Magnavox Odyssey² Games — The Talking Console
The Magnavox Odyssey², released in 1978 (and sold as the Philips Videopac G7000 in Europe), was a second-generation home game console that competed directly with the Atari 2600 and Mattel Intellivision. Using an Intel 8048 microcontroller and featuring a built-in membrane keyboard — unusual for a game console — the Odyssey² targeted both gaming and educational applications, positioning itself as a more versatile alternative to pure gaming machines.
The Odyssey²’s most celebrated feature was the Voice module accessory, which added synthesised speech to compatible games — producing talking games years before speech synthesis became common in home electronics. The Master Strategy series, particularly the Quest for the Rings board-and-video game hybrid, demonstrated the console’s ambitions beyond simple arcade action. In Europe, the Philips Videopac brand gave the console strong retail presence through Philips’s distribution network, making it more commercially successful in Europe than in North America.
Tietokonemuseo Ata’s games:
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Baseball! CIB
Barao Vermelho! L
Barricado, Demolicao L
Bowling!, Basketball! CIB
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Computer Golf! CIB
Conflito Cosmico L
Cosmic Conflict! CIB
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Didi, Na mina Encantada L
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Electronic Table Soccer! CIB
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Football! CIB
Formula 1, Interlagos, Cryptologic L
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Hockey!, Soccer! CIB
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Keyboard Creations! L
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Las Vegas Blackjack! CIB
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Ovni L
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Serpente Do Poder L
Showdown in 2100 A.D. CIB
Speedway!, Spin-Out, Crypto-Logic! CIB
Speedway!, Spin Out, Crypto Logic! L
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Thunberball! CIB
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War of Nerves! B