Retronauts Episode 569: Odyssey 2
Featuring more exclamation points than Atari ever could!
Since the early 1970s, the video game business has been just that—a business. Ralph Baer made history with the original Odyssey in 1972, but he didn't make that much money, as the machine only found its way into a smattering of homes across the United States. A number of revisions would follow, each one adding new features and in some cases, new games to play.
However, as any video game fan can tell you, no hardware lasts forever, and by the late 70s the time had come for a new platform. By this point other competitors had emerged and introduced a literal game-changing feature, as the rise of the video game cartridge meant customers could buy and swap out software on their own. So when the Odyssey 2 arrived in 1978, fans no longer had to settle for endless variations of Po, excuse me, Table Tennis.
Host Kevin Bunch welcomes Jared Petty and Earl Green onto our program to give the Odyssey 2 some long overdue love. It certainly never sold as well as the Atari 2600, which beat it to market by a full year, but in a pre-NES era it entertained millions.
Description: This episode of Retronauts is Voice-enhanced with sync-sound action, as Kevin Bunch, Jared Petty and Earl Green delve into the topic of Magnavox's Odyssey2! Join us for a chat about the only game console to feature keyboards, board games, AND Killer Bees!
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Editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.
