MAGNAVOX ODYSSEY 2
I finally cleaned up and tested the Magnavox Odyssey 2 I acquired at the PhillyClassic 4. I had assumed this was an older unit since it had an unusual television switchbox. Apparently this is not so, as later models used standard Atari-style switchboxes (I have unconfirmed reports that early units used custom switchboxes) and had hard-wired controllers, just like this one. It's VERY unusual to have hard-wired controllers AFTER coming out with a model that had detachable controllers, but that's the mystery of Magnavox.
As can be seen in the picture below, for those who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Odyssey 2, it has a perfectly flat membrane keyboard that can accept overlays. This is truly a perfectly flat and smooth sheet of plastic. Surprisingly, you can touch type on the thing reasonably well (at least the infamous "The Quick Brown Fox Jumped Ov..." in the Keyboard Creations cartridge...).
One major thing I don't really like are systems like the Atari Jaguar that don't cover their cartridge slots by default. Yep, as can be seen in the picture, the Odyssey 2 doesn't either. Luckily only the cartridge slot and not the rest of the motherboard is exposed. However, the large vents on the thing kind of negate this coverage as the insides can get pretty dusty anyway...
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Below is a picture of the unit open. Shockingly, Magnavox practically encouraged the opening of the unit in that the television Channel 3/4 switch is INSIDE the case. You remove three simple bolts and you're "in". Notice the very small size of the motherboard. The unit has a fairly large case, yet the motherboard takes up only about 40% of the interior. I guess the "magical" (making the system seem like a computer) membrane keyboard accounts for the rest of the empty space, or perhaps it was a combination of that and ventilation needs.
Notice the white smudge in the lower left of the case. This is actually a date stamp, AUG 07 1981, confirming the unit as a later model.
The joysticks pictured to the right have the "star" joystick movement zone, again, different from early units with "square" zones. The fire button is on the upper left of the raised base. These controllers, despite being hard-wired, are actually one of the nicer joysticks of the classic era. The joystick itself has a "throw" that is a bit far, but overall, they're comfortable and work well, moving as they do with an internal "orb" base. The joystick cables themselves are very flat, even flatter than most phone cabling.
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When you turn the system on with no cartridge, you just get random graphical garbage on the screen (it seems from doing this that a lot of the graphical "sprites" were built-in). It would have been nice if they built-in a calculator or some other functions considering the presence of the keyboard, but there probably wasn't enough available memory (a few limited application programs WERE available on cartridge, however).
The games for the system have very simple graphics, but unlike other systems from the era (and even later), the images are rock solid. There is no flicker, no scan lines, nothing, just a great looking image. The overall scope of the games were simple (they really do "feel" that way!), but for a machine that is less powerful than an Atari 2600 and released in roughly the 1978 timeframe, they certainly have their charm.
Every game that I have has the same scoring area on the bottom of the screen, and most let you enter a short name to show who's the current "king of the hill" (at least until you turn the power off). The sound was mediocre, obviously, and the visuals were "chunky", but there's overall good use of color. Interestingly, the opening boot sequence for each game is a multi-color SELECT GAME screen (with just those letters, where you would then press the appropriate number on the keyboard to start). These openings remind me very much of Coleco's later (with their ColecoVision) multi-color brand game logo, where every letter is a different color.
As shown below, cartridge boxes were black with artistic images on the front of the boxes and screen shots (probably artist renderings as was normal for the day) and descriptions on back. When open, there was a slot for the manual to slide into. All cartridges featured handles and were necessary for easier removal as the fit in the system is pretty snug. When inserted, you can read the cartridge name on front and which button to press to start the game (usually one of the numbers on the keyboard).
The Odyssey 2 was also home to videogame/board game hybrids like The Quest for the Rings, which I'm happy to have acquired in an almost complete state (board, pieces, overlay, etc. - these were VERY deluxe packages!).
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As for the games themselves, of my dozen or so current games, K.C. Munchkin! is a definite stand-out. Historically and notably, it was the game Atari aggressively tried to stop coming to market. After playing it, I can see why. Even on the relatively simplistic Odyssey 2 (the box does state this is an expanded memory game though), this game was light years ahead of Atari 2600 Pac-Man. Ironically, as a Pac-Man knock-off, this is surprisingly more unique than many maze game knock-offs were able to make themselves. There were four different standard mazes and many other maze variations (like invisible walls). The maze walls themselves constantly shifted (!) and the edible pellets (dots) MOVED. That's right, moved. Sometimes getting the last dot required chasing the darn thing down for fairly long periods of time, increasing your chances of being caught by the monsters. (There were the obligatory powerups where you could turn the tables on the monsters, as well.) The really neat thing was you could create your own mazes--of course back then there was no battery backup, but it was an unusual and again, innovative, feature, particularly for the time. Of further interest, and seemingly like many Odyssey 2 games, there seems to be no specific player life tracking. Whether this was difficult within the system's capabilities or not, I don't know, but something that is noticeable throughout the game lineup nevertheless.
I'm not a big fan of recreating popular games again and again, but K.C. Munchkin! to me is a prime candidate for remake status, as the components and fun factor make for one of the best maze games ever made. This is high praise indeed considering how many of these types of games that were made on a myriad of systems over the years...
One other stand-out may be a bit of a surprise to some, but nevertheless, Odyssey 2's Baseball! (nearly every title has an exclamation point at the end!) was another one for me. This game was made in 1978, and again, on one of the weakest overall systems ever made, but the execution is stunning. This is pure arcade baseball with a ton of features. First off, there are nine players in the field, with up to an additional four if the offensive team loads the bases. As usual, there is no flicker or glitches. There is every type of hit, as well as sacrifice flies. There's no stealing and it has a few other omissions, but again, for a 1978 game, it's an otherwise very feature packed and very fun two player game. Another thing in this games favor is that it didn't have any real competition until several years later when the Mattel (console) and Gamestar (computer) efforts came out. This is quite an achievement considering some of Magnavox's other (not so good) releases in 1978...
I would consider my collecting for this system a success if I can get a voice module and the infamous game Turtles!. All this writing however brings me to an even more unpopular, very obscure and not terribly collectible system, the Emerson Arcadia-2001, which I also decided to delve a little deeper into tonight...
EMERSON ARCADIA-2001
I had bought this system many years back - at least more than ten. Overall, as can be seen in the photo below, it's an unattractive unit, and mine didn't come with any games or power supply. Getting a power supply was the easy part, as it takes any universal power supply set to 12V+. The TV cable, which is built-in, attaches to any standard Atari-style switchbox. With these in place, the hardware itself was in a working and ready status. It wasn't until very recently, however, that I was able to acquire some games for the system. When I said this system is not highly collectible and is obscure, I meant it. There is very little information available on the Web, and not many sources for games. This system is definitely one of the big losers in the earliest of true console wars. Anyway, through eBay, and later the PhillyClassic 4, I was able to get two games in superior condition - Cat Trax (Emerson's first game - labeled as #1) and Space Attack (#2, ironically). I could have gotten others, but I've decided to be patient with this system and build slow.
What may or may not be evident from the picture, the cartridges were absolutely enormous. These are bigger than 8-track tapes - almost as big as VHS tapes. I've seen short versions of these cartridges, but am not sure how they historically fit (or even if they're PAL game versions - remember I'm 100% NTSC). Regardless, I stuck to the "long form" cartridge purchases for now and they've worked fine on my system.
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The cartridge boxes have drawn art on the fronts, that is then mirrored on the cartridge labels. Especially in the case of Cat Trax, the art is rather nice, but overall throughout the system's game line-up it has some of the nicer exterior (box and label) images of the era (early 1980s). The silver boxes open to reveal a manual, catalog, overlays (as applicable), a warranty card and a plastic cartridge tray (at least with Cat Trax), as well as the enormous cartridge itself. The underlying theme throughout the text in regards to the entire Arcadia line was the grammatically bad and sometimes simplistic English. These are some of the earliest forms of bad gaming translations and may be a result of some type of Hong Kong connection.
As for the games themselves, the whole Arcadia line-up seems to be riddled with second-rate attempts at knocking off hot arcade properties of the day. Space Attack is nothing more than a mediocre Galaxian clone, while Cat Trax is a slightly more successful Pac-Man knock-off (similar in concept to Mouse Trap). It's hard to rate this system's power in relation to its contemporaries, but it was definitely more powerful than an Atari 2600, and may be about in the same class as an Intellivision (and maybe a tiny bit more powerful in some ways).
Overall, the games, like the manuals and system presentation in general, lack a certain level of polish or refinement. It's easy to see why this system has been mostly overlooked and forgotten...
Finally, no mention of the Arcadia would be complete without discussing the controllers. These were very similar in design to Intellivision’s controllers, but instead of a disc, it had little joysticks. These were not the best or most ergonomically designed joysticks and they are a bit stiff to move. The side action buttons are a bit uncomfortable to press as well. Overall, these were not the worst controllers of the early 80s, but certainly not near the top tier. The controllers are also hard-wired, which does not help in endearing themselves to me (though, ironically, I've never had controllers fail that have been permanently attached to a system, while detachable ones sometimes seem to be designed to fail...). Again, everything about the system indicates a desperate need for more polish and refinement.
