DISPLAYS!
Odyssey Counter Top Cartridge Display
An in-store cartridge display unit available to retailers. The Selling Aids brochure says, "Holds 48 cartridges with pilfer-proof locked front. Multi-color header, finished in gleaming black and striking brushed aluminum. 20" wide × 18" deep × 25" high." Part #AB9114.
Odyssey Counter Top Display
Another in-store display unit available to retailers. This one looks like nothing more than an Odyssey Organizer (see the Storage Items section) with a sign attached. The Selling Aids brochure says, "Sturdy, acrylic construction with colorful header. Pilfer-proof storage for 12 demo cartridges. 26½" × 18" deep × 15" high." Part #AB9116.
Point of Sale Kits
Kits, containing several promotional materials, available to retailers to assist them in hawking Odyssey merchandise. There was both a Large POS kit and a Small POS kit available, each featuring the Wizard of Odyssey. A "low price" model was also available (listed below).- 1 window banner, 40" × 56"
- 1 fixture topper / counter card
- 2 plastic danglers featuring The Voice
- 2 tent cards
- 2 cling-ons - listing selling features
- 1 easel card
- 1 K.C. Munchkin Dratapillar
- 2 plastic danglers featuring The Voice
- 2 tent cards
- 2 cling-ons - listing selling features
- 1 easel card
Low-Price Point of Sale Kit
Another sales kit available to Odyssey retailers. The "LP" series Point of Sale kit contained a lot less material than the larger POS kits listed above. This low-cost kit contained: 1 window banner, 1 easel card, 2 shelf talkers, and some Ad Slicks.
Odyssey² Banner
A plastic banner meant for stores to hang from the ceiling or against a wall, in order to lead customers to the games! The Selling Aids brochure says, "16' × 14' high impact plastic that features Odyssey2." Also features "The Keyboard Is the Key to Greater Challenge" slogan.
Odyssey Game Center (AKA Odyssey Home Arcade Center)
This would have to be the ultimate "Holy Grail" for Odyssey² collectors. It is the in-store display kiosk for displaying Odyssey² units and games to customers. The Selling Aids brochure describes it as "Sturdy, built with metal frames and hardboard sides. Holds one 19" TV and Odyssey mainframe. Storage for six demo cartridges. Multi-color plastic header. 27" wide × 28½" deep × 75" high." Part #AB9115.
Philips later offered 50 Game Centers as contest prizes, calling them Odyssey Home Arcade Centers, as part of a promotion for the release of Turtles. A 1983 magazine ad says, "You can win one of 50 giant, six-foot-tall Odyssey Home Arcade Centers. And each one includes a big 19-inch color TV screen, Odyssey keyboard, twin eight-position joysticks and, of course, a TURTLES game." Click here to view that ad.
In September 2017, the existence of two Game Centers was revealed to the collecting community. Two unassembled units were purchased at an auction in the North Carolina area by a Tennessee man, who assembled one and kept the other in its box. He later sold the assembled unit to a private collector who provided this photo. The other was sold to Trade-N-Games, a retro game store in the St. Louis area. Trade-N-Games is active in the preservation of vintage kiosks and produced a great video about it, complete with closeups of the unit and even a look at the instructions for building it. So far, these two units are the only ones confirmed to still exist.
Curt Vendel of the Atari History Museum built a convincing replica of the Odyssey Game Center and has been displaying it at the Classic Gaming Expo and other shows. Plans for building your own replica can be found on his web site.