Video gaming today is a multi-billion-dollar industry that millions of people enjoy every day. From companies like Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation to popular games like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, Super Mario, and Pokémon, video games have defined generations of computer users. It’s difficult to exist in our current world without engaging in some sort of video game or video graphic interaction. Phones, computers, TVs, video games all use computer graphics to engage with their audiences. Video games have become such a staple in our world that many may wonder where it all started.
Younger people may be familiar with the first PlayStation released in North America in 1995 which played CD-ROMs instead of the Ultra HD Blu-ray discs used by current consoles. Some may remember the Super Nintendo released in North America in 1991 or the original Nintendo Entertainment System first released in North America in 1985 which each used their own large “Game Pak’s” and not the fingernail-sized cartridges Nintendo provides now. Some amount of people may have heard of the Atari 2600 which first released in 1977 which also had its own version of square game cartridges with popular titles like Pong, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders.
However, most gamers may not know that the first home video game console was actually the Magnavox Odyssey. It was a very simple yet futuristic looking white, black, and brown box that is reminiscent popular science fiction from the 1960s. It came with 2 rectangular white controllers with rotary knobs on either side and a single button on top to use for controls. They attached to the console by thick sturdy wires.
The system was originally sold for $99.95 USD in 1972. That value would equate to over $750 USD in 2025.
The Odyssey was a two-player game, only capable of displaying three small, white rectangles (indicators) on a black screen with differing behavior for the rectangles depending on the game played. It could not generate any other visuals and no audio. The system turned on once a game card was inserted.
To play a game, the players had to place plastic overlays that came with the system on the screen which displayed additional visual elements for each game, and players controlled their rectangles with the knobs and buttons on the controller by the rules given for the game in a large instruction manual.
The console also came with dice, paper money, and other board game items to supplement the games. 6 game cards (labelled 1-6) were included with the U.S. version of the console. The games included:
| Title | Game card # | Description |
| Table Tennis | 1 | Players hir a ball back and forth on a screen. |
| Ski | 2 | Player moves their skier along a mountain path overlay |
| Simon Says | 2 | A three-player game where one player pulls direction cards and the other two players must race to touch the body part of their chosen character’s picture as indicated by the card |
| Tennis | 3 | Players hit ball back and forth on a screen with a tennis court overlay |
| Analogic | 3 | A space-themed math game where players move across a grid trying to reach the other player’s planet |
| Hockey | 3 | Players hit a ball back and forth on a screen with a hockey rink overlay; players score only if the puck reaches the opponent’s goal on the overlay |
| Football | 3 & 4 | Used a combination of on-screen movement, dice, and cards to simulate a game of football; kickoff, passing, and punting plays uses Card #3 while running plays uses Card #4 |
| Cat and Mouse | 4 | Played on a grid with the “mouse” attempting to return to its hole before the “cat” catches it |
| Haunted House | 4 | Played on a haunted house overlay with the “detective” trying to collect all of the clue cards without being caught by the “ghost” |
| Submarine | 5 | One player moves a submarine along shipping lanes and the other player shoots torpedoes at them |
| Roulette | 6 | Players bet with chips, and randomly spin their controller dial to launch a spot at a roulette wheel overlay |
| States | 6 | Played with an overlay of the United States and a deck of trivia cards |
Ralph H. Baer first conceived the idea of a video game in 1966. Over the next several years, Baer developed a console with a small team at Sander’s Associates. Eventually they showed the project to Magnavox who agreed to manufacture it. Magnavox sold over 69,000 copies in the first year and over 350,000 before it was discontinued three years after its release.
Baer and Magnavox’s creation was a simple and crude device compared to what we today associate with video games. However, this invention spurred a phenomenon that quickly overtook popular culture and media over the next 50 years. New technologies were rapidly developed to make graphics better and better. These technologies were applied not just to gaming, but computers, cell phones, TVs, and film as well.
No mater what generation of home gaming console you experienced in your childhood, or what games you prefer today, they would not have existed without the very humble origins of the Magnavox Odyssey.
Further Reading:
Smith, A. (2015, November 16). 1TL200: A Magnavox Odyssey. They Create Worlds. https://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com/2015/11/16/1tl200-a-magnavox-odyssey/
Cinemassacre (November 26, 2010). Odyssey – Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDAKxjG7VaI
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🎮 Ever wonder where video games really began?
Before Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, Atari — there was the Magnavox Odyssey, the first-ever home video game console released in 1972. Its simple black-and-white graphics with plastic screen overlays paved the way for the massive gaming industry we know today.
Read my full article to learn about one humble invention that revolutionized entertainment. 👾
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#VideoGames #MagnavoxOdyssey #RetroGaming
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Before PlayStation. Before Nintendo. Before Atari… There was the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console, released in 1972.🕹️
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#RetroGaming #GamingHistory #VideoGames
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Before PlayStation, before Nintendo, before Atari — there was the Magnavox Odyssey.
No sound. No color. Just 3 white blocks on a screen… and it changed gaming forever.
Read more about where video games began 👉 https://westonyoung.com/uncategorized/the-first-video-game-console/
#Gaming #RetroGaming
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