[game_preservation] Release date of the Odyssey?

[Frank Cifaldi]

I don't think Ralph's got much left to give after the book, all of his
notes on the Odyssey seem to be in there in some form. I don't know him
personally though, anyone who does want to chime in?

On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 7:57 PM, Devin Monnens <dmonnens at gmail.com> wrote:


> Steve Kent mentioned in his book that when they were trying to figure out

> where to sell Home Pong, they looked in the Sears catalog and saw they were

> advertising Odyssey through the sporting goods department. So that was

> where I looked.

>

> I have no clue where you would find catalogs or information on Magnavox

> dealers from 1972. I guess we'll just have to find out from Ralph Baer!

>

> On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 10:25 PM, Bill Loguidice <bill at armchairarcade.com>wrote:

>

>> Keep in mind that magazines of the time had lead times of three months or

>> greater, so at best those are their safest guesses based on information

>> from Magnavox. Also, as was previously stated, Sears didn't carry

>> videogames until their rebranded Atari Pong console in 1975 (it's not like

>> there were any other options prior, anyway). The only known places the

>> Odyssey systems were sold were authorized Magnavox dealers.

>>

>> ===================================================

>> Bill Loguidice, Managing Director; Armchair Arcade, Inc.<http://www.armchairarcade.com>

>> ===================================================

>> Authored Books<http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Loguidice/e/B001U7W3YS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_1>and

>> Film <http://www.armchairarcade.com/film>; About me and other ways to

>> get in touch <http://about.me/billloguidice>

>> ===================================================

>>

>>

>>

>> On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 5:54 PM, Devin Monnens <dmonnens at gmail.com> wrote:

>>

>>> Thank you for clarifying the release dates, Benj and Frank. I think this

>>> holds true for the US, but probably not so much for Japan where they had

>>> mastered the system of 'on-demand shipping' as part of the economy. Surely

>>> this was the case during the Famicom era, at least, hence why there are

>>> release dates for those games. It does seem pretty silly to think about

>>> 'release dates' when those didn't exist at the time. It's more about 'when

>>> and were did this go on sale first?' or 'when was it first shipped from the

>>> warehouse?' or 'at about what time would these have been available?'

>>>

>>> Yeah, I think the August date comes from the August and September

>>> articles from 1972 here:

>>>

>>> http://www.magnavox-odyssey.com/Advertising.htm

>>>

>>> Either that, or from one of the earlier game history books. Electronic

>>> Design suggests that the system was coming out after August, but the others

>>> suggest it is available at the date of publication. (Sadly, the 1973

>>> Consumer Reports article is missing the very beginning!).

>>>

>>> I think the surefire way to tell would be to locate ads and sales flyers

>>> from the period. If it's available for sale, it's advertised. However, I

>>> doubt those are easy to find... Same would go for shipping orders, but it's

>>> probably easier to just find receipts!

>>>

>>> BTW, here's the Christmas 1972 Sears Catalog:

>>>

>>> http://www.wishbookweb.com/1972_Sears_Christmas/index.htm

>>>

>>> ADDENDUM: Ok, there's actually NO Magnavox Odyssey advertised in this

>>> catalog! Looked under games and TVs. Nothing. Either I missed it (and

>>> again, I looked pretty thoroughly), or it's not advertised. No wonder the

>>> Odyssey didn't sell well - if it's not in the Christmas catalog, how are

>>> people going to know to buy it?? For this reason, I don't think you'll find

>>> ads for the Odyssey, unless it's from a local Sears in the Sunday paper.

>>>

>>> Was anyone aware of this?

>>>

>>> However, check out these pages from the 1975 catalog:

>>>

>>>

>>> http://www.wishbookweb.com/1975_Sears%20C%20Web/images/SearsC1975_Page410.jpg

>>>

>>> http://www.wishbookweb.com/1975_Sears%20C%20Web/pages/SearsC1975_Page537.htm

>>>

>>> Anyone have a clue what those electromechanical Pong games are on 537?

>>>

>>>

>>>

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>

>

> --

> Devin Monnens

> www.deserthat.com

>

> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>

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