Magnavox Odyssey²

The Magnavox Odyssey², (pronounced Two, not Squared) was a 1978 home video game console developed by Magnavox. The Odyssey² was a rather unique game system in that it featured a built-in flat membrane-style keyboard, similar to that of low-cost computer systems like the Atari 400 and the Timex-Sinclair 1000. This allowed for both educational games and possible strategy games to be developed for the system. The Odyssey² was also referred to as the Philips Videopac G7000 in Europe.

Technical Specifications

 * CPU
 * Intel 8048 8-bit micro-controller running at 1.79 MHz
 * Memory:
 * CPU-internal RAM: 64 bytes
 * Audio/Video RAM: 128 bytes
 * BIOS ROM: 1024 bytes


 * Video:
 * Intel 8244 custom IC
 * 160 × 200 resolution (NTSC)
 * 16-color fixed palette; sprites may only use 8 of these colors
 * Four 8×8 single-color user-defined sprites; each sprite's color may be set independently
 * Twelve 8×8 single-color characters; must be one of the 64 shapes built into the ROM BIOS; can be freely positioned like sprites, but cannot overlap each other; each character's color may be set independently
 * Four quad characters; groups of four characters displayed in a row
 * 9×8 background grid; dots, lines, or solid blocks


 * Audio:
 * Intel 8244 custom IC
 * Mono
 * 24-bit shift register, clockable at 2 frequencies
 * Noise generator
 * NOTE: There is only one 8244 chip in the system, which performs both audio and video functions.


 * Input:
 * Two 8-way, one-button, digital joysticks. In the first production runs of the Magnavox Odyssey and the Philips Videopac G7000, these were permanently attached to the console; in later models, they were removable and replaceable.
 * QWERTY-layout membrane keyboard
 * Output:
 * RF Audio/Video connector
 * Péritel/SCART connector (France only)
 * Media:
 * ROM cartridges, typically 2 kB, 4 kB, or 8 kB in size.


 * Expansion modules:
 * The Voice - provides speech synthesis & enhanced sound effects
 * Chess Module - The Odyssey² didn't have enough memory and computing power for a decent implementation of chess on its own, so the C7010 chess module contained a secondary CPU with its own extra memory to run the chess program.