Magnavox Odyssey Commercials and Television Appearance from 1972-1973

[@tamspeci]

When I was 10 years old at Christmas 1973 my father gave us this. I remember the plastic thing you stuck on the screen for whatever game you wanted to play. It clinged to the screen because of the static electricity generated on the TV screen. My favorite game was ping pong because it didn't require the plastic thing if I remember correctly.

[@The_Top_J]

Sheeesh, today that old thing is worth $634

[@Wowsocool73]

Are u 59? Rn if I’m wrong tell me

[@weeweevee7185]

@@Wowsocool73 new blood aren't you zoomer? Xbox 360 newbie I am your master, the waifu.

[@weeweevee7185]

@@Wowsocool73 I am black ops op

[@novo121]

I have a question. Do you still play video games

[@efrem1]

RIP Ralph Baer, the father of the video game.

[@angelg6565]

R.I.P

[@Racecarlock]

Suddenly the Atari 2600 looks like advanced technology.

[@Racecarlock]

Toy Bonnie In that case, I'd recommend hiding in fear from the PC master race, because your inbox would probably be flooded with accusations of "Peasantry" otherwise.

[@Racecarlock]

Toy Bonnie I could learn from you. Mostly because I'm sick of master race bullshit on /r/games.

[@Racecarlock]

Check out this fuckin' guy. www.reddit.com/r/truegaming/comments/3ee37b/are_pc_games_doomed_to_60_fps_at_1080p/

[@RetroGUY77]

What you gotta remember is the Odyssey was released in 1972 and the Atari in late 1977 (just under 6 years). That's like comparing the Xbox One to the Xbox 360

[@Racecarlock]

Mini Mort 2 Sure. What I mean is, I knew about the 2600 before I knew about this, so when I discovered this, the other machine looked more advanced. It's a relative statement.

[@MrFaceHead]

The whole commercial is like some kind of Kubrickian slasher movie.

[@guilhermegmoreir]

I love watching these videos about older video games... it's amazing how far gaming technology as evolved, and it's even more amazing that all that happened in less than 50 years "only"... Shit like this makes you think: If gaming evolved from black and white squares, to almost realistic looking games during this short period, imagine what will come 50 years from now!

[@chargermaster8740]

Kiryu Ga Gotoku in 2018 the patent and brown box aka Magnavox oddesy. will turn 50 years old

[@sonicmastersword8080]

Virtual Reality Arcades.

[@theobserver4214]

5 out of 50 years left. 300$ consoles allow the same lighting technology CGI movies pre render to be used in real time

[@infinitecanadian]

Look how far we have come since then. Can you imagine what they would have thought to see a Playstation 4 or a Wii and told that the home video game market had evolved from the Magnavox Odyssey? Truly, the Magnavox Odyssey was the system that started it all.

[@juancarlosnerv]

it is truly amazing how those people by the available technology back then, were able to make a video game home console, this is like one of those key moment in humanity that changed the course of history, so amazing.

[@ElliottCook2002]

Well... Not really a games console. You stuck plastic sheets on a tv, and the only images from the tv were a couple of dots. Fairchild channel f was far more revolutionary.

[@KingKehra]

+John Smith Well it was revolutionary in the sense that you had a box locally that could output images (4 rectangles) onto a TV that the user could manipulate. Seems silly now but back then the only images you could have on your TV was through broadcast television. The idea that you could have a local system to create and manipulate images without the need for a studio or broadcast equipment was quite mind boggling to people at the time, though to engineers it was pretty basic.The odyssey is part of the 1st generation of home video game consoles which includes all machines that included the games themselves (or at least the components of the games) to play them. There were no CPUs or ROMs, it was all integrated circuits for pong consoles and clones but the Magnovox Odyssey only used transistors which were about the size of your thumb nail. Today you fit billions of transistors on something that can easily fit multiple times in the palm of your hand. 2nd generation game consoles used CPUs and ROM cartridges, the Fairchild Channel F being the first and the Atari 2600 being the most successful.

[@purrbox7514]

Lets be honest here, the odyssey is barely a prototype and should not have been sold, it certainly shouldn't be credited as the 1st games console. For me it's pong and Atari, they deserve all the credit.

[@musclecat545]

Whoever would've thought that you could control games with a toaster?

[@KingKehra]

Ever see the Nintoaster?

[@NSBlanchi]

+Muscle Cat XD!!!!!!!!!!!

[@livestreamraidinginfantry2099]

Hahaha

[@Gevs]

(0:54) "BUST OUT THE RECORDER WE HAVE A GAME CONSOLE TO SELL!" -Scott the Woz

[@KingKehra]

@667Atlas I decided to check the prices today with inflation. $20 in 1972 is equivalent to $108.24 and $100 is equivalent to $541.22

[@officialsuzyandy6387]

WAYYYY ahead of it’s time. I dunno maybe it fit the time period very well 😂🤷‍♂️ Either way, amazing piece of history! 🙂

[@KingKehra]

@Alaska1925 The reason we say 8-bit or 16-bit graphics is because they belonged to 8-bit or 16-bit systems. The reason they were called 8-bit or 16-bit systems is because they used 8-bit or 16-bit microprocessors. I believe the first console to have a microprocessor was the Fairchild Channel F which used the Fairchild F8 microprocessor. Previously consoles used integrated circuits.

[@KingKehra]

@667Atlas Actually Ralph Baer (The creator of the odyssey) said it should retail for $20 because it was all made with dated parts anyways, but Magnavox put a $100 price on it. Baer had been working on his project since the mid 60s and the odyssey is pretty much the original brown box in a nicer white and black box. So in 1972 is was already a made with almost decade old technology.

[@KingKehra]

@Alaska1925 It wasn't really 1 bit graphics. The system itself was only able to reproduce 4 objects. Essentially 2 big squares for players, 1 small square for a "ball" and a line for a "wall". The way they were displayed and would interact with one another depended on what game card was inserted. Each component has it's own circuit board and the card would essentially make each component connect differently to each other. There was no processor like you see in other consoles.

[@Svante]

First 15 seconds, it sounds like the soundtrack to a horror movie :D RIP Ralph Baer

[@ninjacape]

Ralph Baer wanted to sell it for 20 bucks. It was Magnavox's idea to charge 100 for it. Magnavox also confused the public by showing it running on a Magnavox Television. Many people thought it would be incompatible with anything else.

[@jcrowley1985]

40 years later, I finally got one for Christmas.

[@bigdavid1961]

I have an Odyssey in mint condition with the carry case, an extra game Volleyball, the riffle, and a complete extremely rare double ended apex blue card. The Odyssey in my opinion, is the most interesting and fun system to have and collect for. Thank you Ralph Baer.

[@stanm1977]

Would you consider selling (or even better donating) it? I want to open a gaming history museum and it would be a great addition!

[@Uthefos]

When it came out, all (or most anyway) of the flyers, commercials, and other ads included people playing it on magnavox brand TV's. This made many people think it only worked on those. Because of this, later ads and systems would always say "works on any brand tv."

[@kgoundan]

The PlayStation didn’t have this problem since video game consoles were common in the 90s. Now Sony loses money on TVs and makes money on the PS4.

[@PiroKUSS]

@@kgoundan No other console had this problem.

[@machinegunsally1874]

The Odyssey took 6 C batteries to run, it also had a cheat nob on the end of the horizontal control nob called the "English Control" where you can take control of the ball and troll your opponent.

[@marciohikari]

Ooohh sooooo old school, the beginning of everthing, isn't? Thank you very much for posting it!

[@Gevs]

I saw one in person in display at a museum. I like my Switch though.

[@jonniefast]

*indiana jones voice* "it belongs in a museum!"

[@KingKehra]

Quite true. There are video game patents up until 1947 not to mention that penny arcades in the 1930s used elecromechanical coin operated games which was pretty much video game arcades before computer circuits and chips.

[@pika62221]

I like how these Gen Y kids all say Pong or Atari 2600 was the first system, when the Odyssey came out 5 years BEFORE those two! Even fellow X'ers get it wrong, not knowing how Odyssey was around in the early-70's. Too bad it wasn't as popular as Pong or the 2600...

[@PantsYT]

its just white cubes no wonder it wasnt popular

[@jonniefast]

it was expensive & i guess ppl thought it only worked on magnavox television sets. also the exclusive retailer thing was an idiot move tbh

[@richardgibson8403]

it’s fucking 1-3 white pixels that’s it.

[@jonniefast]

@@richardgibson8403 wrong

[@madisoncaldon2988]

This thing retailed for $100 when it came out, which is worth nearly $600 today...

[@mastermary2]

@667Atlas Haha, a normal one would probaply be 1000 dollars or more, but I bought mine in 1972 and It's still working perfectly! Not selling it for less than 5000 dollars, It's one of my childhood memories. You can get it cheaper on Ebay though, It can be like 500 dollars only there.

[@wildntheyoung7814]

He said the football game is very detailed

[@funkyflights]

LOL I know ...

[@will_mcdermott]

LMAO

[@funkyflights]

It's just too funny seeing the plastic you put on the screen ... It's basically a white dot on the screen... lol ... But hey, we had to start somewhere.. Odyssey 2 obviously was a big step forward...

[@joseaca]

is cool and all but, can it run crysis?

[@thumingfa7817]

:D

[@paultheslayer2176]

joseaca can it run battle field 1 maxed out

[@deacon6453]

No,stop

[@rangers199487]

Can it run Black Ops 4?

[@andreatoppi5627]

It surely can run Cyberpunk 2077

[@tygprod8407]

The funny thing is, without the Magnavox Oddyssey gaming wouldn't be a big thing

[@JunkBomba]

Fucking guy was ready to blow a fuse when Larry took the game card out.

[@hamedalzarooni442]

0:55 Best video game music: 3rd grade recorder band

[@gargoylelamp39]

LMAO

[@notsosunshiny4557]

It portrays the power of the console perfectly

[@leovitoo]

Thank you Ralph.H.Baer

[@Zenssei]

Magnavox and Atari were the old ps4 vs xbox one

[@zyber9]

This was only the beginning of bringing video games home.

[@KingKehra]

@wingnut4427 There was no processing power so bits have nothing to do with it. It used diode logic circuits which would be interconnected differently depending on which game care was inserted to get the desired result. Diode logic uses boolean logic gates which act kind of like switched. you can imagine pulses of current that, if current is sent is equal to 1 and if there is no current it is equal to 0. Logic gates manipulate these "1s and 0s" to gain a certain outcome.

[@Nanofuture87]

@METALLICARULES11 They are called overlays. They used those because the Odyssey was incapable of graphics.

[@MemphisTiger]

Wow...I just looked up the host from 'What's My Line' on this clip. At the end of the video, he says REALLY enthusiastically "Boy, I don't know about anyone else but I REALLY want one!" Had he gotten one, he wouldn't have played it very long. The clip was from 1973..he died in 1975 just 3 weeks shy of his 50th birthday after being in an automobile accident! :(

[@YuGiOhDude-py7su]

Yep, somewhere in Morocco. Larry Blyden also appeared in two episodes of the Twilight Zone.

[@punja73]

@KingKehra you'd probably have to modify the cord that attaches to the antenna terminals cos tvs dont have antenna terminals any more, just an rf socket but i remember we had a really old black n white tv a long time ago that had those terminals

[@livclark8154]

The first commerical feels like some kind of alien invasion movie from the 1980s. It tells you: buy our console, or something HORRIBLE will happen.

[@jcrowley1985]

$500 is a little high. I see them on ebay often for the $300-400 range. I was lucky and got one for $150 which was a steal (box and everything). Still, you can't judge collector value by original retail value, that was 40 years ago.

[@RealSuperNintendan]

Thank you for this upload my friend

[@corey1054]

0:58 They had to specifically point out it fitted ANY BRAND of TV due to the consoles sales being heavily hindered by the myth it only worked with Magnavox Televisions.

[@osamaFXX]

Still better than Xbox One LoL

[@Superbird486]

Lol. xD

[@ClassicJunk88]

white cubes moving around, by magnavox

[@Pwn3540]

ClassicJunk88 cubes would be 3D these things are 2D squares lol

[@jonniefast]

its more fun than it sounds lol the controllers work surprisingly well

[@rufus566]

If you have ever run the pointer of your mouse over a picture on your computer screen, you got an idea of what this thing did. It was a light beam generator, with each "game" being a manipulation of the beam from the jumpers on the cartridge. This thing required a lot of imagination as it was primarily bleeps of light on a screen for every game.

[@KingKehra]

Actually it would but you probably won't be able to use the overlays since they are designed for TV's from 18" to 25" at a 4:3 aspect ratio.

[@SuperKillerdreams]

Holy shit... to think that this was the first home video game system ever made... like blows my fucking mind lol and it only costed 100$

[@RageTVHTX]

isn't this the same voiceover guy on the first commercial that did the Army commercials. He would even say "This is the army", just like he says "This is Odyssey" here.

[@LordOfNothingham]

You know you're old when you remember antenna terminals. UHF and VHF, and adjusting that son of a bitch just to get a semi clear picture.

[@KingKehra]

@punji73 I have an RF to Coax adapter I use for all my older systems so I can hook any system to a TV with a coax input.

[@lancecunningham4152]

Is it 2737p 736fps?

[@KingKehra]

That was a later commercial from 1973 when they figured it would be best to specify. they did sell 100,000 units in the first year though but then it just fizzled out. From 1972 till 1974 they sold 300,000 ~ 350,000 units

[@Alaska1925]

@KingKehra ok, so as we're not talking about processors, we can't talk about bits, right? thanks, I have it clear now

[@squatooni1279]

You don't need any next-gen consoles, just make really good looking overlays for this console!

[@rustyshackleford8982]

I'm doing this huge report on the history of video games and the Odyssey is the first thing mentioned.

[@VOIDSenseMusic]

40 years later, people can barely tell a difference from a video game and real life.

[@gilbertdennis4872]

50 years now

[@DylansPen]

I don't even remember computer games in the early 1970's. You look at the realism in games today like The Last Of Us 2 and we've come a long way. But, it's taken 50 years.

[@KingKehra]

Because it was only sold in Magnavox outlet stored and advertised as such, people just insinuated. The ad says "On any TV, black and white or color" and so people thought it meant it worked on any TV in the color sense and not as in any brand.

[@notsosunshiny4557]

These commercials look more like the beginning of a horror movie than a state of the art game console

[@edinsonbahamondesjara1943]

Parece comercial de película de terror de los 70s 80s

[@cardinalfan72]

@Turkeydoodlers actually collectors would pay good money for a working odyssey in good condition..If i seen it in goodwill i would definitely snag it up

[@BritishFoodGuide]

now we really do have edducational games. with eLearning courses used all over the world and the nintendo games like driving theory lessons, quite smoking, fitness, brain training.

[@wingnut4427]

@Alaska1925 I'm not sure if it were even 1 kb.

[@GodWarsX]

Just downloaded the patch to enable HDR!

[@jonniefast]

technically you can plug into an RF modulator then take the AV output signal to an upscaler then enjoy on your 4k panel lmaooooo

[@shweet0161]

Whens it coming out? Soon I hope.

[@3anaurv2]

"The new electronic game simulator." Does that mean there was an even older console before ?

[@oofyeet623]

No it means that when this commercial was made, the console was new

[@franz486]

Meaning, Magnavox is new simulator in 1970's,

[@PadlockPix]

Blame this for the multiple raid shadow legends ads everywhere

[@bfsiuu]

I wonder if the guy made the Odessey looks back at what he did and sees what it's grown into

[@ferociousgumby]

I remember "tuning in on channel 3 or 4".

[@Turkeydoodlers]

Geesh every game looks the same? Wow we have came along way, you couldn't even give this thing away at goodwill.

[@mastermary2]

@KingKehra How could you do that in 1972 when you weren't born? According to your profile.

[@ryanc22]

Makes you wonder what video games would look like 40 years from now

[@gadgetstop321]

I didn't appreciate my later model Odyssey until I saw this early model.

[@michael-johnbrown2881]

Fits TV 's 18 to 25 well looks like i am out of luck if i find this console since i have a 27 inch CRT TV unless i keep the action close to the center of the TV what if i had a tv smaller then 18 inches what do i do cut the screen overlays to fit how wonder this was a failure

[@Anonsage3]

notice in the second commercial they underlined ANY BRAND.

[@welcomeback9036]

First way to see television in color... better accomplishment than the actual games

[@Jeffrey314159]

But no sound effects...

[@andreyzice]

Amazing. I want one as a Christmas gift.

[@KingKehra]

***** You can get it to work on most TVs since TVs even today still have a coax input.

[@METALLICARULES11]

wait are they just putting small screens over their tv or were those the actual graphics? i think they are just putting on screens

[@cpclubpenguincpx2]

So... why did people think it only woked on magnivox tv's? He said it works on all tv's.

[@UnlicensedOkie]

I should have one of these next week. Just gotta get gam S

[@naptime_riot]

Check those 1 bit graphics. Dayum.

[@knoxklay11]

im waiting for the narrator to say: a learning experience that could only be had... in the twilight zone..

[@Alaska1925]

@wh0rg really? were those really 1 bit graphics? so this was a 1 bit system?

[@pardonless]

Does I one noticed that in every ads same voice? For example Commodore 64. Windows 3.1.

[@isecream]

Holy shit the Odyssey is 45 years old and rising.

[@Grimreckoner59]

50 now

[@iHardstyleZz]

Love the old commercials. :)

[@mastermary2]

@667Atlas Pardon?

[@olivierpayette4352]

still better than Ps4...

[@chargermaster8740]

Olivier Payette still playable 45 years later today

[@MediaWatchDawg]

That sound-effect at 1:10 is like something dubbed from a 70s "spanking" video.

[@hunster990]

I want to buy one of these now.

[@KingKehra]

it works with all TVs, even works with my flat screen TV.

[@kgoundan]

But you will need to tape the overlays on to your TV since flat screens don’t generate static.

[@BROJANGSTER]

Here before the PS5 game event from June 2020

[@MattWalshs]

So Odyssey really is set of board games where your TV is a slightly more interesting board - with a side order of actual video game action (e.g. the pong-like gameplay). In 1972, buyers had NO IDEA that videogames would evolve into a way of life. No one foresaw there'd be color nor the emergence of countless new genres and technologies. Odyssey and with few exceptions all the pre-Space Invaders games were 2 player games that more or less emulate the sports and other real-world games people knew already. That's why if I put myself in the shoes of the public then, I think they thought it was a neato piece of technology. I think they thought these would be fun games to play once a while. I think they probably found it was not nearly as fun as the commercial, sure, but most games & toys aren't. But I do not think they felt gypped when it went back in the box and up in a closet like their Monopoly set because to them, it must've just seemed like a Monopoly set you played on your TV. No one could've bemoaned it wasn't some evergreen source of fun like the 2600 or later consoles because no one had those expectations, because no one had experienced video gaming as an entertainment in its own right.

[@purrbox7514]

What's a "closed circuit electronic playground" and how on Earth did they expect people in the 1970's to know what it is either!?

[@aidanoprita9464]

That recorder on the second commercial though

[@Jeffrey314159]

As I have read, this machine had no sound effects and its only worked on one size of screen. Very limiting!

[@KingKehra]

+Jeffrey314159 It works on all TVs that has antenna terminals or a cable in, the problem is the plastic overlays that come in 2 sizes. You just had to pick the one that fit bests

[@Jeffrey314159]

Yes, the video games 'templates' came in only two sizes. The very first Magnovox Odyssey's circuit boards were composed entirely of discrete transistors, no IC's. The cranky German scientist who invented this machine was very much an analog man😉

[@KingKehra]

Jeffrey314159 He designed it using already out of date parts in the late 1960s. He was used to vacuum tube circuits since it's what he'd worked with all his life with radio, television sets and radar systems. He had people help him with discrete transistor circuits because when he showed his original design with vacuum tubes to a colleague he insisted on helping him make a smaller version. They were also building it in secret using company time and supplies, so they could use too many expensive parts.

[@Jeffrey314159]

+SlimSamJimmyJam Imagine what they could have done if Surface Mount Technology had been around in the 1960's, , , wait when did SMT become available?

[@KingKehra]

Jeffrey314159 According to Wikipedia "Surface-mount technology was developed in the 1960s and became widely used in the late 1980s." He probably wouldn't have use the most high tech available for his brown box project, though it wasn't too far off.

[@seekingseaker]

That my question? Maybe its all the flyers that were handed out for advertising.

[@therealgaragegirls]

This was our first gaming system in 1973.

[@alexschmidt2895]

This is a very fun and detailed game that I think everyone will enjoy good Lord I take back everything I ever said about Madden... Okay maybe not literally but their football game would have looked like it involved a lot of math and understanding crazy logistics to play it!

[@TheSaturnV]

Wonder if it could stream NetFlix?