chinese Logic R Never released in US 18 Laser War R Invaders From Hyperspace 19 Catch the Ball/Noughts and Crosses R Never released in US 20+ Stone Sling R Smithereens 21 Secret of the Pharoahs ER Never released in US 22 Space Monster R Alien Invaders - Plus! 23 Las Vegas Gambling R Casino Slot Machine 24 Flipper Game R Thunderball! 25 Skiing R Alpine Skiing 26 Basket Game R Pachinko 27 Electronic Table Football R Electronic Table Soccer! 28 Electronic Volleyball R 29 Dam Buster R Blockout/Breakdown 30 Battlefield R War of Nerves 31 Musician (by Sierra) ER Never released in US 32 Labyrinth Game/Supermind R Never released in US 33 Jumping Acrobats R P.T. Barnum's Acrobats 34+ Satellite Attack ER U.F.O.! 35 Electronic Billiards R Pocket Billiards 36 Electronic Hockey/Electronic Soccer R 37 Monkeyshines R 38 Munchkin R K.C. Munchkin 39+ Freedom Fighters R 40 Microcat / 4 in 1 Row R Never released in US 41 Conquest of the World ER 42 The Quest for the Rings ER 43+ Pick Axe Pete R 44 Crazy Chase R K.C.'s Krazy Chase 45 Morse ER Never released in US 46 The Great Wall Street Fortune Hunt ER 47 The Mousing Cat / Adversaries ER Never released in US 48 Backgammon ER Never released in US 49 Turtles ER 50 Super Bee UR Never released in US 51+ Terrahawks ER Attack Of The Timelord 52+ Killer Bees ER 53+ Nightmare UR Never released in US 54+ Looney Balloon ER Never released in US 55+ Neutron Star ER Never released in US 56+ Norseman UR Never released in US - for G7400 only 57 Blobbers ER Never released in US 58+ Air Battle UR Never released in US 59+ Helicopter Rescue UR Never released in US - for G7400 only 60+ Trans-American Rally UR Never released in US - for G7400 only 74 Clay Pigeon UR One copy of this game has finally been found - in South America! To the delight of classic game collectors, this game is now available on the Odyssey^2 multicart. Since the box lists it as Videopac #74, this raises the possibility that there are 13 more games that are yet to be found by classic game collectors. However the numbering system may simply be different. This seems quite likely, as there are about this many known 'plus' games. Some of these may simply have been released in South America with different Videopac numbers. Also, one contact in Brazil has noted that this game was numbered '54' in some Odyssey catalogs. A Newscaster UR Type'n'Tell V Kinder Im Verkehr UR German released only. An Odyssey^2 educational game for kids. Only a few hundred are rumored to exist. c7010 Video Chess Module UR The G7000 didn't have enough memory and computing power for a chess program, so Philips equipped the chess cartridge with an add-on computer module that sat on top of the G7000 console. The module got its power from the main console. c7420 G7400 Home Computer Module UR A BASIC programming module. ***************************************************************** * Jopac Videopacs for the Philips Jopac (G7400) * ***************************************************************** These games were only released in France; All of these are UR. Syracuse - A ricochot" game. You must catch sunrays (dots) with a mirror and "shoot" them at a certain angle to a city to destroy the houses. Chex Maxime - A platform game. It is a restaurant with three stores, and you are the waiter and you have to serve people in a certain time limit. Exojet Plus Billiards Plus (Pocket Billiards Plus) Catapult Plus (Smithereens Plus) Motor Crash Robert D. Kaiser kaiser@pofvax.pnb.sunysb.edu Thanks goes out to: William and K. Cassidy kcassidy@zoomnet.net Jerry Greiner jerryg@hevanet.com W. Jayson Hill jlhill@ix.netcom.com Keita Iida keita@mindspring.com Marco Kerstens mkerstens@bw.kun.nl H. Danny Oosterhoff danny@ad1.mey.nl Hans Reutter reutter@coil.com