This is the first post in a series called “Hungry Goriya Used Acquire” that serves to highlight the contents of a large game collection I procured from an old high school friend of mine, Joe. Read here for the backstory.
Though I had previously heard of the Magnavox Odyssey console, I had not heard about its successor the Odyssey 2, nor did I ever expect to own one. The console was released in the late 1970s and was in direct competition with other massively popular consoles of the time like the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision. The Odyssey 2 is not rare by any means, but having been out and about at game swaps and exchanges a lot over the past few years, I can honestly say I’ve never seen one before now.
The Odyssey 2 I received from Joe came to me boxed. Though it was a little worn along its edges, the console box was in decent shape without any major scratches, scuffs or tears. Along with the console and the connectors, five games were also included.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am absolutely adoring the packaging for the Odyssey 2. Everything is so bright and fun! Speaking of glorious things for my eyes to take in, the Odyssey 2 also came with all its inserts, manuals, and warranty card. I love seeing stuff like this. I especially love the 70s-esque family with pure delight on their faces playing the games. Let those kids have a turn!
The game boxes for this console were either made of plastic or cardboard, and the cardboard ones have definitely seen better days. Although they are not torn or ripped, some of their integrity is gone as if the material has given up after all these years. The games we received are Computer Golf!, Alien Invaders Plus!, Las Vegas Blackjack!, K. C. Munchkin, and a compilation cartridge with three games, including Speedway!, Spin Out!, and Crypto-Logic!. I promise I am not being overly enthusiastic. Each Odyssey 2 game has an exclamation point at the end of its name to clearly emphasize all of the awesomeness contained within.
What do you all think about this awesome box art for Alien Invaders Plus!? I’ve seen a lot of RPG box art with similarities to this like the tiny city in the bubble (Final Fantasy, anyone?) or scaly creatures attacking the protagonist (ummm, Dragon Warrior?), but nothing like that for a Space Invaders clone! I think the thing everyone is wondering about this image is where those enemy ships coming from. That’s one mighty multi-snake orifice. Yuck.
Though none of the games we got here are particularly rare, one of them was shrouded in controversy following its release: K. C. Munchkin. It is a “Pac Man clone”, though truthfully it only bears some similarities in design and concept and has about an equal number of differences to set it apart. I’d capture some gameplay for you all, but I currently have no way to capture RF output – we are looking at old VCRs and the like all the time to no avail. Thankfully in the times of the internet, there are plenty of videos online showcasing the game’s footage. I’ll let you all be the judge even though a real judge already ruled on this lawsuit case ages ago.
Before finding Joe’s collection, I only owned one retro boxed console. It was my childhood NES, which is put away in a closet somewhere at the moment. I’m pretty proud to be able to add this beautiful box and its contents to its place in the Nerd Room in the (hopefully) near future. We definitely need to get more shelves and get organized! There are so many new goodies to set up and display.
Thank you very much for reading. I hope you’re looking forward to the next posts in the series.
-GG
hungrygoriya 
We’re not too far off from that console’s 40-year anniversary. It’s amazing to look back and see how much the medium has progressed since then.
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It’s fun to think about owning a gaming console that’s almost 10 years older than me. We are so, so far from these humble beginnings. It’s nice to be able to take the time to appreciate them.
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It’s a nice find! Sadly the O2 was just poorly positioned when it came out. Visually, it wasn’t any better than the 2600, and couldn’t compete against Coleco or Mattel in the graphics department at all. And where the 2600 had a wide library, Magnavox couldn’t secure the arcade licenses Atari could.
But none of that makes The O2 a bad console. Most of the games are pretty good, and it had a keyboard which allowed for some better functions in certain titles. There was also a really cool device called The Voice, that could play small voice samples in games that took advantage of it. The only other console in the era that had anything similar was the Mattel Intellivision. The O2 had some incredible commercial art, and designs for the packaging too. The handle grips on the cartridges were a nice touch too. And while there aren’t very many, there are some 3rd party O2 games out there. These are about the only expensive things in O2 collecting. Most everything else is dirt cheap. Anyway, enjoy!
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Thanks for the info! I always enjoy your insight into the history of these consoles. Voice on early machines tickles me. I have the voice modulator for my Intellivision and a few games that work with it, and it’s a riot hearing the robo-voice.
I’m so glad that collecting for this console is cheap. I’ve pretty well sworn off of buying video games until the next swap unless something really, really excellent comes up, but I’m definitely going to do some research on some games for the Odyssey 2 and see if there’s anything I’d love to own. I’m sure there’s some real gems out there.
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NP! I have a love for some of the really old stuff, as I grew up in the era. It was a great time to be around. I didn’t know all the particulars back then being 5 years old, and playing VCS games. But I remember being in awe when I walked into Woolco, Bradlees, Caldor, Odd-Lot, Kay Bee Toy Works, Child World, Toys R US, Service Merchandise, (insert other defunct chain store), and getting to see the video games.
The big two were the Atari VCS (2600), and Mattel Intellivision. At least until Coleco came along. Stores had droves of games for both. I remember going into Bradlees, and seeing a huge kiosk for the 2600 with Asteroids in it. There weren’t demo versions back then. So you could jam on the game pretty much until your parents dragged you away, or the clerk told you someone else was getting a turn.
I remember the Intellivision stuff just blowing my mind, but I wasn’t able to persuade my folks to buy one. I finally inherited one when my Grandmother sold her house. We all had to clean it out, and my brother was keen enough to notice my aunt had tossed a huge tin in the dumpster without looking anything over. We opened it to find the console, and boxed complete games. So I salvaged all of it. I love some of the versions of games on it a lot.
Of course my favorite platform of all would be the Commodore 64, which cleaned house when it came out. My father got one, and once, six year old me saw Forbidden Forest running on it, I knew the family had something special. The Colecovision was a great console, but once you had a C64 back then you didn’t look at consoles the same way ever again. The machine did things nobody saw before on a home machine. The graphics were the top dog, until the NES came out two years later, and even then, it held its own. I remember playing ports of Ghosts N’ Goblins, Rush’n Attack, Ikari Warriors, Victory Road, Commando, and Life Force, to find they were pretty close to the NES versions. Sometimes better. Sometimes worse. Double Dragon, and Rolling Thunder are two clear victories in the NES column for example. But where the C64 shined the most is in the chip tunes. Because the sound chip inside called the SID, was on par with that of synthesizers of the time. It had dynamic channels that could switch effects on the fly, where most other platforms including the NES had static channels. So even though the NES had more tones that could play at a time, they were locked to those tones. The C64 versions almost always sounded better as a result. To this day it’s the platform a lot of people in the demoscene use because of it.
Of course I eventually did get an NES, and a Super NES, and so on, and so forth up until today. All of which I love. But I go back to the old stuff a lot.
If you’re interested in some of it, I recommend Atari Age. Great resource for anything Atari, and if you every happen upon a Commodore platform, I highly recommend Lemon 64. There’s also a few personal pages on the Odyssey 2 out there. I’m a HUGE fan of Classic Game Room, so you’ll almost always hear me mentioning Mark Bussler’s endeavors. He’s got a video game collecting guide coming later this year, and he’s been doing a TON of Odyssey 2 stuff lately. And while I would never tell one to use it as gospel, Pricecharting is a good resource for estimating what you’ll have to pay for something. But you should balance that out with looking at recent sold listings on ebay, and Amazon. But now I’ve begun to ramble.
Enjoy the Odyssey 2! Find stuff while it’s cheap! 😀
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I am certainly going to spend much more time loving the older systems. I grew up with a Commodore Vic 20 and was very sad when my parents gave it away on me. Perhaps I can live vicariously through these other old systems I’ve been finding recently. Truthfully, I especially miss the game Dungeon and Radar Rat Race the most.
I’m a little jealous of your experiences as a kid with these cool games and systems. By the time I was old enough to have enough money to seek out games I’d missed out on, the used game market had already shifted to Playstation! And so my trials to find all the games I wanted to play began…
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Though I’ll admit the Odyssey is very much before my time and understanding, I think it’s awesome that you got one! That boxart is awesome, including the one with the overexcited family, haha! Definitely looking forward to more! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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You’re very welcome! Thanks as always for your kind comments!
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Gods, that old branding is gorgeous. I hope you do manage to find a way to do game capture, I’d love to watch some Odyssey 2 in action!
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On that note, the Easiest way for anyone who wants to get these consoles hooked up today is to go to the thrift store, and spend a few bucks on a used VCR. It doesn’t even have to play VHS tapes anymore. See most VCRs had RF Input on them. The majority of pre NES consoles didn’t have composite video/audio. They all hooked up to TVs using an RF cable. Even the NES, and SMS defaulted to RF when they came out.
With a VCR though, you could hook the console up to the VCR INSTEAD of the TV. Then run composite (Red yellow white wires) from the VCR Composite output to the TV input. For video capture, you would be going from the VCR to the capture card or box instead of a television. The video quality will be a little bit cleaner, AND you don’t have to risk damaging a vintage console in trying to have it modified. So next time you’re in a goodwill, savers, or indie thrift store, see if there’s an old VCR knocking around for ten dollars.
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Thanks for the tip! We do frequently check out the arses of VCRs, but lots of the ones we’ve found have been too new. I’m on the hunt for an old one though!
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Thanks for the well-wishes! We are keeping our eyes peeled for a VCR with an RF connector or something fun like that. We shall see 😀
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Mark Bussler shows you how in this VCS Jr. Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWtaOT_hn-k
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Nice! I think we have one of those adapters. Now we just need to find that elusive VCR!
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Oh God, that box is wonderful! This is a rather old piece which unfortunately drown in the shipwreck of most of the early 80s consoles during 1983 crash. It’s good to see one on good shape!
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It really is in lovely condition! I’m so happy to have it.
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It’s good to have these kind of consoles, older than the third generation (NES and Master System), since in these days we are forgotting the really old consoles of the 1st and 2nd generation (PONG clones, Atari and your Odyssey 2 for example). I should write something about it 😀
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You should! I’d totally read that!
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Great! I’m gonna start some resarch then…😀
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I had no idea there was an Odyssey 2. Wow! The art is amazing. Thanks for sharing this gem 🙂
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So awesome! I actually saw one of these in a flea market about 10 years ago and was so tempted to pick it up. However, it was $80, and I was broke, so it didn’t happen lol. Now I kind of kick myself in the butt for not getting it!
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Isn’t that the story for so many people these days? I remember times when NES games were $1 each in huge boxes and I didn’t buy anything because I was 16 and had just started a part time job. Ugh.
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Yeah, it’s frustrating! 😦
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