Talk:Magnavox Odyssey 2

Outrageous RAM amount error
64 kilobytes? seems a bit high

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.218.103.67 (talk • contribs) 17:26, 25 April 2004


 * Oh dear... :-} Thanks for sounding the bugle. Fixed it. How come I didn't notice this earlier? *blush* --Wernher 00:06, 26 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Sections and subsections
Just to justify my edits as of ca 09:00, 6 May 2004 (UTC):
 * The section headings should only have the initial word capitalized, the rest goes uncapitalized as per Wikipedia convention
 * We should try to keep the number of (sub)sections on a reasonable level for articles of just a couple of pages' length, to avoid unneccessary scrolling

--Wernher 09:17, 6 May 2004 (UTC)


 * No problem. :) DopefishJustin 14:08, May 6, 2004 (UTC)

Tables in bullet lists
Does someone know a way of getting tables embedded in bullet lists to line up properly in the 'x-direction' (i.e. be correctly indented)? If no 'special' coding is done, such tables end up at the left border of the article. --Wernher 09:17, 6 May 2004 (UTC)

O2EM
I merged in the article about O2EM because most of the info was already here and I don't think it can grow beyond a stub, but if anyone disagrees please bring it up. Thanks. DopefishJustin 14:08, May 6, 2004 (UTC)

Title
Should this article be moved to something similar to "Magnavox Odyssey²/Phillips G7000" to be more inline with the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive style title; this is to reflect a less americo-centric view of video gaming that shouldn't be present on wikipedia. Y control 19:14, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Yes, though the full European title was Philips Videopac G7000. What do other people think? I think the page shold be moved to Magnavox Odyssey²/Philips Videopac G7000. I'm putting the American name first, as that was its original name, and it was re-named for other markets, like the Mega Drive was re-named the Genesis for the North American market, and that page is at Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis, with the original name first. boffy_b 07:45, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis just got moved, by consensus of a vote, back to Sega Mega Drive. See Talk:Sega Mega Drive boffy_b 16:39, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * I have reason to argue again for a move (noting that this was last discussed in August 2006). I argue that, for now, it would be historically accurate and more in line with the current article form, to move this to Magnavox Odyssey 2 (with space in between Odyssey and 2 and no superscript).  Unless someone can convince me that the system was called the "Magnavox Odyssey Squared" as opposed to the "Magnavox Odyssey 2," I feel it justifies a move according to various Wikipedia rules and precedents regarding the titling of an article (see TNA Impact! for example or WP:NAME) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.21.227.220 (talk) 13:03, 16 May 2007 (UTC).

Joysticks
I edited the joystick paragraph to remove the assertion that the O2 introduced this type of controller. If anything the Atari 2600 did, which was released a year earlier. Clayhalliwell 15:44, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
 * The Atari had removable controllers, were joysticks available at its launch?boffy_b 10:42, 23 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Ummm... yes, the Atari 2600 had joysticks available at launch. It's kind of hard to play Combat with paddles. Clayhalliwell 21:56, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

Cost and release dates
I would like to see the retail price of the console and voice unit. Also, when was the voice unit released? How many games eventually were released for the voice unit? Also, wasn't there a big lawsuit about the Pac-Man clone game K.C. Muchkin? Navstar 18:34, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

United States (games release section)
The writing in this has a little bit of subjectivity-- despite whatever superiority one feels they have, calling Imagic's titles "outstanding" seems out of place in an encyclopedia. I'm also curious about the assertion that the US Imagic releases were "strong sellers" as they're among the most difficult of O2 releases to find, indicating few copies are out there. Any citations that they sold well (or well in relation to other O2 titles, I suppose)? Student Driver 11:26, 22 August 2006 (UTC)

Games available in any modern format?
I know there's something along these lines on the main page, but not being a techy I'm not really sure what it means. I wrote to Phillips and they said that the games were not available in any up-to-date format and that they never would be, as it was not deemed commercially viable to make them so.

So, is there a rogue CD-ROM with these games on it floating around anywhere? Or a website with them on? I'm dying to play Satellite Attack - that was the king of 'em all, wasn't it? :-> - again!

Who owns the intellectual copyright to the games? Did Phillips buy it all royalty-free from the writers? Martyn Smith 13:24, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Mystery holes inside the case
In the production console (at least the second revision) are four unused mounting posts that look like they could support a second PCB or possibly a normal keyboard instead of the membrane one. Were those posts used in the original all silver version?

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bizzybody (talk • contribs) 01:31, 22 July 2007

Not a real speech synthesizer
The speech module contained several digitally sampled whole words and a list of sampled phonems that could be strung together to form other words. If you miss your opponent's castle in "Smithereens!" the voice says "Come on, turkey, hit it!". This is made more hilarious due to the wide variation in the sound and inflection of the different parts, 'come on' 'turkey' and 'hit it!'.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bizzybody (talk • contribs) 01:31, 22 July 2007

Cool thing to do with the cartridges
If you have enough cartridges, I think it's at least 16, place them back to front and push the handle loops together. With the proper number of them they'll form a perfect interlocking circle. A picture of this 'feature' would be a nice addition to the article. I'd be nice to know if this was intentional in the cartridge design or accidental.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bizzybody (talk • contribs) 01:31, 22 July 2007

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9996/74322723.jpg

Pretty cool huh? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.235.191.124 (talk) 19:50, 1 August 2009 (UTC)


 * This is indeed pretty cool! :) —Lowellian (reply) 01:52, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Exclamation points everywhere!
IIRC, all but the three games in the Master Strategy series used an exclamation point at the end of the title, or the end of each game name in multi-game cartridges. The original pack-in game was Speedway! Spinout! Crypto-Logic!

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bizzybody (talk • contribs) 01:31, 22 July 2007

Links need updating
The external links are mostly dead and need updating. Mike Cronis 21:08, 20 September 2007 (UTC)


 * Done. --Marty Goldberg 21:15, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Controllers removable or fixed?
The Details section of the article states that the earliest models had detachable controllers, while in all later models they were fixed to the unit. The Technical Specifications section states the exact opposite. Which one is correct? 89.217.132.161 (talk) 03:54, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I wondered this as well. Per the following two sites the joysticks were detachable in later revisions: this site and the MESS O2 page.--75.138.80.187 (talk) 06:27, 15 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Circa 1983, my mother won some second chance contest drawing for an Odyssey^2 and through some error the outfit shipped two of them. Both had the black and red, permanently attached controllers. Switching from permanently attached to removable controllers would have increased the cost and complexity. I've never ever known any home video game company to *increase* the complexity and cost of a base console design/model. They're always consolidating components and removing things they figure "nobody really uses". One way to settle it for certain is to compare several units with and without removable controllers and determine when they were made. On one of mine I installed 9 pin jacks on the back of the console and matching plugs on the original controllers so I could use them or any Atari 2600 compatible stick. I suspect some other people did the same to get away from the crappy original sticks. Bizzybody (talk) 07:29, 30 October 2010 (UTC)
 * No, these were actually made that way at the factory, not modded. They're silver in color instead of the usual black.  In fact some reconditioned hardwired consoles were also upgraded to these.  A listing of the serial numbers of removable controller models (which were all later serial numbers), as well as the hardwired versions and other variations is available here.  The later removeable controller variation is also why 3rd party controller manufacturer Wico made two devices for it. --Marty Goldberg (talk) 08:05, 30 October 2010 (UTC)

In the 1970s, we got a new O2 with silver joysticks that were hardwired into the base unit. At least one joystick failed (the bottom retainer allowed the joystick handle to "pop upward"). So, under warranty, the family drove an hour to get a replacement O2. The replacement had red and black sticks that were user-replaceable, that is, they had DB9 connectors. Those joysticks still work today, 45 years later. So, this is, apparently, the more reliable design. Someone above mentioned the extra connector cost, but replacing joysticks under warranty is expensive when you consider the materials and labor involved for such swaps and repairs. Maybe they recognized this and started making O2s with the connectors, hard-wire soldering the remaining older-design units that were still being finished in the factory, or any refurbished/warranty repaired ones. 2601:248:4B03:62E0:99B3:C018:9D0A:EC1 (talk) 00:56, 16 April 2021 (UTC)

Predecessor
Why does the Odyssey say the successor was this, but this doesn't say anything about the predecessor being the Odyssey in that little box below the system? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.235.73.35 (talk) 19:32, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

External links modified
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Microsoft Basic module for wrong system
Under Expansion Modules, there is a Microsoft Basic module listed for Vidopac+ systems only, which is actually the Videopac+ G7400, not the 7000. It shouldn't be listed for this machine. Wntermute (talk) 03:39, 26 January 2021 (UTC)