The Fine Print on the Videopac

If you take a moment to read the small print on the Philips Videopac, it might make you raise an eyebrow. There are no flashy gaming slogans promising revolutionary gameplay or hyper-realistic graphics. There are no boastful endorsements from giant publishers like Electronic Arts or Activision. Instead, printed modestly on the back of the Videopac cassettes, you’ll find something rather unexpected: “Philips Light Bulb Factory.”

This quiet nod to its origins as a light bulb manufacturer feels almost anachronistic. The Videopac seems to stand with one foot in the future and the other firmly anchored in the past. In a way, it perfectly captures the identity of Philips in the late 1970s: a company still deeply rooted in the product that built its legacy, even as it cautiously stepped into the new, rapidly evolving world of computers and digital entertainment.

The fine print on that cassette represents more than just a quirky detail—it reflects Philips’ transitional era. By then, the company was shifting its attention toward computing, yet it hadn’t fully let go of the industrial DNA that had shaped it for almost a century.

Philips and the Rise of Computer Technology

Philips began its story in 1891, producing and selling light bulbs—simple products that would illuminate the world. Over the decades, the company slowly expanded its product line. Especially after the devastation of World War II, the company thrived during the post-war economic boom, fueled in part by Marshall Plan aid. 

By the 1950s and 1960s, Philips was much more than a light bulb company. Its iconic radios and televisions became household staples. The company also broadened into shortwave communications equipment, cassette recorders, and a range of consumer and household electronics. Its portfolio was wide, varied, and ambitious.

But by the 1970s, Philips faced a serious challenge in the area that mattered most for the future: semiconductors. While competitors embraced the transistor revolution, Philips had lingered too long in its comfort zone, continuing to refine the vacuum tubes that had once made it famous. This strategic hesitation proved costly. Transistors were becoming the foundation of modern electronics, from radios to computers, and Philips was late to the game.

The consequences were immediate. After a peak year in 1974, with 412,000 employees—including 91,000 in the Netherlands—the company began to shrink. By 1982, the workforce had already dropped to 336,000, and the decline continued in the decades that followed. Philips understood that it had reached the limits of its old model. To survive, it had to embrace computing.

The Strategic Pivot

Staring down its “stalling advantage,” Philips decided to leap forward by partnering with established leaders, including AT&T’s Bell Labs, and by launching ambitious initiatives like the mega-chip project and the creation of Philips Data Systems, its computer division. 

To fund this transformation:

• Production capacity in traditional sectors was scaled back.
• Research & Development budgets were substantially increased.
• Focus shifted toward innovation and digital technology.

The seeds planted in this era are still visible today. The High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, often jokingly called Europe’s Silicon Valley, is a direct result of this R&D pivot. Another shining example is ASML, which began as a Philips spin-off and, by August 2020, had a market value of $115 billion.

First Fruits of a New Era

By the late 1970s, Philips began seeing the first results of its new focus on computing. In 1974, the company launched its VCR, and by 1979, it introduced the Video 2000 system. The latter incorporated cutting-edge computer technology and soon ignited a video format war with emerging Japanese brands like JVC and Sony.

The battle played out as follows:

• Philips & Grundig: Video 2000, technically innovative but expensive.
• JVC & Sony: VHS and Betamax, easier to produce and cheaper.

Although many considered Video 2000 superior, it ultimately lost to VHS, due not only to cost but also to the adult film industry’s decisive backing of the VHS format.

Even in this early foray into digital media, Philips was learning a hard lesson: technological superiority doesn’t guarantee market dominance. This lesson would echo in the company’s journey into video games.

Enter Magnavox: A Pioneer in Home Gaming

While Philips was carefully navigating the shift from traditional electronics to computing, an American company was already making waves in an entirely new market: home video games. In 1972, Magnavox—a brand better known in the U.S. for its televisions and even furniture—introduced a device that would quietly change entertainment history: the Magnavox Odyssey.

The Odyssey is now widely regarded as the first commercial home gaming console. It may look primitive by modern standards, but in 1972, it was revolutionary. The console shipped with a set of plastic overlays for the television screen, colorful game boards, dice, and tokens. These physical components were meant to compensate for the console’s extremely basic on-screen graphics, which were little more than blocks and dots of light. Yet this combination of physical and digital play captured imaginations in a way that had never been seen before.

Magnavox designed the Odyssey so that players could enjoy twelve different games right out of the box. Instead of the cartridges we know today, it used removable circuit cards that selected which of the console’s built-in games would run. These cards did not contain game data; they merely activated the relevant program already stored inside the console.

Later interviews with engineers revealed a mix of pride and amusement when recalling just how experimental this all felt. One developer joked, “We were selling people blinking lights and calling it tennis—but it worked, and they loved it.” 

By the time production stopped, Magnavox had sold roughly 350,000 Odyssey consoles. That number might seem small today, but in the early 1970s it was an astonishing achievement. More importantly, it demonstrated that home gaming could be both popular and profitable.

The Spark That Started a Movement

The success of the Odyssey did not go unnoticed. Other electronics companies—big and small—hurried to imitate the concept. Within a short time, the market became crowded with Pong-style consoles that all offered variations of a simple tennis game. 

One of the most famous imitators was Atari, which brought the arcade hit Pong into living rooms. Interestingly, the Odyssey had included a similar tennis game before Pong became a phenomenon. This overlap would later trigger legal disputes, but in the moment, it was simply proof that a new industry was forming.

The first generation of gaming consoles was defined by technical limitations. They could only run fixed, pre-installed games, often displayed as simple geometric shapes. These early systems were fun for a short while, but their novelty wore off quickly. Developers and players alike began craving more variety, more complexity, and more color. As one Magnavox engineer said in hindsight, “We had lit the fuse, but we knew the fireworks would really start with the next generation.”

From Pride to Pressure

Magnavox’s early lead in the home gaming market created both excitement and pressure. Internally, the team realized that while the Odyssey was historic, it was also fragile as a product line. Its reliance on physical overlays and static built-in games meant that repeat sales would be hard to sustain. Competitors were already appearing, eager to capitalize on the idea and push it further.

By 1974, Philips acquired Magnavox, seeing the company as a bridge into the American market and into the nascent field of home gaming. For Philips, it was an investment in both brand expansion and technological learning. For Magnavox, it was a lifeline that promised resources to develop a true successor to the Odyssey.

In interviews years later, some engineers admitted they didn’t fully grasp how big the market could become. One recalled, “We were tinkering. We wanted to make something fun. Nobody in those days had a five-year plan for conquering the gaming world.” 

Still, the first generation had done its job: it proved that gaming had a future. And with that, the stage was set for what would become a revolution in the second generation of consoles.

 New Era of Gaming

By the mid-1970s, the limitations of the first generation of consoles had become impossible to ignore. The market was flooded with clones—simple Pong machines that offered little visual variety and no opportunity for new experiences. Players grew restless. Developers, too, were frustrated by the technical restrictions of fixed, hardwired games. Something had to change.

In 1976, change arrived in the form of the Fairchild Channel F, the first console to use interchangeable cartridges with actual game data. This was a seismic shift. Where the Magnavox Odyssey’s cards simply activated games already stored in the console, Fairchild’s cartridges contained their own game code. For the first time, a single console could, in theory, support an unlimited library of games. 

Engineers and hobbyists alike recognized the implications immediately. A developer later reflected, “It was like opening a window in a stuffy room. Suddenly, we could imagine a console as a platform, not a product with a short shelf life.” 

This innovation marked the start of the second generation of video game consoles, and it would inspire Magnavox—and by extension Philips—to start designing a successor worthy of the new era.

Development of the Odyssey 2

The impetus for developing the successor to the Odyssey, simply named the Odyssey 2, was closely linked to the introduction of the Fairchild Channel F and the possibilities offered by using microprocessors in gaming consoles. Microprocessors made consoles potentially far more versatile. After the success of the first Odyssey, Magnavox, under the leadership of lead designer Roberto Lenarducci, developed a console that, like the Fairchild, used separate cartridges. However, the goal was broader than that of its predecessor. The Odyssey 2 was not merely intended as a gaming console. Lenarducci aimed to create a hybrid between a computer and a gaming console. The keyboard on the Odyssey 2 still reflects this vision. In an era when very few people owned a PC, this keyboard could potentially be a unique feature, allowing many to experience computers for the first time. Unfortunately, Lenarducci’s vision never fully materialized. The reasons for this will be discussed later.

Development of the Videopac G7000

Early Experiments in Eindhoven

Meanwhile, several creative developers at the parent company in Eindhoven were simultaneously exploring gaming applications. In their case, the focus was mainly on integrating games into Philips televisions. Since gaming was not yet really on the radar of Philips management, they were able to work relatively freely.

This is also evident from an interview with early developer Jon Shuttleworth about the development of the Videopac:

Shuttleworth: “I was working on TV receivers [for Philips] in 1975, and I had the crazy idea that you could use microprocessors in consumer electronics. Everyone thought I was crazy, so I wanted to prove myself.”

Shuttleworth explains how, using a Fairchild F8 microprocessor—obtained, he admits, through lies and trickery—he created an operating system for televisions and then developed the Connect Four game that could be played on those TVs. He did all this during company time, but without the company knowing. Within Philips, this type of hobbyism was allowed and even encouraged. It was seen as a way to stimulate creativity among staff. Although the gaming aspect did not really impress management, Shuttleworth’s knowledge of microprocessors caught the attention of the board.

Shuttleworth: “Suddenly I was the super-expert in microprocessor applications. They started calling me ‘Digital Jon.’ After that, I developed the first commercially sold television that ran on microprocessors.”

“Gives Power!” and the European Launch

After acquiring Magnavox, Shuttleworth and his colleague Dolf van de Paauw were asked to develop a PAL version of the Odyssey 2 for the European market. This would become known as the Philips Videopac G7000. The name of the device did not refer to a product classification or processor type; it was chosen somewhat at random. Shuttleworth and Van de Paauw came up with the name in a pub. They agreed that the name “Odyssey” would mean little to a European listener—a rather odd comment, since the name referred to the eponymous European (Greek) epic by Homer. Van de Paauw, however, wanted a name that would hint at the future possibilities of the Videopac and also sound catchy. The letter “G” was to stand for “Gives Power,” and the number “7000” had no direct meaning but was intended to give the name a futuristic feeling.

Whether the decision to rename the Odyssey for the European market as the G7000 was ultimately wise is debatable, as the original Odyssey already had some name recognition and had built a loyal fan base.

Launch and Early Issues

Apart from a few minor changes, the Videopac was largely identical to the Odyssey 2. It featured the same processors, integrated controllers, and case (including the iconic keyboard). The small number of changes meant that the Videopac design could be finalized relatively quickly, and the existing Magnavox factories in the U.S. (later production moved to France) could soon be used for production. The only visual differences were the name “Videopac G7000” on the European model and the absence of a power switch. For the Videopac, plugging it in meant switching it on! However, this plug quickly became a problem after the first production batch went on sale in 1978. The hobbyist nature of development, the heavy holiday deadline pressure, and the limited resources for thorough testing all took their toll:

Shuttleworth: “We hoped to launch the video console in Europe around Christmas 1978; 300 women in Greenville produced 75,000 units, but at the last minute, after selling 7,500 Videopacs, we had to stop because the power cable we had developed short-circuited if you plugged it in upside down.”

Once the early bugs were resolved, Philips (re)launched the Videopac in 1979, this time with great success. Reflecting on his work on the Philips Videopac, Shuttleworth concluded:

Shuttleworth: “We did all this pioneering work in an amateurish way. I think it was more out of fun than for profit. Without real marketing, but with a lot of enthusiasm. Philips never really believed the Videopac fit its image, so we got little attention. That was probably good because it meant few restrictions. We did everything with minimal capacity; the group never exceeded 10 people. I think Philips benefited greatly from this small team.

Looking back today, at how we tried to get the most out of the Intel 4048 processor, using every trick we could think of, I feel nostalgic about the intimacy I had with the machine. These days, using a modern OS like Windows, I’ve lost that feeling. I used to know exactly the consequences, in ALU and registers, of every instruction. That was amazing.”

Based on Shuttleworth’s short interview, it can be cautiously concluded that Philips did not fully commit to securing a place in the rapidly growing gaming industry. Philips carefully explored whether money could be made in this market segment and initially relied on well-meaning enthusiasts within the company and the expertise acquired with the purchase of Magnavox. However, this approach did not mean that the Videopac was inferior to its competitors. The Videopac/Odyssey 2 could also build on the Odyssey’s name recognition. The introduction of the Videopac was also the first attempt to expand gaming’s popularity—until then largely limited to the U.S. and Japan—onto the relatively untapped European continent. Even though many more Odyssey 2/Videopacs were sold than their predecessor, the mark that the Odyssey (1) left on the first generation of gaming consoles could not be equaled by the Odyssey 2.

Videopac in Use

Philips launched an extensive advertising campaign with the introduction of the Videopac. Both in Europe and in the United States, various TV commercials aired that mostly promoted the console as “the most advanced system,” “The Ultimate Computer Video Games System,” “a serious educational tool,” and “the most versatile game console for the lowest price.” These claims exuded confidence but were also open to dispute.

Graphics

As mentioned earlier, the Videopac, unlike the Odyssey (1), featured a microprocessor. According to Magnavox’s planning, the Odyssey 2 would be released almost simultaneously with the popular Atari 2600 in 1977. While the power cable caused issues in the first Videopac batch, the Odyssey 2 faced a more fundamental problem that caused a delay: there were design flaws in the Intel microprocessor. After a revision of the chip, the Odyssey 2 finally launched in 1978, more than a year later.

The Odyssey 2 used the Intel 8048 (8-bit) running at 1.79 MHz. It was accompanied by 256 bytes of RAM and the revised Intel P8245 graphics co-processor. Despite its rocky start, Intel delivered an advanced chip for its time, comparable to its main competitors. For reference, the Atari 2600 had a 1.19 MHz (8-bit) processor, with 128 bytes of RAM and a custom Atari “TIA” co-processor. Mattel’s Intellivision was more powerful, with a 0.895 MHz 16-bit CP-1610 processor (by General Instruments and Honeywell), 1456 bytes of RAM, and the GI AY-3-8900 co-processor.

Where the Atari clearly surpassed the Videopac was in graphical capabilities. The Videopac could display only 8 colors (16 shades), compared to the 128 colors of the Atari 2600. This meant that Atari game worlds looked much livelier and more realistic.

Graphically, the Videopac was also limited in the number of objects it could handle. In addition to the background, only 8×8 single-color sprites and twelve 8×8 single-color characters could be displayed. These blocks could move freely across the screen but could not overlap. This posed a major limitation for developers, resulting in blocky visuals and repeated geometric shapes across different games. This effect was reinforced by the fact that Philips preprogrammed 64 objects into the BIOS ROM. Developers could call these objects directly without designing them themselves. This made programming for the Videopac faster and more accessible. Since cartridges contained only 2, 4, or 8 KB of memory, using preprogrammed objects also saved precious space.

The downside was obvious: characters, trees, ships, arrows, and other objects often looked identical across games, distinguishable only by color. Unlike its competitors, Videopac games were therefore hard to differentiate visually.

Another limitation was resolution. The Intel 8048 could drive 144 × 96 pixels, whereas Atari’s MOS 6507 supported 160 × 200 pixels. This led to a less sharp image on the Videopac, further emphasizing its blocky graphics. Nonetheless, the Videopac’s output often felt bright and clear, perhaps due to the quality of the RF connector and the simplicity of the graphics.

Sound

The Videopac’s sound was literally monotone. Only one channel was available for audio output, resulting in a very limited palette of sound effects consisting mainly of sharp beeps and static-like noises. However, the Videopac supported an additional Speech Synthesis Module that could generate voice and improved in-game music and effects.

Appearance

Like its name, the Videopac’s appearance was intended to look futuristic. With its shiny silver-gray case, the console had a distinctive look that set it apart from its “old-fashioned” competitors. The large keyboard dominated most of the console’s surface. At the top sat the cartridge slot, where game cartridges could be inserted. Insertion was not as smooth as one might expect and sometimes required some force. I often felt I might break the device when inserting a game, but the connector proved fairly resilient. Philips recognized this issue, as cartridges were equipped with a handle to provide a better grip for pushing or pulling them from the slot.

The Videopac’s build quality was nothing to write home about. The console was largely made of cheap plastic that felt fragile despite—or perhaps because of—its futuristic color. The two included controllers and the power cord were hard-wired and could not be detached without opening the console. Later models had external power supplies, and by the third revision, the controllers could finally be plugged in and out at the back. The controllers themselves were of good quality, and Philips and Magnavox praised their own ingenious joystick design. In fairness, the stick was feather-light compared to Atari’s stiff controller, which improved gameplay.

Dimensions

The Videopac was a large device. It sloped upward to a height of 10.8 cm. Measuring 33.7 cm wide and 33 cm deep, it appeared nearly square from above. Despite its size, the interior was mostly empty except for a small motherboard holding the processors and ports. The bottom of the Videopac was black and made of the same cheap plastic as the rest.

Price

Both the Videopac and the Odyssey 2 were relatively affordable at launch. The Odyssey retailed for $179 (equivalent to $702 in 2020), while its closest competitor, the Atari 2600, sold for $169–199. The Intellivision launched at $269–299.

In the Netherlands, the Videopac launched at 325 guilders. Though market-compliant, this was a significant sum for an average household in 1979. Shuttleworth explained that the price was deliberately set under the maximum value of a single cheque in Europe, so customers wouldn’t need to write two cheques. The loss Philips incurred on each console was recouped through game sales.

In Germany, where Videopac was licensed to Schneider, the launch price was higher, at 400 DM.

Content is king!

A console is meaningless without games. It is the games that sell the console and determine its success or failure. For the Videopac (and Odyssey 2), only sixty games were developed between 1978 and 1983.

Games for the Videopac

The Videopac games were developed almost exclusively by Philips and Magnavox themselves, or by contracted companies such as GST, which already performed a lot of (other) programming work for other divisions of Philips. A striking detail is that nearly half of the Videopac games were conceived and developed by just one person. This Ed Averett was employed by Magnavox. During the lifespan of the Odyssey 2, he developed 24 of the sixty games for the platform. However, it did not bring him much fame. In a 2017 interview with Old School Gamer Magazine, Averett stated that he deliberately operated under the radar. Many of the games he developed for the Odyssey and Videopac were designed and programmed from home. Not only did this allow him to work twenty-four hours a day to demonstrate ’the potential of the Odyssey system and video games in general’, but Magnavox also expected that it would hurt sales if it became known that almost all of its games were the work of a single developer, compared to the dozens of programmers developing games for the Atari 2600.

Although largely compatible, not all games released for the Odyssey were ported to the Videopac. Shuttleworth explained that the ideas for the games released in Europe were sometimes adopted from Magnavox, but since Philips believed that ‘peaceful Europeans would like things more slanted to their “delicate” taste’, a portion of the games was also conceived by members of the Videopac team themselves. The thought was that they could better respond to European desires, which differed greatly from the action-packed and violent American taste. Subsequently, the game ideas were programmed by software developers from Philips or from contracted companies like GST. Many beta versions of the games were tested on the children of Philips’ own software developers, who also largely removed the bugs from the games. This quickly gave them an idea of which gameplay elements worked and provided gaming fun.

Apart from Philips, only two third-party developers ventured into developing for the Videopac, but only after Videopac sales in Europe had gained some momentum. These developers, Parker Brothers and Imagic, focused on porting a few popular games that had previously been released on other consoles (and/or in arcades), including Frogger, Popeye, and Qbert*.

The games for the Atari 2600

As mentioned, Atari’s hardware was less powerful than that of competitors like the Videopac and the Intellivision. This was mainly due to the fact that the development of the Atari began as early as the mid-1970s, and the company faced high costs for the components used. In addition to a less powerful processor, this also led to significant limitations regarding working memory. Nevertheless, it was Atari, and not the Videopac or Intellivision, that would define the second generation of gaming consoles and be praised to this day as one of the most iconic consoles of all time. Comparable to what the Odyssey (1) meant for the first generation. What set the Atari apart from its closest competitors was primarily its enormous variety of good games. Despite the limited hardware, the creative young developers at Atari managed to squeeze every bit and byte out of the machine. Attracting this talent, which Atari was known for in the early days, laid the foundation for the development of both many in-house games and console ports of famous arcade games. One of those young developers from the very beginning, a certain Steve Jobs, would be responsible for founding Apple computers shortly after his departure.

More than 450 games were released for the Atari 2600, with the action-oriented games in particular making the console popular with the general (American) public. This popularity even resulted in popular competitors like the ColecoVision (1982) and the Intellivision II (1983) releasing adapters, so that Atari 2600 games could also be played on their consoles. That this was allowed by Atari was solely because, unlike today, the business model was focused on selling games and hardware separately. Hardware manufacturers did not yet demand a share of the revenue per sold game released for their console. Because many of the games for the 2600 were developed by Atari itself, Atari also made money on every game played via the adapter on a competing console.

Videopac games compared to the competition

The Videopac would therefore lose out to the Atari, particularly in terms of game selection and a lack of quality and variety in game genres. The reason for this can be explained. In addition to the aforementioned 64 pre-programmed objects and the limited possibilities for creating geometric shapes, the fact that only one developer was responsible for a large portion of the games will not have contributed to a great creative versatility in games. One might wonder whether Philips and Magnavox placed the right focus. A gaming console distinguishes itself from its competitors by having good games available for the platform. It is the games that sell the hardware, and not the other way around. It is therefore crucial that you offer a broad line-up of different games from various genres to sell your console. This is a well-known fact in the gaming industry today.

However, the Atari 2600 and Videopac belonged to the first consoles into which you could insert loose cartridges. It was therefore still largely ‘pioneering work’, as Shuttleworth aptly described it. Averett gives another explanation in his interview. Philips and Magnavox had a somewhat old-fashioned corporate culture focused on consumer electronics, such as TVs and radios, whose basic technology barely changed and where profit maximization was achieved through cost reduction, efficiency, and styling adjustments of the product. They had insufficient knowledge of the fast-growing gaming market and did not understand that if you make a lot of money from a console, you must then invest this money to provide even better gaming experiences or hardware. This is essential to connect gamers to your product or brand for the long term. Atari had already earned its stripes in the arcades. They understood that in an emerging market, creating momentum through innovation and maintaining a loyal fanbase is of great importance for the success of your product, as is the positive effect of the interplay between software and hardware sales.

Games with a story

The most famous games for the Videopac are Munchkin (Dutch: Happelaar) and Quest for the Rings (Speurtocht naar de ringen). Both games borrowed ideas in their own way. Quest for the Rings was a hybrid between a board game and a video game. In setup, it strongly resembled the game boards that came with the original Odyssey, including tokens and chips used complementarily to the game. In terms of gameplay, the game was similar to Dungeons & Dragons with a story that, just like the name, strongly reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings books.

Another highly discussed game for the Videopac was K.C. Munchkin (Dutch: Happelaar). In this case, it was not the quality of the game or special game mechanics that contributed to its fame, but a years-long legal battle between Philips/Magnavox and Atari. The cause of this battle had already arisen during the lifespan of the Odyssey (1). The tennis game for the original Odyssey corresponded strongly with Atari’s game Pong at the time. The prevailing jurisprudence that arose on this issue was based on the premise that game code could not be copied by competitors. Due to the limited variety of games at the time, however, no legal judgment was passed on gameplay or visual similarities of games. After all, then all first-generation consoles would infringe copyright, as all games were tennis-like games.

The Magnavox game K.C. Munchkin for the Odyssey 2 was undeniably a Pac-Man clone. Just like in Atari’s game, you tried to eat dots with your character in a maze. Except for the character (Happelaar/Pac-Man), the game was very similar. Even the ghosts in both games look the same. A striking detail is that the game for the Odyssey/Videopac came to market a year earlier than Atari’s home console version. Because of the aforementioned precedent regarding copyright claims in video games, Magnavox was not worried. Not a single letter of code had been copied by Magnavox. Additionally, developer Averett believed that K.C. Munchkin had a distinctly different, much friendlier look-and-feel than Pac-Man.

Atari strongly disagreed with this proposition. It had bought the exclusive rights to release Pac-Man on home consoles. The company had paid the astronomical sum, for that time, of 1.5 million dollars for it. K.C. Munchkin piggybacked on the success of the Pac-Man games in arcades, resulting not only in good sales figures for the Odyssey 2 and Videopac, but the game also sold more within two months than any other game that year. This hit Atari directly in the wallet.

Magnavox/Philips ultimately lost the legal battle. As mentioned, with the arrival of the second generation of consoles, the variety of games expanded, making not only the used code but also the ‘look-and-feel’ subject to copyright. The judge ruled that K.C. Munchkin showed too many similarities to Pac-Man. Magnavox/Philips was therefore forced to remove the game from the market and pay damages. As a response, a few years later, the company did release a sequel to the game on K.C. Munchkin called Crazy Chase. Besides the name, the gameplay was also different enough that it no longer infringed on the Pac-Man franchise.

Two less famous games for the Videopac were Verkehrsspiele 1 and Verkehrsspiele 2 (later re-released as Kinder im Verkehr). These games developed by Philips are extremely rare, as the production run amounted to only a few hundred copies. The games were never put into commercial sale. They were only distributed to primary schools in the North Rhine-Westphalia region in what was then West Germany. The games were delivered together with a special ‘CSV Video-Traffic Games Edition’ of the G7000. The games were aimed at children and intended as an interactive traffic lesson, simulating all kinds of ‘simple’ traffic situations that had to be solved using the joystick. The included console is nothing more than a re-release of the regular G7000 with the games, a special ‘Video-Traffic Games’ sticker on the box, and some specific documentation. Today, the games are a highly sought-after collector’s item and fetch around 300 euros as of 2020.

Keyboard

Both the Odyssey 2 and the Videopac featured a membrane keyboard with 49 keys. Philips praised this keyboard in its advertisements as proof of the console’s versatility, targeting parents in particular to convince them that the console was an ideal educational computer for their offspring. It must be said, the Videopac was unique in this, as it was the first console to feature a keyboard.

However, that this keyboard also offered added value for education was grossly exaggerated, as the keyboard in most games was only used as a start button, reset key, and to enter your ‘gamer tag’ and high score. The game that makes the most intuitive use of the keyboard, and one of the few exceptions to the rule, is Musician, which comes with an overlay that transforms the keyboard into a rudimentary piano. This allowed ‘music’ to be composed.

Game Musician with keyboard overlay for the G7000.

The vision of Odyssey developer, Robert Lenarducci, that the console’s keyboard should make it a ‘my first computer’ for the masses, also never materialized. There were too few applications that made useful use of this capability, such as word processing programs or printing options. Furthermore, the console’s market was too small to appeal to large groups, and the keyboard was of insufficient quality for long typing sessions anyway.

A cartridge did appear, however, allowing you to program yourself in Basic and even in machine language. The keyboard functioned as the input device. Yet, the lack of storage options, the limited processor, and RAM memory made this function largely irrelevant as well.

Variants of the G7000

Apart from a few unremarkable revisions, several variants of the Videopac appeared. These were brought to market by Philips and Magnavox themselves or under license by other manufacturers:

• Germany: Schneider;
• France: Radiola Jet, Sierra;
• Brazil: Planil Comércio.

Except for the G7400, all these variants possessed virtually the same specifications. Below is an overview of the better-known variants of the Videopac.

Philips G7200

Pictured above is my own Videopac G7200. This variant of the Videopac features a 23 cm built-in screen. Because of the keyboard, the regular G7000 already looked like a computer, but with the screen, the G7200 gives even more of an impression of being a computer. However, the G7200 featured the same ‘limited’ processor as the G7000, making it inadequate to use as a fully-fledged PC/console hybrid.

Advertisements argued that if mother and father wanted to watch television, the built-in black-and-white screen offered relief by giving children the opportunity to keep gaming in their room. The gaming fun was thus almost literally endless. A win-win situation, right? Well, not entirely, because in many Videopac games, color is used to distinguish gameplay elements from one another. The black-and-white screen therefore made some games virtually unplayable.

However, the G7200 does have the major advantage of featuring the option to connect the Videopac to a TV via SCART using an 8-pin adapter. This results in a clearer and sharper image compared to the G7000.

The two controller ports are placed at the front in the black plastic. From personal experience, I can say they are very difficult to access. To connect the controllers properly, you have to tilt the entire console backward while simultaneously pushing the 8-pin connector with some pressure into the correct, poorly visible hole. Not exactly ideal. Finally, three knobs are placed on the front to adjust the contrast, brightness, and volume.

The G7200 was released by Philips. The German Schneider and the French Radiola Jet also released their variant of the G7200 under license. Both in a blue color.

Philips N60

The Videopac N60 is very similar to the G7200. The console features the same specifications as the G7000 and G7200 and shares the 23 cm built-in screen with the latter. What distinguishes the N60 is its more compact shape, which the console owes to its housing, completely matching the French Minitel 1A (a teletext terminal). The unused holes in the N60 housing, where phones can be plugged in, are even carried over from the teletext terminal. Although the N60 also features a membrane keyboard, its more compact shape means that existing overlays for the G7000 and G7200 do not fit.

The N60 was only released in France and probably shortly before the introduction of the G7200, given that the controllers are still hard-wired and there is no 8-pin video output present on the console. As a result, it is not possible to connect the console to a television, making it de facto a portable gaming console, without a battery.

Due to its compact design, striking appearance, built-in screen, and dark blue color, the N60 is considered by many to be the most beautiful variant of the Videopac and even one of the most beautiful consoles ever made. It is certainly the rarest variant of the Videopac and therefore a highly sought-after collector’s item. I consider it one of the showpieces of my collection.

G7400

The Philips Videopac+ G7400 was launched four years after the G7000 in 1983. It is often seen as the direct successor to the G7000 and is therefore counted among the third generation of gaming consoles. This perception is not entirely accurate. The technical differences from the G7000 were not very large. The console featured the same processor as the G7000, though it was clocked higher, and many of the released games could be played on both systems. The G7400 did, however, have a higher maximum resolution (320×238) and more working memory (6 kb RAM).

In my view, the G7400 is better compared to the Xbox One X and Playstation 4 Pro in relation to their predecessors: the Xbox One and Playstation 4. It represented a modest evolution on a technical level but brought too little innovation to truly distinguish itself from its predecessor.

The G7400 could play three types of games:

1. Games developed specifically for the G7400 with high-resolution sprites and backgrounds. This last category of games was not playable on the G7000.
2. All G7000 games;
3. Special G7000 games that, if played on a G7400, utilized additional high-resolution background graphics.

Philips, lets make thinks better…

The hybrid of a gaming console annex computer for the masses is the holy grail that the computer industry tried to achieve from its very first steps. This was also the thought of the Odyssey 2 developers. There was a sacred belief in their own vision, as evidenced by, among other things, the French version of the Videopac, the C52, where the name ‘ordinateur Videopac’ is written prominently on the front. In all honesty, the Odyssey 2 and Videopac never achieved this goal, partly due to the previously mentioned limited technical specifications and distinctiveness of the available games. There was also a lack of diversity in software that made (useful) use of the keyboard. For the software and games that did use it, the implementation of the keyboard felt cumbersome and unintuitive.

A place in the sun

The Videopac and Odyssey 2 may have been poor PCs, but they were not poor gaming consoles. In every aspect, they surpassed the original Odyssey. Advancing technology, of which the introduction of the microprocessor was the most important, provided better graphics and smoother gameplay. The ability to use different cartridges in the device made it much more versatile than its predecessor had ever been. The console would eventually sell moderately well. Until the introduction of the Intellivision in 1980, the Odyssey 2 held second place in the American market, behind Atari. Perhaps, if development had not been delayed by issues with the Intel processor, and the console had come out before the Atari 2600, the fate of the Odyssey 2 might have had a better outcome. After all, the Odyssey (1) had built brand awareness and a loyal fanbase among early gamers. By 1978, however, many had already made the choice for Atari. Personally, I don’t think it would have mattered much. Atari was simply the better console, with a superior game selection.

In Europe and Brazil, the console performed much better than the Odyssey in America and became the best-selling console for a number of years. An introduction in Japan followed in 1982 but could not conquer the already overcrowded and highly chauvinistic Japanese gaming market.

Ultimately, between 1978 and 1983, approximately two million units of the Videopac, including its various variants and revisions, were sold worldwide. This placed the console third in terms of sales figures, engaging in a sales battle until the end of its existence with number 2 on the list: Intellivision (3 million consoles sold). However, the Videopac never came close to the Atari 2600. Atari’s 30 million sold consoles and the more than 450 games available for the platform dominated the second generation of gaming consoles.

Video game crash

By 1982, the American gaming market was saturated. The large number of console manufacturers chasing Atari’s success resulted in a market flooded with clones, as well as low-quality games. When sales completely collapsed around Christmas that year, just as manufacturers had reserved large stocks of games and consoles for this period, the market buckled under its own weight and many companies went under. The few remaining developers largely focused on the PC market. These disastrous months would later become known as the video game crash of 1983.

The Videopac+ G7400 entered the market in 1982 under these unfortunate circumstances. Perhaps the console is exemplary of what went wrong in the gaming industry. The 7400 failed to distinguish itself enough from its competitors and even from its predecessor. It seemed more like an attempt by Philips to pick low-hanging fruit. The video game crash dealt the death blow to the Videopac. Plans to release the G7400 in the US, as well as the already advanced development of the Odyssey 3, were shelved never to return. Just like for Mattel, the video game crash meant the end for Magnavox in the gaming industry. However, the resulting gap would soon be filled. It was the Japanese game developers who would go on to dominate the third generation of gaming consoles.

The G7400 was the final variant of the Videopac, and it would take until 1990 before Philips made another modest attempt to enter the gaming market with the CD-i. Though they took a completely different approach than they had tried with the Videopac. Magnavox disappeared from the gaming scene for good.

Literatuurlijst

Internetbronnen
–http://www.the-nextlevel.com/odyssey2/articles/jonshuttleworth/
–https://laadscherm.nl/mijn-vader-heeft-gamegeschiedenis-geschreven/
–http://computermuseum.50megs.com/dutch/merken/g7000dt.htm
–https://videopacgames.wordpress.com/history/
–https://www.glaciergaming.com/articles/1531/my-gaming-memories-retrospective-part-i-the-80s

literatuur
-Amos, E., The game console. A photographic history from Atari to Xbox (San Francisco 2019).
-‘Old school gamer magazine’ pag. 22-26 (editie: oktober 2017)

Audio-videobronnen
-Podcast: Praatscherm, aflevering 6; ‘Dolf en Jon’ (27 oktober 2017).
–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ItAYurjoo (gaming historian).