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Magnavox Odyssey²

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Magnavox Odyssey²

Manufacturer	Magnavox
Type	Console
Release Date	1978 (NA)
Media	Cartridge
Save Format	None
Input Options	2 Magnavox Odyssey 2 Controllers
Special Features	Cartridge Input Power Switch Keyboard RF Output Power Output
Units Sold	2 million
Top Selling Game
Variants	None
Competitor(s)	Fairchild Channel F Atari 2600

Predecessor	Magnavox Odyssey
Successor	None

The Magnavox Odyssey², also referred to as the Philips Videopac G7000 in Europe, is a game console released by Magnavox. It 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.

Technical SpecificationsEdit

CPU
- Intel 8048 8-bit microcontroller 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
- 4 8×8 single-color user-defined sprites; each sprite's color may be set independently
- 12 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
- 4 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 7000, 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.