Jump to content
  • entries
    235
  • comments
    1,089
  • views
    434,383

Odyssey 300, the Yellow one


Guest

1,440 views

The Odyssey 300 is near and dear to my heart.

 

My maternal grandmother gave one to my family for Xmas of 1976. I remember that any occasion any family members visited for a few days (we lived a four hour's drive away from everyone) there was an Odyssey Tournament in there somewhere.

 

On the outside, at first glance, the Odyssey looks like its previous brethren, the 100 and 200. A careful observer will notice only one knob per player. This Odyssey actually handled the deflection and "english" of the ball on its own, lending a lot more excitement to the playability.

 

Tennis, Hockey and Jai-lai (pronounced "HI-LIE") were its three games and I remember a fast speed and a slow speed. There was probably a medium speed, too. I just can't swear on it.

 

Jai-lai was pretty much Handball, by the way.

 

I remember staying up long after everyone else was in bed, playing Hockey by myself. I was fascinated by the puck ricocheting back and forth between paddles at amazing speeds. I was 9 years old and I would be hooked forever more on the whole videogame concept.

 

Here is a picture of me (on the left, in 1976) staring glassy-eyed at the TV while my father's cavernous nostrils flare. I think I was winning. Dig our shirts. They were groovy.

blog-1571-1123206802_thumb.jpg

When I get an Odyssey 300 again. I'll most likely keep it. I just haven't gotten around to getting it.

 

9 Comments


Recommended Comments

Heh, Wow what a blast from the past.

I dig that groovy picture!

Hope you find a unit one day. You could go back and challenge your dad to a rematch, take a pic in approximately the same poses and have a "then" and "now" pic.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Heh, Wow what a blast from the past.

I dig that groovy picture!

Hope you find a unit one day. You could go back and challenge your dad to a rematch, take a pic in approximately the same poses and have a "then" and "now" pic.

 

 

The Odyssey 300 was my first video game system too! And Hockey was my favorite game. I think you're right about there being 3 speeds. Did you ever play as both teams -- right hand vs. left hand?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
The Odyssey 300 was my first video game system too!  And Hockey was my favorite game.  I think you're right about there being 3 speeds.  Did you ever play as both teams -- right hand vs. left hand?

 

Yes! That's exactly what I was doing late at night. I was playing hockey with myself. I liked setting it up so that the goalie and the opposite paddle had the puck between them on fast speed. That repeating-pinging was hypnotic. I thought I could hear additional rythms within the audible beeps. You know? Like the silence had a rhythm, too.

Link to comment
Where did you go?  Come back and write more cool stuff.

 

I'll slog through the PONG machines which I do have, take a 10 day vacation in Sunny Southeastern Pennsylvania, and talk about the Channel F stuff when I get back
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Where did you go?  Come back and write more cool stuff.

 

I'll slog through the PONG machines which I do have, take a 10 day vacation in Sunny Southeastern Pennsylvania, and talk about the Channel F stuff when I get back

 

Ah, see, I'm getting all geared up for the start of the school year so I've ratcheted down my reading comprehension level to that of a seventh grader.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Great picture!

 

Tennis, Hockey and Jai-lai

 

Weird. I thought it was called Smash.

 

I find it curious that the Odyssey 300 implemented "real deflection" of the ball on the paddles and that the Odyssey 400 and the 500 lacked that feature and went back to the English controls. Seems like a downgrade of sorts.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Yeah, I don't have any experience with the 500. (though... hah, I'd forgotten I had a 400) I think the 500 actually had sprites or something.

 

In regards to "Smash" I'm not sure, it was probably called something else on other systems, but I remember Jai-lai because I don't think I learned to say it correctly until my early 20s. heheh.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...