[game_preservation] Release date of the Odyssey?

[Devin Monnens]

Ok, that's proof!

Took me awhile to find the Odyssey there :) (It's at the very bottom for
those without eagle eyes)

That's really weird - Munich '72 Olympics and here we are with the 2012
London Olympics! That makes Odyssey 40 years old right now!

I also liked mention of the last Civil War veteran at the top left.

Thanks, Marty!

On Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 10:08 AM, Martin Goldberg <wgungfu at gmail.com> wrote:


> Just to add to this, the Odyssey certainly was being shown at local

> retailers to consumers in August of '72 -

>

>

> http://www.atarihq.com/Odyssey/magnavox%20odyssey%20dealer%20-%20Edwardsville%20Intelligencer%20-%20Aug30-1972.pdf

>

>

> On Wed, Aug 8, 2012 at 2:07 PM, Benj Edwards

> <editor at vintagecomputing.com> wrote:

> > Frank and co.,

> >

> >     I thumbed through Ralph's book again and found the scan you

> mentioned,

> > and realized that must be where I got the August 1972 release date.  I'm

> > afraid I have to take credit for that bad date circulating now because I

> > believe someone updated Wikipedia to that effect after one of my recent

> > pieces on the Odyssey (I remember that the entry previously read May

> 1972,

> > which is obviously wrong).

> >

> > Normally I'm much more careful about dates, but I was just trying to

> provide

> > a rough estimate for my article since I couldn't put my finger on the

> > precise month.

> >

> > Of course, the only thing that August 1972 Electronic Design article

> proves

> > is that the Odyssey still wasn't released at the time that issue of ET

> went

> > to press, and as someone mentioned (maybe you, Frank), there's the

> standard

> > lead-time before publication.  That, and the article mentions

> availability

> > in the fall of 1972.

> >

> > So I just emailed Don Emry, a former Odyssey game designer (and the only

> > former Magnavox employee I know how to contact at the moment). I asked

> him

> > if he remembered or had any documents about the Odyssey's launch date.

>  His

> > answer: "My best recollection of the release time is October."

> >

> > If anyone really, really wants to get to the bottom of this, I recommend

> > trying to find and contact George Kent (leader of the Odyssey engineering

> > team) or Bob Fritsche (Odyssey product manager).  I don't know if either

> man

> > is alive, but Baer says Kent was alive in 2003.  Neither Baer nor Emry

> know

> > their whereabouts. They both lived in Ft. Wayne, Indiana at some point.

> >

> > You'd need some internal Magnavox documents or a good matching

> recollection

> > from various folks to put together a somewhat accurate estimate of the

> > actual release date.

> >

> > I may make some calls later.  If I find anything out, I'll let everybody

> > know.

> >

> > Regards,

> > Benj

> >

> >

> > On 8/7/2012 4:53 PM, Frank Cifaldi wrote:

> >>

> >> I still can't find where August came from. The closest I can find is the

> >> review in the August 17, 1972 issue of Electronic Design (scanned and

> >> printed in Ralph's book), which simply says "starting this fall." Anyone

> >> able to back this up, or is this another one of those "internet truths"

> that

> >> gets spread without an actual source?

> >

> >

> > --

> > Freelance Writer / Editor in Chief VC&G

> > http://www.benjedwards.com

> > http://www.vintagecomputing.com

> >

> > _______________________________________________

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> > game_preservation at igda.org

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>

>

>

> --

> Marty

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>




-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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