1972 Magnavox Odyssey promotional film

Rare 1972 promotional film for the original Magnavox Odyssey video game system. These films were distributed to Magnavox TV dealers on Technicolor Sound-Movie Cartridges, and could be viewed on a special display device in the dealer showroom. This was found in storage at Haverhill TV & Appliance in Haverhill, MA around 2008. RIP Fred Battistini.

[@L1Games]

for those who would make fun of this. Remember, It was cutting edge technology in 1972. Making something move on your TV screen was amazing in itself!

[@small_ed]

Yes, the vertical hold knob was a good LSD emulator.

[@jabrakoma]

Lol yeah but i still make fun of it

[@lilmissknowitall5775]

I remember first telling about "Super Mario Bros" as a game that "let's you move the character on the television" to me, it sounded like magic.

[@GnarlyAxoltolProductions]

Oh yea its not like their trying to be funny. By the way, I’m switching from my Xbox x, to this

[@mjbgames4963]

LSD Is Also A Goddamn drug. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@yorkie2k]

This was found in storage at an old TV store.  It's one of about a dozen 1970's Magnavox films that I am currently archiving.

[@rjonzun5828]

When are you going to upload more of them?

[@aliadjorlu6264]

Thank you man !! So important to save these

[@GuitarsZnuff]

Thanks for sharing!

[@bradyfan6667]

Imagine blowing up as a console until someone else made one and you now sit at the bottom of consoles sold all time because you’re dog shit. Dudes really thought back then they would become something like PlayStation😂😂😂😂😂

[@sgoc9499]

@@bradyfan6667 Dude,this was cutting edge back then. It's obvious it doesn't hold up like current consoles,and the market was new so it didn't have much interest from the begining. Maybe you should think before writing

[@zachhaywood1564]

When you remember that this was almost 50 years ago, I think you can only imagine how blown people's minds must have been by the fact that there was a glowing square on their TV that they could control at will.

[@Rationalific]

I'm sure that a lot of people's minds were blown. However, it's kind of weird and almost ironic that it's most often kids' minds that are blown. For example, I was a kid when Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario World, Street Fighter II, and Daytona USA came out, and I was blown away and entranced by all of them. My parents were very nice and bought me many games, but they didn't care about them much, even though the magnificent 16-bit and 3D texture-mapped graphics revolutions were in full swing! I was small, and had not experienced much of life comparatively, but for me, it was incredible. For most adults, not so much. So I wonder if those who were most impressed by moving lights on a TV screen might have been the kids those days, too...

[@nagendramishra8947]

Not 50

[@MadameSomnambule]

@@Rationalific I know I was super impressed by the Nintendo 64's 3d graphics as a little kid when my older brother got his for his birthday. It looked so realistic to my 5 year old mind. I'm sure many kids were amazed that you could control anything on a tv set in the 70s with a game console. Hell, if I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s, my mind would've been blown by the Atari 800 or Commodore 64's graphics and sound.

[@Rationalific]

@@MadameSomnambule Yeah. I'm glad that I could grow up in an era with so many huge advancements so quickly. Now, of course, there is more available and better graphics are reachable, but going through the process was also fun. I think that we are reaching a period of diminishing returns (because things are already very realistic) that someone growing up between 2022 and 2042 would see better graphics, but nowhere near the changes as someone growing up from 1982-2002. But anyway, it's good that we've reached this point technologically, and I hope to see more breakthroughs (maybe with VR, etc) soon. VR is probably the most recent "Whoa!" moment I've had when trying it.

[@begula2011]

It is now 50 years old

[@polaritybear3569]

The E3 trailer for Game Card #6 was amazing. Everyone thought it was gonna be another bouncing dots rehash, but then bam it was dots moving in a circle. It was mindblowing.

[@howardsternssmicrophone9332]

Them graphics were tight as a kite!

[@thephonepersonally]

Nahh, that was just another crappy Game card #2 remaster.

[@spicyblue1153]

​@@thephonepersonallyit literally has the "remaster" on its name, why did y'all expect different dot movements from the original if it's literally a remaster??

[@maskedbrobotdubs4741]

​@@thephonepersonally I will not accept Game Card#2 slander. That game got me through a rough divorce, a kidney failure and a alcohol induced depression, all in one weekend.

[@Ultimate6489]

and remember card #4 when it was announced, it was pretty underrated

[@SwiftRuss]

Games include tennis, table tennis, super tennis, ping pong, crazy pong, tennis pong, super crazy tennis pong...

[@jcrowley1985]

Basically pong with different overlays.

[@Sergiomendezflores]

Super amazing! With those 7 games my family is bore-secured! And a Badminton game is comming soon!

[@TC_Connection]

Pennis Pong

[@Musicradio77Network]

This was the game that Atari’s founder Nolan Bushnell started making an arcade game called “Pong”, and it was a success. And it was the first game to featured sound, but this one doesn’t.

[@ObviousTrollFrom2007]

Don't forget Reverse Pong and Asshole Pong!

[@LeeDee5]

"When you want to razzle dazzle your opponent" Oh boy!

[@itriedtochangemynamebutitd5019]

John Volken Just like today?

[@dmsmhic]

That gizmo sure looks like the cat's pyjamas! I can't wait to give my pals the ol 23 skidoo with that one!

[@ptrekboxbreaks5198]

Hit em with the razzle dazzle

[@bluebull399]

No idea what Razzle Dazzle means so I looked it up "To show something flashy or fancy that distracts your audience of how terrible something really is. 1. Man, this console really is terrible. Good thing we razzle ".

[@aquariandawn4750]

​@@bluebull399you can say the console is terrible. Putting some thought into it, when this console was the only console, it wasn't. I was born in 72, and I can tell you each new console that has come out has blown my mind and each time I thought to myself how can I get any better.

[@voodooopaque6357]

Im switching from PS4 to this, looks fun

[@johnellizz]

Yeah, but you can't play the Magnavox Odyssey without WiFi.

[@redman443]

can i play call of duty on this?

[@PauloSantos-yb4bz]

No lags 😨 perfect

[@x---velez---x8597]

JAJAJAJAJAJAJA Made my Day

[@Kiruasu]

Good choice AngelTribalWolf

[@TheIdiotDonut]

For 1972, this was ahead of its time. Imagine waking up on a rainy Saturday as a kid in the 70's and playing with this, it would be entertaining.

[@uruiamnot]

I had one of these. The awesome thing was the way the plastic overlays would stick to the CRT screen. The normal static of the screen would stick them like glue. I will never forget the "English" of the control. It was the only way to beat your siblings on the game. I can't get over the fact that we had the very first home video game ever made. I remember the haunted house and tennis. For sheer weirdness, the haunted house is a classic. I wonder if anyone realized at the time that this would be collectible and keep its resale value?

[@jpthomason]

Nice! My dad was a salesman for magnavox and we were one of the test families. I still remember the haunted house game. lol

[@alechiavassa]

@@jpthomason How awesome! I feel like everytime I see people talking about the Odyssey online, it's always people who didin't experience it at the time. I'd love to hear more about the thoughts of people like you two who experienced it at the time before the concept of videogames even existed.

[@jpthomason]

@@alechiavassa I was born in 68. I think we were in Dallas when we got it. I remember being fascinated by the novelty of it all. Using it wasn't hard, except for the controllers. It's obvious to see why joysticks replaced dials quickly, but that was just the pong set up initially. I remember it being very solid state, and I did like the mylar overlays. So we could just exchange game for game quite quickly. That was another plus, it came with all the games! lol WE had it for about a year. I remember it didn't really take off until Atari/Odyssey 2. That time period. I think I was so young that new technology didn't really seem groundbreaking to me. I just accepted it all! lmao

[@georgeellison926]

@@alechiavassa We got one for Christmas, I was 11 at the time. My sister and I thought it was absolutely the coolest thing we'd ever seen, we'd seen it in the store, and were just blown away that one actually showed up under the tree. Ours came with some extra games - I specifically remember a driving/racing game, which consisted of steering your light square around a race course - so maybe one of the optional expansion packs. The screen overlays would pucker on the edges, since flat CRTs didn't exist (CRTs were vacuum tubes; the ones that existed in 1972 were all made of thick, curved glass so as not to implode from the vacuum). Didn't bother us in slightest. I don't remember it ever occurring to me that the puckering was problematic, it just was what it was. We had absolutely no frame of reference. This was in the days when Pulsar watches were blowing minds. I saw my very first pocket electronic calculator within a year or two of this, it was about the size of a smallish smartphone, but about an inch thick. I just couldn't get my head around the idea that it could do these various calculations "instantly". I think it only did basic arithmetic. It was a different time!

[@windestruct]

"English"

[@eitanros]

Never in the history of mankind an illuminated Dot has caused such drama.

[@thickskulls]

yeah REMEMBER PONG!?

[@ayudatengopiedrasenlosrino3786]

@Adi Odjidja *48 years

[@miguelescutia5556]

Most famous pixel ever.

[@SantiagoSalse]

50 years... I love watching old technology commercials to see how far we've moved and how exciting tech has become

[@notsureiL]

It went by fast the development. Just imagine how technology might look like in 2072

[@josemiranda-tf5lu]

i dont know why , but watching these old games commercials make me so happy, its a strange feeling.

[@Skylar_sky]

Yes me too

[@skeptorr]

The feeling is longing to be in a memory, which is now a sort of a "happy place" to go to, far from now and here, which in many ways suck in comparison to back then.

[@SentientPotatoXIII]

"When it comes to going back to the past, you can't go back much more than this" Imagine playing this as a kid then seeing all the games people play nowadays.

[@chriso8193]

arcades go even further back.....it's all part of gaming, whether at home or in bowling alley, amusement park, etc.

[@kenmograd2009]

Side note: the light gun used for the Magnavox Odyssey was manufactured by Nintendo as part of a deal with company to distribute the system in Japan.

[@dogeymon83]

I wish they would make a game console commercial like this again. In 2018: "What do you do 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while eating hot pockets and avoiding all manual labor? Why it's the new XBOX ONE, brought to you by Microsoft. Set up your master control unit with special game discs. The game discs activate fascinating picture replications on screen!"

[@RayManiac90]

I would love a commercial like that

[@livclark8154]

@@1lps1 I'm a zoomer and even I would call your comment cancer. You have no reason to be here, this guy's just making a joke (joking about something doesn't mean you believe in it) and here you go, spreading your hate for the elderly. Yes, boomers are generally racist, sexist, clueless and callous, and they fucked up the American economy, but not all of them are. There are good boomers. Just as there are bad zoomers, like you.

[@shampistols69]

Channel Name you both are cringe

[@Ori0n1975]

@Liv Clark Your post is worse than his, SJW. "Racist, sexist, callous." Oh boy.🙄

[@Spiral_loop]

Take my money!!!

[@DittoMike1]

I remember getting this as a gift. I must have been 8 or 9 years old. I still have this thing ! It obviously has not been connected to anything in 40 plus years but I still have the unit...

[@joelbizzell1386]

Plug it up! Well...if you have a CRT tv laying around. If not you could surely convert RF to RCA Then RCA to HDMI. And you can plug it up on a new television. 😄

[@SpacyDragon]

how old are you

[@joaquincespedes3073]

@@SpacyDragon bruh just maths, magnavox odissey was discontinued in 1975 so he have probably 57

[@neiderjaviermurciacardozo2044]

Lol commentaries

[@صكارالزلم-ت1غ]

@@neiderjaviermurciacardozo2044 what about them

[@MAGNUM05]

RIP Ralph Baer (1922 - 2014)

[@starridergaminghd9819]

what happened MAGNUM05

[@MAGNUM05]

bluebox gamer I have no idea. I'm guessing he just died from old age

[@starridergaminghd9819]

oh btw MAGNUM05 i need a request a gameplay request

[@VlogsAnonymousE]

bluebox gamer He died at the age of 92 from being 92

[@theoldfirstsquidguy15years50]

Is it the narrator that is talking?

[@LordZacknafien]

God Bless you Ralph Baer with out you we would not have all the game consoles we have today such as Magnavox Odyssey Atari NES SNES Sega Genesis PSX PS1 PS2 PS3 PS4 Xbox Xbox360 and every other game console out there!!!. You are not just an Epic Inventor but also a LEGEND! R.I.P Ralph Baer and I hope some day I will have the honor of meeting you in heaven and play a few rounds of Pong on the Brown Box You Have created that Got Video Gaming STARTED!!.

[@elizabethsmith9783]

We love you Ralph baer for making video games if it weren't for you we wouldn't have the wii U xbox one nor ps4

[@isecream]

LordZacknafien Ralph Baer invented console gaming. Unfortunately, Micro$oft and $ony pay no respect to him.

[@exodia9817]

Amen.

[@exodia9817]

***** If it weren't for Ralph, video game consoles wouldn't have been invented. You don't have a heart if you don't appreciate the father of video game consoles.

[@supermario5820]

Justin Blystone If he doesnt have a heart then how does he live

[@windestruct]

3:00 First example of cheating, 1972 colorized.

[@puryple]

Oh no no

[@andredavila3731]

Man. It’s crazy how much of a game changer the Atari 2600 was

[@REALwoombath]

Graphics: -5/10 Music: 4/10 Story: 2/10 Gameplay: ∞/10 Overall: ∞/10 (recommended)

[@lslsls-mu5rb]

I've read that the Magnavox Odyssey had no sound and Atari's co-founder Nolan was so bothered that he ends up making their own Pong game

[@rogermichou8654]

lol

[@kimursin5374]

No sound :-)

[@christyshultz6443]

@@lslsls-mu5rb yeah I think the consoles really got done about the same time but I think Atari was done first it's just Magnavox actually came out first. But you're talk about pong yeah pain was a pretty good game I can see why the music would be needed as opposed to something silent and you know what sound effects would be crappy. Plus I like the Atari Pong better Atari had better graphics and just was a better game console all around. Plus Atari gets points for being iconic with a little game stick and its maneuverability.

[@ObviousTrollFrom2007]

How the hell did you come up with those ratings

[@samnicholson5051]

This is so weird, to see a home gaming console that long ago, during a time when much of Africa was controlled by Portugal, Dark Side of the Moon did not yet exist, and Star Wars was a figment of George Lucas's imagination.

[@SwedishRetroTechNerd]

LOL this was 3 years before the first VCR player

[@Ori0n1975]

It was probably better off being controlled by Portugal.

[@samnicholson5051]

@@Ori0n1975 the Portuguese first colonised Africa to enslave people, and in the later years refused to give the vast majority of the Africans Portuguese citizenship, which would afford them the same rights and protections as the white population, who were given Portuguese citizenship by birthright.

[@EnigmaticLucas]

And Portugal was still a dictatorship at the time. Same for Spain.

[@AlexanderBogdanow]

@@EnigmaticLucas No. But thanks. Now I imagine a happy rhodesian Family playin' with the Odyssey. Perfect when Daddy is oiut in the Bush huntin' Terrs. 😅

[@emilybyers629]

My Dad was working at Magnavox when I was born (1982) and we had one of these! It was always interesting when he would get out to play with.

[@iammaybeabro4598]

Hate to ask, but did you ever feel envy when you saw friends with Nintendos & Ataris (maybe even Sega systems)?

[@NikodAnimations]

You're 40 now

[@Beeeen69]

⁠@@iammaybeabro4598you act like that was the only system he had 🗿

[@betsyduane3461]

Boy that plastic overlay really made it realistic, I felt like I was at a real match.

[@omarstephenson7000]

When you look at this from the 70s, you'll begin to see that video gaming tech has come a very long way in such a very short time. That makes you appreciate the nostalgia even more.

[@gooddoc8129]

Back in days when games were full content and no microtransactions

[@pixaafterdark9915]

Yeah I always enjoyed pongs full 80 hour campaign along with its lengthy 20 hour postgame. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

[@SinNameTag-user]

You actually had to pay for transparent screens to have extra content

[@renroxhrd]

For being 50 years old it's cool. We've come a LONG way in 50 years

[@tubergenmotorsports4193]

Me and my sisters Christmas present in 1972! I still remember playing it. Mostly just pong the other games and TV overlays were a bit cheesy. LOL

[@TeenyVGC]

“Exciting games” Yeah. That maze game is the most exciting and fast paced game of them all

[@K9River]

I know what's going on my wish list for Christmas!

[@RetroGamerNO]

xD

[@jadenquest9544]

All these people talking Playstation 5 and XBox Series X are missing out on true entertainment with the perfect real life graphics and absolutely no loading time and no season passes

[@crimson9434]

"Player control unit","Master unit" They really wanted to make it sound technological

[@nexalusthegreat1630]

@Andrei Hag I'm pretty sure they already knew that, it sounded like a joke about looking at this 40 years later.

[@nexalusthegreat1630]

@Andrei Hag oh shit i miscalculated then hahaha

[@ryublueblanka]

What would you have called it in the early 70's

[@reckon7457]

After 20 years kids will laugh at "adaptive trigger" on controllers when they have holograph VR game worlds.

[@weeweevee7185]

@@reckon7457 ikr then the zoomers will at least try to defend their box looking consoles lmao

[@edwinmusic3727]

It was like playing board games with the help of a TV

[@unnamed0845]

It’s amazing how far technology has gone.

[@videogameboutique2196]

I had an Odyssey 2, when i was a kid. me and my 3 siblings used to play this console so much. It's my first love far s video game consoles go. My favorite game on the O2 is a K.C. Munchkin variant, called, "KC'S CRAZY CHASE" It wasn't the same as KC's K.C. Munchkin in the fact that you are chasing a Caterpillar type insect. The goal was to eat its body until only its head is left, once you've ate his body, the level was over and a new level would begin. I loved it! It was even one of the very first games, and one of the very few on the console to have voice support! When you finish a level, KC would say things like, "incredible!" and he would laugh loudly, when he would finish a level and wink at you. lol It was so adorable and very entertaining for me as a 6-7 year old. I have very fond memories of this game as a child. There was also another game that me and my brother used to play a lot and i guess i like it but not as much as KC's Krazy chase. It was called, Armored Encounter. It was a battle between two tanks! lol I used to get killed alot by my brother. lol So yeah, i have a soft spot for the old gal, the Odyssey 2. It was for me, like a lot of people, part of their childhood. ^_^ I still enjoy the odyssey 2 via emulation on my Nintendo Wii i modded. The voice isn't supported though, so i don't get the full effect of the game, being i never hear KC yell, INCREDIBLE! OH NO!, HURRY!,WATCH OUT! or laugh uncontrollably. lol Regardless of the lack of voice, playing KC's krazy Chase on my modded wii, its still a way to get my nostalgia fix. ^_^ Thank you for posting this video, it brung back so many fond memories, hearing KC's voice. ^_^

[@LebZeppelin]

The overlay just nailed it

[@lien3Productions_ALiEn2368]

This is low key wild. Seriously extreme advancement in technology for that time. And the place mats over the tv really set it off. It’s very creative and that feature I’m sure would have made it much more immersive.

[@urmombiggay6488]

From this to PS5 man we really are something...

[@BeingADik_Jacob]

From making fire to launching mini suns into the atmosphere, creating invisible suits and AI robots.

[@cut--]

whoever invented Pong and Oddysey style games created a TRILLION dollar industry.

[@toastrave7820]

Ralph H. Baer created the odyssey en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_H._Baer Nolan Bushnell saw a prototype unit & made pong

[@malcolmthebear]

Whenever I see examples of cutting edge technology like this from yesteryear, I always imagine how much we could blow their minds if we could time travel and show the target audience of the day something that's cutting edge for us today. Like show this same family in this Odyssey ad a promo for Cyberpunk 2077. Their heads would EXPLODE.

[@ceegii63]

REST IN PEACE Mr. Baer

[@dontcallmechris8677]

I think he’s still alive though

[@6672rock]

Didn't know you had to overlay a paper graphic on the TV screen to make gaming more realistic. So was this essentially the first home gaming console that was made available to the public? Did this pre-date Atari?

[@ivarmccubbin2072]

This was the first available home video game console released in 1972, it predates the Atari 2600 we are so familiar with by 5 years.

[@codeoptimizationware2803]

@6672rock : "Did this pre-date Atari?" _Yes_ and _No._ _Yes,_ it pre-dates Atari _console-gaming in the home_ by 5 years, as Ivar McCubbin mentioned (and featured an infamous game called _Table Tennis_ ), but also _No,_ because at almost the same, Atari made and released their own _coin-op arcade_ "Table Tennis" you probably know as _Pong_ .

[@stanm1977]

@@codeoptimizationware2803 The Arcades were available long time before Magnavox. But Magnavox was the fist HOME gaming system

[@lucaslopes6334]

The age when video games were really challenging.

[@HZGamingVR]

+Lucas Mattos The age when video games really sucked ass... LOL

[@oscarv5178]

@@HZGamingVR at least this guy was the creator of the first video game (not electronic game)

[@HZGamingVR]

@@oscarv5178 Absolutely nothing to do with what I said...

[@nexalusthegreat1630]

yeah, if ur playing against anyone using the english control, it's hard as hell. even dark souls doesn't hold a candle to it.

[@yes3293]

@@HZGamingVR >implying video games doesn't suck ass now

[@nethbt]

So futuristic with lots of games to choose from!

[@DaveNanan]

Crazy how far we've come when you compare this to a PS5 😂😂😂

[@JaangooFeTT]

This is the ultimate troll system. You can steer the fucking ball XD

[@RustyLeguito]

Ah yes, my favorite characters of any game, THE DOTS

[@hardenmatt82]

Still great. I wish I had one to collect

[@KurtCobain-cf5jm]

+kain homan how much?

[@rockeruss555]

+kain homan Does it include all the accessories?...

[@chrissyw1013]

+kain homan I sold one on Ebay, they are really easy to sell.

[@YeahResident]

Hope you got a lot for it. They go for $500 minimum. Odyssey 2 is much cheaper, but original Odyssey I haven't seen for less than $500

[@galihprasetyo6214]

“English Control” looks like cheat button

[@Potomacstud]

I respect this game set unit simply for the reason they were the first to have started the ball rolling , it's unfaiir

[@davidchang5862]

Wow. This video has now become a true genesis classic for the video game industry. 👍👍👍

[@NetwideRogue]

2:52 Ahahahahaha, they actually ADVERTISED the fact that you can steer the ball. You're actually supposed to be able to do that. That's gold.

[@teranokitty]

Why wouldn't they advertise a feature of the game? I don't understand what you mean.

[@codeoptimizationware2803]

@NetwideRogue : Virtual "English" on the virtual ball, like "English" on a bowling-ball, or much more like nudging a pinball-machine, by instead turning a dial on the controller. OTOH, putting "English" on the ball and moving the paddles any other way than 2-way vertical was NOT part of the gameplay of Atari's coin-op _Pong_ arcade game and as such had more refined gameplay than _Table Tennis_ for the Magnavox Odyssey at home. Although _both_ were the then-latest gestation (i.e., _clone_ in video-game lingo) of 1958's _Tennis for Two_ with a side-view on an oscilloscope kzbin.info/www/bejne/roWzh6SCo66cl7s while 1972's _Table Tennis_ and _Pong_ would have a top-down view on raster-scan video. The side-view gameplay of _Tennis for Two_ was also upgraded to raster-scan in a _Pong_ - variant called, fittingly enough, _Volleyball_ .

[@vengaboys5420]

The overlays are the ultimate fuck you to technology. They did not have the technology to make more complicated games, but they did not care and worked it out anyway. I think that is really cool.

[@IgorBozoki1989]

And look at us now almost 50 years later we have graphics as close as real life. Imagine have time travel and go back to 1972 and show them games from today.

[@uncl3sensei440]

Crazy to think almost 50 years ago, this brought video game consoles to our homes.

[@AltHistoryByOsov]

I have no idea why, i did not grew up with any console until some borrowed PS3, but this makes me nostalgic

[@ShaneMcGraw]

Oh shit, there was a gun and shooting gallery game??! Why didn't we ever get that?? I still have my family's Odyssey packed away in my basement. I have great memories of playing that thing. Still works too.

[@welcomeback9036]

still better than my tiger electronics.. if that's possible

[@dmfeelings]

Love the music on this! I bought this as a teen in the early 80's and after playing my friend's Atari it already seemed really dated and convoluted!

[@Skylar_sky]

Old times so good

[@RubyRed64]

New favorite horror game: Haunted house. So scary! LOL.

[@jeffjackson9679]

The original "survival horror" game. Resident Evil has nothing on this!

[@nexalusthegreat1630]

@@jeffjackson9679 yeah the graphics felt so immersive controlling a white box. wish video games were this good again.

[@weeweevee7185]

@@nexalusthegreat1630 and resident evils diolouge was gold!

[@weeweevee7185]

@@nexalusthegreat1630 friking auto correct

[@lawrenceartz8640]

Ralph Bear at Sanders Associates, Inc. in Nashua, NH invented these video games. Sanders collected royalties for each game console sold. I knew Ralph. Saw him many times in the elevator at Sanders back in the 1980s. I also went through a cabinet where I found a number of prototype game controllers that were hand built in one of the labs there.

[@CanonGames]

Where it all began...

[@Mito383]

It’s crazy how much technology has progressed in just 50 years. That seems like a long time but we went from three dots and a plastic overlay being cutting edge to video games that require more data downloaded for them now than super computer would have had back then.

[@Keeper1st]

Memories! I'd forgotten about some of those games. Never did understand how the Haunted House game worked... but I was young then. I might still have the RF switch somewhere; I know I have one or two from later consoles lying around in a box.

[@alechiavassa]

So awesome that you had one! It seems everyone online who talks about the odyssey didn't get to experience it at the time

[@MrMarshmelloBoi]

This was the beginning of a worldwide phenomenon that changed the world and the course of history forever.

[@TheInkPitOx]

Ladies and gentlemen, video gaming as it was 50 years ago.

[@max-dy3vs]

*47

[@SaturnD]

Video games are 50 years old.... happy birthday video games honestly this is pretty impressive for 1972

[@lordpatthethird]

Man the seventies wear pink

[@cjandthecrew2930]

ikr

[@Lordtariq4233]

imagine going back to the future in the early 70s, such console will make you go crazy on how primitive it is.

[@LandoXV]

i actually wouldn't mind having this today

[@mariocesarbaldessarmoro5418]

Why this happened only 52 years ago, but it feels like it was 500 years ago?

[@TheFrugalBrit]

Had to laugh when they put that tennis screen thing over the tv.

[@fadeysuleiman6423]

I’m so thankful for my system in 2019 after watching this. We complain too much these days. Gotta appreciate what you have.

[@robhyde8067]

this Magnavox Odyssey is legendary!!!! :)

[@Musicradio77Network]

You’re right! Magnavox was the first company that made the world’s first video game console. Same company that made the Collaro Micromatic turntables which is still my new favorite record changer.

[@LetoAtreides82]

1:00 ah that brings back negative memories of them darn antenna connectors, haven't seen those in ages.

[@KDKhan-mh9un]

Imagine if you went back and brought them an xbox one or ps4

[@RexoryByzaboo]

lolol, ppl will be game addict. Oh, why not timetravel back to Ancient Greek era when Aristoteles was a kid then give him PUBG? Smart Aristoteles will be a game addict, not a philosopher.

[@Fallenmichael81]

Theyll cast you a witch or a warlock

[@canadianmonarchist6357]

Those kids heads would explode

[@gametimewithjamie]

I hope you plan on bringing back a HD TV with you, because it won't work on them old TV'S

[@perezarmstrong6067]

then you'd just have some boxes that have no use bc they didn't have hdmi ports back then

[@chavarriachavarria3637]

To be honest, the Odyssey is now 52 years old, this was cutting edge technology in 1972, nowadays, there is the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X, back in the day, we used to play Atari 2600, NES, SMS, and the one that started the video game popularity, The one and only, Odyssey.

[@bfditheabsolutetheory3108]

3:40 OK,i'm switching from Resident Evil to this.

[@murkypuddle33]

I just wanted to comment and confess that after just hearing about this and watching this video, I have this weird smirk going on that I can't seem to stop, as I'm watching this. I think it's just being 31 and picturing what it would be like to play my first console in the 70s. Wow, I bet this was so fun. If you were the kid whos parents bought one of these you were probably so cool.

[@TeeVeeGames]

Forget the Odyssey. Where do I get that wallpaper? It matches the mother's shirt so well, she looks like a disembodied, floating head at times.

[@clintferguson5191]

Those graphics kick ass! I've never seen anything like it!

[@TheAspieGamer66]

Rip Ralph Baer

[@AIex_Kidd]

Thank you pioneers of electronic entertainment to exist! But I've been lucky to discover videogames 10 years later, with the Colecovision. That was a GREAT start.

[@ianeons9278]

When a game from 1972 is more polished than some games from 2023:

[@h_go6068]

Nice to know they had 480p in 1972

[@cl4mz]

insane how quickly technology has changed

[@ron78tht74]

You have to understand we were all on LSD in this time. This had better graphics than anything out this day when you are on LSD playing this.

[@craftmywarpstar8863]

The quality of this film must of been the 1080p of the early 70's haha

[@xiuhcoatI]

So many equipment to play a game back then shows the art and creativity of true geniuses

[@dorourke105]

Wow James Rolfe was right primitive isn't even the word, you might as well be playing with rocks

[@codeoptimizationware2803]

@dorourke105: Blah! Interactive television video-games are way better than ye olde Pet Rocks! Pet Rocks? Man, bang the rocks together, that's the trick, primate hehehehehehe

[@hex1233]

Think of this more like a REALLY simple board game that you play on your TV instead of a video game. Or more like a mini air hockey table, than say, Mass Effect or The Witcher.

[@connorghita4245]

Dad: "hey kids, you bored? Let's play with light dots on the screen..."

[@androidt8004]

lol

[@ruler_of_everything]

you can still say the same for a dad wanting to play a modern video game, because tv screens are made out of light dots

[@fikrijuanda6321]

Dinosaur from Chrome probably one of the best Games at that time

[@1ranjeeves21]

must of confused the fuck out of people in 1972

[@xcloudx01alt]

You know it's retro when the DIVX logo is in the corner!

[@DoobieTanner]

I can’t imagine what the next 40 years will bring it’s going to be insane.

[@stuff31]

It seems so primitive now, just three dots on a screen with all the graphics being real screen overlays, but back then, this was magic. To a certain degree, I think it still is. Also, consoles these days don't come with 12 whole games in the box!

[@robertkees6048]

I remember this, my friends mom bought this for Christmas and somehow we found it in trunk of her car where where she was hiding it till the big day. For years I've had this memory of a tv game console where you stuck the plastic sheet over the tv to represent the background, that's like cave man sh*t today.

[@PrinceZiim]

I’m so glad I’m born in the time that I was, this is cool, but being born in the ps1 era hits different, those ps1 and ps2 era of games had some of the best libraries of games ever imo ☠️

[@El_Adornos]

Bruh this was almost 50 years ago

[@mikemiller8975]

Rem this in 70s as kid thought it was sooo.. futuristic wod run home after school with best friend too play .great times❤

[@kirkstanfield3773]

1970s: the decade that started all modern technology and progression.