United Kingdom 1973
Wendaford Ltd.
2 Chipping Hill
Halstead
Essex
Import the Magnavox Odyssey home video gaming console from the United States and modify the unit for use on UK television's.
Home video gaming reaches UK homes for the first time.
1974
Waddingtons
Establish a video arm of the company branded Videomaster in London 1974, which became Europe's first home video console manufacturer.
Videomaster, brought to the European market the world's first
“Dedicated” console.(Videomaster Home T.V.Game) A console that only played built in game variants of “Table Tennis” (the Tennis Game previously playable on the Magnavox Odyssey).
Radofin Electronics Ltd. established in London in 1974, was a consumer electronics manufacturer that produced and marketed their own range of calculators.
(Elsewhere in the World)
Nintendo Licensed the rights to sell the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan, and with this Nintendo positioned itself within the home video game console industry
1975
(Elsewhere in the World)
Philips released two dedicated versions of the Odyssey console
in the United States still using the Magnavox name the
Magnavox Odyssey 100 &
Magnavox Odyssey 200
.jpg)
(Elsewhere in the World)
December 1975
Atari finalise a licencing agreement with Sears (United States) to sell a dedicated console version of their popular arcade game- PONG
1976
(Elsewhere in the World)
January 1976
Atari release a range of PONG dedicated consoles under their own banner.
Binatone enter the home video game console industry and release the first of, what would later, evolve into their successful "TV Master" series of dedicated consoles
The second generation of consoles commences as technology had advanced. Although many companies continue to flood the market with first generation consoles as production prices had plummeted.(Radofin and Adam Grandstand evolve into the Console industry during 1976 first appear in generation two and have later involvement in generation one).
Dixons entered into a licencing equipment agreement with Videomaster to sell Videomaster consoles within Dixons stores, but under their own brand banner Prinztronic. Dixons would later proceed to obtain similar licences with other console manufactures and expand the range of consoles that were also re-branded as Prinztronic in Dixons stores across the country.
(Elsewhere in the World)
Philips continued to release further versions of the Odyssey console in the United States still using the Magnavox name-
Magnavox Odyssey 300
Magnavox Odyssey 400 &
Magnavox Odyssey 500
No Philips branded versions of these consoles were ever released.
1977
(Elsewhere in the World)
Philips still continue to release versions of the Odyssey console in the United States, and still using the Magnavox name-
Magnavox Odyssey 2000
Magnavox Odyssey 3000 &
Magnavox Odyssey 4000
The 2000 was the only one to be
released in Europe under the Philips brand.
(Elsewhere in the World)
Nintendo produced their own dedicated console The Nintendo Colour TV Game 6 - unlike all the other generation one consoles this only had the one game "Tennis" but you were able to make changes to create 6 variations to the game, which is where the
'6' in the name comes from.
Radofin who had entered the market in 1976 with a very successful second generation console, began releasing their own range of first gen dedicated consoles. Like Videomaster they entered in to licencing agreements to sell branded versions of their consoles which also included Dixons, where there consoles were branded under the Prinztronic banner.
1978
Adam Grandstand having established themselves as a video game console and game distributor, (where they had negotiated licencing agreements with companies, mainly those not operating within the United Kingdom, to distribute these consoles within the UK under their banner), brought to the UK a PC-50x chip (see below) console that could use the generic cartridges styles that where available, (they did also brand the games under their own banner in the UK, but the console would accept any of the standardised cartridge sets).
1979
1981
Right Hand is the 1975 release
Left Hand is a 1976 reissue
Release of the
Magnavox Odyssey 200 under the Philips banner
Not on Display
at the Museum
Not on Display
at the Museum
Right Hand is the Deluxe set of the "Videomaster Superscore" with light gun peripheral
Left Hand top is the standard edition and
Left Hand bottom is the same console sold via Dixons under the Prinztronic brand released as the "Prinztronic Tournament"
Release of the
Magnavox Odyssey 2000 under the Philips banner
Each manufacturer continued to release more dedicated consoles throughout the period
Details of these other consoles can be found within the manufacturer dedicated page
Image is of the Prinztronic branded release of the Radofin Electronic TV Game. (unfortunately I do not have the Radofin version in the collection).
Prinztronic Tournament III
Pictured with 6 of the 7
PC-50x Cartrdiges.
Consoles where always packed with the PC-501 cartridge "Superten" or their name equivalent of the game.
One of the earliest hand held electronic games.
Significant as it was invented by the inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey (Ralph H. Baer) and is an electronic version of one of the Odyssey games.
The worlds first hand held console with interchangeable Games.
A Dedicated Chess Game
Not on Display
at the Museum
Not on Display
at the Museum
With the Development of cheap technology, Texas Instruments developed a set of 7 further chips (after what had become known as the PONG chip) that could provide alternative games for the first generation technology. Second generation consoles had the capability to use cartridges to change the game played on the console. 7 Cartridges (known as the PC-50x range (where x is number 1 to 7) were then able to be used with first generation technology to change the game played on these consoles, so many were reproduced with cartridge capabilities.
Most allowed the generic PC-50x cartridges to be used in their console, but Videomaster, Radofin and Binatone all used their own style of cartridge that would only fit on their specific consoles. (whilst having the same chip, and thus exactly the same game inside)
1973
1981
ENDS
PROCEEDS TO
1976
1985
