Magnavox Odyssey 5000
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| The Odyssey 5000 as pictured in Magnavox's sales flyer. No freely licensed photograph of a prototype has been found. | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Magnavox |
| Type | Dedicated home video game console (unreleased prototype) |
| CPU | None; Signetics MUGS-1 game chip[1][2] |
| Memory | None |
| Storage | — |
| Display | Colour on a colour television[3] |
| Sound | — |
| Power | AC adaptor (included, according to the flyer)[3] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | 7530[3] |
The Magnavox Odyssey 5000 (model 7530) is a dedicated home video game console that Magnavox designed but never released. A Magnavox sales flyer describes it with 24 games of seven types for up to four players, four removable hand controls and colour pictures.[3][1][2]
History
[edit | edit source]Pong-Story records that the Odyssey 5000 existed only in prototype form, designed around the Signetics MUGS-1 chip, and that the Odyssey 4000 was the last ball-and-paddle console Magnavox released.[1] Pong-Story's chip table lists the Signetics CR861 (MUGS) of 1977, with ball-and-paddle, tank and helicopter games, as supposedly unreleased.[4] Wikipedia says the console would have used two chips, National Semiconductor's MM571068 and the Signetics MUGS-1, and that the prototype helped shape the Odyssey².[2]
The sales flyer gives the model number 7530 and form number BH 7530. It lists the sizes and weights as estimates and says that all specifications are subject to change.[3]
Design
[edit | edit source]The flyer describes these controls and features:[3]
| Control | Function in the flyer |
|---|---|
| Player mode select knob | Five modes of play: Practice/1, Practice/2, Cutthroat 1/2, Singles and Doubles |
| Player mode display | Shows the mode of play in large letters |
| Game select knob | Selects the basic game |
| Game display | Shows the game being played |
| Power on/off/reset switch | Turns the unit on or off and resets the score after a game |
| Four removable hand controls | Two give joystick movement in any direction to two players; the other two move two more players vertically in doubles with four people and in practice. The hand controls have action buttons to release a held ball or to shoot in Helicopter and Battlefield |
Scores are shown on screen in large digits between serves. A game ends at 21 points, except Knockout, which can count to 3200. The flyer also lists a "stop action" to hold the ball or puck, an automatic speed increase in five steps, selectable handicaps, action sounds, full colour on a colour television and an AC adaptor in the box.[3]
Games
[edit | edit source]| Game | Variations |
|---|---|
| Tennis | Practice, Practice Doubles, Singles, Cutthroat 1 vs. 2, Doubles |
| Volleyball | Practice, Practice Doubles, Singles, Cutthroat 1 vs. 2, Doubles |
| Hockey | Practice, Practice Doubles, Singles, Cutthroat 1 vs. 2, 2 vs. 2 |
| Basketball | Practice, Practice Doubles, Singles, Cutthroat 1 vs. 2, Doubles 2 vs. 2 |
| Knockout | Singles, Doubles |
| Battlefield | Singles |
| Helicopter | Singles |
Wikipedia lists the seven game types as Tennis, Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball, Knockout, Tank and Helicopter; the flyer names the tank game Battlefield.[2][3]
Estimated packaging
[edit | edit source]The flyer gives the box as 16⅜ × 15⅝ × 6½ inches and 7.5 lb, and a shipping carton of four boxes as 17 × 15½ × 24¾ inches and 30 lb, all marked as estimates.[3]
Documentation
[edit | edit source]The Odyssey 5000 was never sold. Magnavox's sales flyer for it is hosted on the wiki.[1][5]
Download: Magnavox Odyssey 5000 sales flyer 7530.pdf
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Magnavox Odyssey 4000, the last Odyssey ball-and-paddle console Magnavox released
- Magnavox Odyssey 3000
- Magnavox Odyssey
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 David Winter, Pong-Story, "Other Magnavox Odyssey systems" (retrieved 2026-10-19): the Odyssey 5000 as a prototype that was never released, designed around the Signetics MUGS-1 chip and playing twenty-four games of seven types for two or four players, and the Odyssey 4000 as the last ball-and-paddle console Magnavox released.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Wikipedia, "Magnavox Odyssey series" (retrieved 2026-10-19), section "Magnavox Odyssey 5000 (prototype)": two chips, National Semiconductor's MM571068 and Signetics' MUGS-1; seven games (Tennis, Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball, Knockout, Tank and Helicopter) expanding to 24 variations; up to four players with a practice mode; never released; the prototype helped shape the Odyssey².
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Magnavox, Odyssey 5000 Home Video Game, model 7530, sales flyer, form no. BH 7530, 2 pages: page 1, the console and its callouts (digital on-screen scoring to 21 points, Knockout to 3200; player mode select knob with Practice/1, Practice/2, Cutthroat 1/2, Singles and Doubles; player mode and game displays; power on/off/reset switch; game select knob; removable hand controls with action buttons; stop action, five-step automatic speed increase, selectable handicaps, full colour on a colour television, AC adaptor included); page 2, the 24 games and the estimated box and carton sizes and weights. Hosted as File:Magnavox Odyssey 5000 sales flyer 7530.pdf.
- ↑ David Winter, Pong-Story, "PONG in a Chip" (retrieved 2026-10-19), table of ball-and-paddle chips: the Signetics CR861 (MUGS) of 1977, with ball-and-paddle games and tank and helicopter games, listed as supposedly unreleased.
- ↑ Internet Archive, "Magnavox Odyssey series Service Manuals & Game Manuals", uploaded 28 January 2018 by Sylvain (Sly DC) De Chantal; file "Magnavox Odyssey 5000 flyer.pdf", 2 pages (retrieved 2026-10-19).