The overlays only supported two different television sizes and multiple overlays could be used with the same game card to allow for a different game play experience. The system was sold with plastic overlays that were placed over the television screen to simulate graphics that the system was not capable of producing. Some of the add-on games did not include a game card but just new overlays and instructions that could be used with one of the game cards that came bundled with the system to give it a new functionality. Add-on games were sold individually for $5.49 or in a pack of 6 for $24.99. These jumpers merely unlocked onboard programming to play certain games and the cards themselves did not contain game data. The printed circuit board cards did not contain any components but had a series of jumpers between pins of the card connector. There was no power switch for the console as the system would turn on once a game was inserted into the system and turn off once the game was removed. The Odyssey used a type of removable printed circuit board card that inserts into a slot on the front of the system. In addition to the game cards and screen overlays the system came bundled with game accessories such as dice, scorecards, play money, casino chips and playing cards for each game. The 11 games that were bundled with the system were Analogic, Cat & Mouse, Football, Haunted House, Hockey, Roulette, Simon Says, Ski, States, Submarine and Tennis. The Odyssey system was powered by batteries, lacked any sound capability and was bundled with 2 controllers, 6 C batteries, 6 game cards which were capable of playing 11 games and 22 screen overlays (2 per game to support 2 different size television screens). By the time the system was released to the general public it was 4-year-old technology and the video arcade market was just gaining ground and had more advance technology. The system was a redesign of Ralph Baer’s “Brown Box” prototype which was completed in 1968. The Magnavox Odyssey was first demonstrated on and released in September 1972 with a price tag of $99.99. The first to be release was Magnavox Odyssey followed by Atari’s Pong home console and then the Coleco Telstar systems. The first generation of home consoles were made between 19 with three major companies competing to become the leader in the home video game market. This was the first home video game console and was the beginning of the home video game market which is now a multibillion-dollar industry. Their 1972 Odyssey home video game system, a production engineered version of the “ Brown Box” was the result. Two years later in 1971 Magnavox revisited the idea of television gaming and finally took a license from Sander Associates. The reactions were overwhelmingly favorable, but Magnavox did not want to take the risk involved in marketing the new concept to the general public and held off on moving forward. In 1969 representatives from Magnavox went to Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire where Ralph Baer and his team demonstrated Baer’s “Brown Box” prototype.
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