Hosted by the University of Plymouth
The Videopac was the European version of the Magnavox Odyssey2, giving it a heritage going back to the very first games console of all (the Magnavox Odyssey). Rather less popular and less powerful than competing systems of the era (such as the Atari VCS and Mattel Intellivision), the Videopac still delivered some innovations. As you can see, it was notably different from other consoles thanks to the inclusion of a membrane keyboard. This was mainly used for game selection and entering names for hi-scores, although some cartridges were available that made more use of it (such as the Computer Programmer cartridge, which allowed assembly language programming). Other departures from the norm included some games cartridges that shipped with tabletop board games, with the Videopac element being integrated into the overall game play. Another variant of the system, the G7200, shipped with an integrated black & white screen.
Philips, 1979
Donated/on loan from: Prof. Steven Furnell, Plymouth University