Editing Philips Videopac+ G7400

{{redirects here|Odyssey 3|other uses|Odyssey III (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Third-generation home video game console}}

{{Infobox information appliance
| name = Videopac+ G7400
| logo = [[File:Philips Videopac+ G7400 Logo.png|250px]]
| image = Philips Videopac G7400.jpg
| caption = Philips Videopac+ G7400 console
| manufacturer = [[Philips]]
| type = [[Home video game console]]
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1983}}
| price = <!-- this is price at initial release, not the current price -->
| connectivity = 
| lifespan = 
| unitssold = 
| media = 
| os = <!-- operating system -->
| input = 
| camera = 
| power = 
| cpu = [[Intel 8048]] @ 5.91MHz
| storage = 
| memory = 6&nbsp;KB [[RAM]], 1&nbsp;KB [[Read-only memory|ROM]]
| display = [[RF modulator]], composite, RGB; 320×238 resolution
| audio = 
| service = <!-- online service/s offered -->
| dimensions = 
| weight = 
| touchpad = 
| predecessor = [[Philips Videopac G7000]]
| successor = [[Philips CD-i]]<br>[[Philips MSX]]
| related = 
| generation = [[History of video games#8-bit consoles|Third generation]]
| graphics = [[List_of_Intel_processors#Microcontrollers|Intel 8245]], [[Thomson EF934x|EF9340 (VIN)]], [[Thomson EF934x|EF9341 (GEN)]]
| sound = 1 channel, 8 sounds
}}
The '''Philips Videopac+ G7400''' is a [[Third generation of video game consoles|third-generation]] [[home video game console]] released in limited quantities in 1983,<ref name="WolfPerron2013">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4cpEAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA312|title=The Video Game Theory Reader|last1=Wolf|first1=Mark J.P.|last2=Perron|first2=Bernard|date=8 October 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-20519-5|pages=312–}}</ref> and only in [[Europe]]; an American release as the '''Odyssey³ Command Center''' was planned for the [[Odyssey series]] but never occurred. The G7400 was the successor to the [[Magnavox Odyssey 2#Europe|Philips Videopac G7000]], the European counterpart to the American [[Magnavox Odyssey²]].<ref>{{cite book
  | title     = L'Europeo
  | url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=h-8eAQAAMAAJ
  | volume    = 39
  | date      = November 1983
  | publisher = Editoriale Domus
  | language  = it
  | pages     = 282–
  | quote     = Il tutto, tradotto dal computerese, significa che invece di programmi si tratterà di una nuova consolle per far girare i programmi stessi, più precisamente il Philips G7400 Il vecchio Philips Videopac aveva il difetto di essere il videogioco con la ...
}}</ref> The system featured excellently tailored background and foreground graphics.<ref name="BALI1994">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=53nnX4fnnNIC&pg=PA373|title=Colour Television: Theory and Practice|author=Bali|first=S.P.|date=1 March 1994|publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education|isbn=978-0-07-460024-5|pages=373–}}</ref>

The G7400 could play three types of games: all normal G7000 games, special G7000 games with additional high-res background graphics that would appear only when played on the G7400, and G7400-only games with high-res sprites and backgrounds.

== Odyssey³ ==

There were plans to release the G7400 in the United States as the Odyssey³ and later as the Odyssey³ Command Center; the system was demonstrated at the 1983 [[Consumer Electronics Show]],<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://archive.org/details/1983CesOdysseyCommandCenter|title=1983 CES Odyssey Command Center Promo|date=January 14, 2012|language=en|publisher=[[Philips]]|orig-year=1983|via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> and some prototypes have been found. The Odyssey³ was never released, mostly because company executives concluded that it was not technologically advanced enough to compete in the marketplace, and the [[video game crash of 1983]] ended all lingering hopes for a release.

The Odyssey³ was to feature a real mechanical keyboard, unlike the [[membrane keyboard]] found in the G7000 and Odyssey², as well as a built-in [[joystick]] holder for dual-joystick games. Prototypes for a 300 [[baud]] [[modem]] and a [[speech synthesis|speech synthesizer]] are known to have been made, and a [[laserdisc]] interface was planned to allow even more advanced games.

== Specifications ==
* [[Central processing unit|CPU]]: [[Intel 8048]], 5.91 [[megahertz|MHz]]
* RAM: 6&nbsp;KB + 192 Byte
* ROM: 1 KB
* Display: 320×238×16 ([[List_of_Intel_processors#Microcontrollers|Intel 8245]] for G7000 compatible 128x64 16 color graphics and Thomson [[Thomson EF934x|EF9340]] [VIN] and [[Thomson EF934x|EF9341]] [GEN] )
* Audio: 1 channel, 8 sounds
* Input / Output: [[RF modulator]], [[Péritel]]/SCART connector (with [[RGB]]), [[joystick]] port(s), [[ROM cartridge]] port
* Expansion
** The Voice – Speech synthesis unit, compatible with [[G7000]]
** Chess Module – Increased the G7400's computing power such that it could play [[chess]], also compatible with [[G7000]]
** [[Microsoft BASIC]] Home Computer Module (C7420) – Similar to above, with the purpose of converting the G7400 into a "real" computer, not compatible with [[G7000]]. An additional [[Z80]] CPU with 16&nbsp;KB RAM and 16&nbsp;KB ROM.

== Legacy ==
The Videopac Collection Volume 1 was released on Steam on November 24, 2022. It uses O2EM for emulation and includes the G7400 versions of the games when applicable.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Videopac Collection 1 on Steam |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2193100/Videopac_Collection_1/ |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=store.steampowered.com |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Videopac games]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Philips G7400}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170616150703/http://fuyn.dtdns.net/wiki/index.php/Philips_Videopac%2B_G7400 Technical data] {{sp}}
*[http://www.videopac.org/G7400/ Philips G7400 Manual]

{{Philips}}
{{Third generation game consoles}}

[[Category:Philips products|Videopac + G7400]]
[[Category:Discontinued video game consoles]]
[[Category:Third-generation video game consoles]]
[[Category:1983 in video gaming]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1983]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1983]]