Magnavox Odyssey

[Mark-x]

 The Magnavox was the very first videogame console ever released, predating even the Atari Pong. A hybrid of both analog and digital circuitry, the Odyssey is the absolute starting point for all subsequent gaming platforms. Although lacking color video output or sound, the Magnavox still managed to sell over 300,000 units. The Odyssey used a cartridge system, although the games more closely resembled computer chips than actual games. The controllers were essentially boxes with horizontal and vertical axis knobs on both sides with very dense wires between them and the base console.

The Odyssey also launched the very first home light gun ever produced, called the Shooting Gallery. The games for the Odyssey consisted of straightforward, single-function titles like Baseball, Basketball, Ski, and more. Due to the simplicity of the console, there weren’t any third-party games designed for it. But the precedent established by the Odyssey paved the way for subsequent systems -- a legacy that has secured the console a place in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.