Philips Odyssey 2001

Trivia

The Odyssey 2001 is the Philips version of the Magnavox Odyssey 4000, with differences in the games offered and the use of detachable paddles instead of joysticks. Released in 1977, the 2001 is based on the National Semiconductor MM-57105 chip, which plays Tennis, Hockey and Squash, and allows full color and direct sound on the TV.

The Odyssey 2001 is nearly same as the Magnavox Odyssey 4000, but it didn't play the same games. Designed around the National Semiconductor MM-57105 chip, it played three games in color: Tennis, Hockey and Squash. Unlike most PONG games, sound came directly from the TV set. The chip delivered color video signals, as opposed to the black and white games of the General Instruments game chips, which could use a special color encoder chip. The game selection was simply done by pressing the button of one of the two controllers, allowing the players to switch from a game to another. The documentation of this console exists in ten languages, although only four foreign patents are shown on the back side of the system. The exact number of countries where this system sold is still unknown. This system is quite common, and Germany seems to be the country where it was most successfull.

The Magnavox Odyssey was a general brand name of the company's complete line of home video game consoles released from 1972 through 1978. The line includes the original Magnavox Odyssey console, both Magnavox and Philips versions of the Odyssey series of dedicated video game consoles, and the Magnavox Odyssey² cartridge-based video game console released in 1978.