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Government of Guam
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The Government of Guam (GovGuam[1]) is a presidential representative democratic system, whereby the President is the head of state and the Governor is head of government, and of a multi-party system. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs.
Contents
[hide]
1 Executive branch
2 Legislative branch
2.1 Members of the 34th Guam Legislature [2]
3 Judicial branch
3.1 Federal Courts (U.S. Government)
3.2 Judiciary of Guam (Territorial Courts)
3.2.1 The Supreme Court of Guam
3.2.2 The Superior Court of Guam
4 International organization participation
5 Government agencies
6 See also
7 References
Executive branch[edit]
Main office holders
Office
Name
Party
Since
Governor Eddie Calvo Republican January 2011
Lieutenant Governor Ray Tenorio Republican January 2011
The governor and lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms. The current Governor of Guam is Eddie Baza Calvo. The current Lt. Governor of Guam is Raymond Tenorio. The next gubenatorial election on Guam is on November 2018. (The current governor is barred from re-election due to term limits.)
Legislative branch[edit]
The Guam Legislature, I Liheslaturan Guåhan, is a unicameral body consisting of 15 senators. Senators are elected at-large to serve two-year terms without term limits.
The current 34th Guam Legislature (2016–present) has a 9-6 Democratic majority led by Speaker Benjamin Cruz.
Members of the 34th Guam Legislature [2][edit]
Name
Party Affiliation
Votes Received
Frank B. Aguon Jr. Democratic 21,070
Michael F.Q. San Nicolas Democratic 19,686
Therese M. Terlaje Democratic 19,681
Dennis G. Rodriguez Jr. Democratic 17,600
Telena C. Nelson Democratic 16,922
William M. Castro Republican 15,599
James V. Espaldon Republican 14,998
Regine Biscoe Lee Democratic 14,864
Mary Camacho Torres Republican 14,792
Benjamin J.F. Cruz Democratic 14,436
Louise B. Muna Republican 13,666
Thomas A. Morrison Republican 13,634
Thomas C. Ada Democratic 13,053
Fernando B. Esteves Republican 12,982
Joe S. San Agustin Democratic 12,532
Judicial branch[edit]
On August 1, 1950, President Truman signed into law the Guam Organic Act of 1950 which gave Guamanians certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The people of Guam were afforded the opportunity to set and administer policy and laws for the island of Guam. Included in this was the Judicial Branch of the Government of Guam.
In 1950 as part of the Judiciary Act, a judiciary reorganization bill was prepared to strengthen the island court system. Judge Albert B. Maris, then Chairman of the United States Judicial Conference, Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and Chief Judge of the Emergency Court of Appeals, came to Guam to assist in the review of the court system and the preparation of the judiciary bill. He was assisted by Attorney John Bohn in the development of an act that vested in the District Court of Guam territorial jurisdiction in civil cases having a value of more than $2,000 and, in criminal cases, jurisdiction over all felonies.
Known as Public Law 17, the "Judiciary Act" abolished the Justice Court, the Traffic Branch of the Police Court, and the Court of Appeals. The duties of the latter were assumed by the District Court. Before the Act, the court system consisted of the Court of Appeals, the Island Court and the Police Court. The reorganization reduced the number of courts to the District Court of Guam, the Island Court, the Police Court and the Commissioners Court.
The Judiciary Act gave the Island Court of Guam jurisdiction over misdemeanors and civil cases having a value of less than $2,000 and created a Police Court with jurisdiction over misdemeanor cases in which the maximum penalty did not exceed a fine of $100 or imprisonment of six months, or both.
The Act also created a Commissioner’s Court to be presided over by the commissioner of each municipality to deal with petty offenses for which the maximum punishment did not exceed $5. The law also defined the powers, qualifications, and disqualifications of judges and referees and specified the duties of court clerks, reporters, marshals, the attorney general, and the island attorney or prosecuting attorney. It provided requisites for admission to the practice of law and for a probation system.
After 1950, the District Court of Guam, which had the same jurisdiction as a District Court in the US over federal questions, was established. For the first time, the judiciary in Guam, exercised its powers independent of the executive branch. However, a dual judicial structure began—the District Court with responsibility both for federal and local cases, and the Island Court established by the Guam Legislature with responsibility strictly for local cases.
In 1974, Public Law 12-85, the Court Reorganization Act would substantially alter the judicial jurisdiction of the local island court and rename it the Superior Court of Guam. The Superior Court was given jurisdiction over all cases arising out of Guam laws. The District Court retained its appellate function. Under the act establishing the Superior Court of Guam, the title of senior judge was changed to Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. Chief Judge of the Island Court Joaquin Perez became Guam’s first Presiding Judge.
In 1973, Guam's leaders made their first attempt at creating a Guam Supreme Court but the Court's existence was short lived.
A 1977 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court--Territory of Guam v. Olsen, 431 U.S. 195—found Guam's Supreme Court to be inorganic. In Olsen, the Court held that Guam's Organic Act did not authorize the transfer of appellate jurisdiction from the appellate division of the District Court of Guam to a locally established appellate court.
In response to Guam v. Olsen, Congress passed the 1984 Omnibus Territories Act. The Act amended Guam's Organic Act allowing the Guam Legislature to create an appellate court to hear all cases in Guam over which any court established by the Constitution and laws of the United States does not have exclusive jurisdiction, with the provision that for the first 15 years after establishment that of that court, the 9th Circuit Court would still maintain judicial overview in the appeals process. In all other aspects, the appeals process would be the same as each state. The Act, however, did not provide a structure for a newly created judicial system once the appellate court was established. Nor did the Act mention that the responsibility should be left to the Guam Legislature.
In 1992, the 21st Guam Legislature unanimously passed Public Law 21-147, the Frank G. Lujan Memorial Court Reorganization Act. The Act reestablished the Supreme Court of Guam to serve as the highest appellate court on the island. The author of the Frank G. Lujan Memorial Court Reorganization Act stated, in testimony submitted to the Committee in 1997, that it was the intent of the Guam Legislature to make the Supreme Court of Guam the highest local court and be vested with those powers traditionally held and exercised by the highest court of a jurisdiction.
In authorizing the creation of a Guam Supreme Court however, the U.S. Congress had unintentionally left the newly created court subordinate to Guam's other two branches of government. Guam's executive and legislative branches were established in the Organic Act, which in lieu of an adopted constitution serves to provide the framework and powers for the island's executive and legislative branches. Because the judiciary was established in Guam law, some theorized that the judiciary was therefore subject to changes based upon shifts in the majority control of Guam's legislature. In March 1996, hours after the first Justices of the Supreme Court of Guam were confirmed, the 23rd Guam Legislature passed Bill 404, which removed certain inherent powers from the Supreme Court. A second bill, Bill 494, aimed to strip the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court over all lower courts. That bill was debated, but tabled by the Legislative Committee on the Judiciary. Eight months later, the Legislature attached the contents of the shelved Bill 494 as a "midnight" rider to Bill 776. The legislation passed, but was vetoed by the Governor. An override attempt failed by only a slim margin.
After years of lobbying to confirm the status of the Supreme Court of Guam as the ultimate court of appeals for the island, on October 30, 2004, H.R. 2400 (Public Law No. 108-378) became federal law. It amended the Organic Act of Guam to revise the local judicial structure of Guam to vest judicial authority, not only in the District Court of Guam, but also in "a unified judicial system composed of: (1) an appellate court designated as the "Supreme Court of Guam"; (2) a trial court designated as the "Superior Court of Guam"; and (3) such other lower local courts as may have been or may hereafter be established by the laws of Guam."
Further, Public Law No. 108-378 authorized the Supreme Court of Guam to create divisions of the Superior Court and other local courts of Guam, and stated that the Supreme Court of Guam "shall be the highest court of the judicial branch of Guam (excluding the District Court of Guam) and shall: (1) have original jurisdiction over proceedings necessary to protect its appellate jurisdiction and supervisory authority and such other original jurisdiction as the laws of Guam may provide; (2) have jurisdiction to hear appeals over any cause in Guam decided by the Superior Court of Guam or other courts established under the laws of Guam; (3) have jurisdiction to issue all orders and writs in aid of its appellate, supervisory, and original jurisdiction, including those orders necessary for the supervision of the judicial branch of Guam; (4) have supervisory jurisdiction over the Superior Court of Guam and all other courts of the judicial branch of Guam; (5) hear and determine appeals by a panel of three of the justices of the Supreme Court of Guam and a concurrence of two such justices shall be necessary to a decision of the Supreme Court of Guam on the merits of an appeal; (6) make and promulgate rules governing the administration of the judiciary and court practice and procedure, including appeal en banc procedures; and (7) govern attorney and judicial ethics and the practice of law in Guam."
In January 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a Supreme Court of Guam decision to invalidate a Guam law, based upon a claim the Governor of Guam pocket-vetoed the enacting legislation. This decision allowed the Supreme Court to reestablish itself, administratively, as the highest court within the Judiciary. A Unified Judiciary Committee, composed of the Chief Justice of Guam, two Supreme Court Associate Justices, the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, one Judge of the Superior Court, the Administrator of the Supreme Court, and the Administrator of the Superior Court, has since been established by the Supreme Court of Guam.
On March 15, 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a case brought by Attorney General Douglas Moylan against Governor Felix Camacho on the basis of its lack of jurisdiction, confirming for the first time that the Ninth Circuit no longer would review the Supreme Court of Guam's decisions. This was the final transition of the Supreme Court of Guam from its probationary status under the original permissive federal legislation, to the equal of other states' highest courts, since it meant appeals from decisions of the Supreme Court of Guam would be subject to review only if accepted for such by the United States Supreme Court.
Federal Courts (U.S. Government)[edit]
The U.S. District Court for the District of Guam is one of three territorial courts within the federal court system. The others are the district courts for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, also located within the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Territory of the Virgin Islands, located within the Third Circuit. Territorial courts exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts, as well as local jurisdiction.
Guam's Federal District Court is housed on the 4th floor of the U.S. Courthouse, 520 West Soledad Avenue, in Hagåtña, Guam. Its lone federal District Court Chief Judge is one of the few Article IV territorial judgeships, appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate to a ten-year term. The current Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Guam is The Hon. Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood, the first female Chamorro federal judge for the United States.
Other former district judges include:
The Hon. Paul D. Shriver (1946–1956, first Chief Judge of the District Court of Guam; 1961–1970)
The Hon. Eugene Gilmartin (1956–1961, died in office and was replaced by Judge Shriver, who rejoined the bench)
The Hon. Cristobal C. Duenas (1970–1990, first Guamanian to serve on the federal bench)
The Hon. John S. Unpingco (1992–2002)
The district also seats one federal Magistrate, currently the Hon. Joaquin V.E. Manibusan, Jr.
Judiciary of Guam (Territorial Courts)[edit]
The Judiciary of Guam is housed in the Guam Judicial Center at 120 West O'Brien Drive in Hagåtña. The Supreme Court is located on the 3rd floor, and convenes for appeals and hearing in the Monessa G. Lujan Memorial Courtroom, while the Superior Court is located on the 1st and 2nd floors and convenes in various trial courtrooms. The main court clerks' office for each body is located on the same floor.
The Supreme Court of Guam[edit]
The Supreme Court of Guam is the highest judicial body of the Government of Guam. The Court hears all appeals from the Superior Court of Guam and is subject to original jurisdiction only in cases where a certified question is submitted to it by a U.S. federal court, the Governor of Guam, or the Guam Legislature. The Supreme Court of Guam is the final judicial authority on local matters, and an appeal of its decisions can only be heard by the Supreme Court of the United States.
The Court is composed of three justices who are appointed by the Governor of Guam and confirmed by the Guam Legislature. Justices serve for life, subject to a retention election every ten years after his/her appointment. The three justices preside over cases brought before them, and they all sit on the Judicial Council of Guam, which is ultimately in charge of the administration of the Guam Judiciary.
The current Justices of the Supreme Court of Guam are:
The Hon. Katherine A. Maraman, Chief Justice
appointed by Governor Felix P. Camacho
sworn in as an Associate Justice on February 21, 2009
elected Chief Justice on January 17, 2017, being the first woman to hold the position. She will be serving a three-year term.
The Hon. Robert J. Torres, Jr., Associate Justice
appointed by Governor Felix P. Camacho
sworn in as an Associate Justice on January 16, 2004
elected Chief Justice on January 15, 2008 and served a six-year term.
re-elected Chief Justice on January 21, 2014 on January 21, 2014 and served a three-year term.
The Hon. F. Philip Carbullido, Associate Justice
appointed by Governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez
sworn in as an Associate Justice on October 27, 2000
elected Chief Justice on 22 January 03 to serve the unexpired term of former Chief Justice Peter C. Siguenza
reelected Chief Justice on 23 January 04 to serve a three-year term

Retired Justices include:
The Hon. Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood (current Chief Judge of the District Court of Guam)
The Hon. Peter Charles Siguenza, Jr.
The Hon. Benjamin J.F. Cruz (current Speaker of the I Lehislaturan Guahan)
The Hon. Janet Healy Weeks
The Hon. Richard H. Benson
The Hon. Monessa G. Lujan (deceased)
The Clerk of the Supreme Court, who receives all appeals and filings to that body, is Hanah Gutierrez.
The Superior Court of Guam[edit]
Judges of the Superior Court are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Legislature for a term of eight years. If they wish to continue in office, their names are placed on the ballot at a general election. They must garner at least 50 percent plus one favorable vote of the number of cast ballots to remain in office. Judge Richard Benson and Judge Joaquin E. Manibusan were the first to be placed on a ballot. They both received the overwhelming approval of the voters.
The Superior Court is a court of general jurisdiction, and its seven judges preside over criminal, civil, juvenile, probate, small claims, traffic and child support cases brought before them. The hearing officer generally does not preside over all of these subjects, but is utilized predominantly in small claims, family, and traffic matters. In December 2005, the Adult and Juvenile Drug Courts were recognized as courts of record of the Judiciary of Guam. These programs are examples of "therapeutic justice" which focuses on rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into society. Judges are assigned to cases on a rotating basis, though one is rotated into assignment as designated Drug Court judge exclusively for a specified period (currently yearly). The Presiding Judge's additional responsibility is primarily procedural and administrative concerns, though formerly the "PJ," as the position is commonly referred to, assigned cases to the various judges.
The current Judges of the Superior Court of Guam are:
The Hon. Alberto C. Lamorena III (Presiding Judge)
The Hon. James L. Canto II
The Hon. Maria T. Cenzon
The Hon. Michael J. Bordallo
The Hon. Vernon P. Perez
The Hon. Anita A. Sukola
The Hon. Arthur R. Barcinas
Former Judges include:
The Hon. Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson
The Hon. Joaquin C. Perez (Guam’s first Presiding Judge)
The Hon. Vicente C. Reyes (Guam's first island attorney)
The Hon. Joaquin V.E. Manibusan
The Hon. Paul J. Abbate, Jr. (Presiding Judge)
The Hon. Janet Healy-Weeks (Elevated to Guam Supreme Court)
The Hon. John Raker
The Hon. Richard Benson
The Hon. Judge Ramon Diaz
The Hon. Peter C. Siguenza, Jr. (Elevated to Guam Supreme Court)
The Hon. Benjamin J. Cruz. (Elevated to Guam Supreme Court)
The Hon. Frances Marie Tydingco-Gatewood (Elevated to Guam Supreme Court. Appointed Chief Judge for Guam/CNMI Federal District Court)
The Hon. Joaquin V.E. Manibusan Jr. (Appointed Magistrate for Guam/CNMI Federal District Court)
The Hon. Katherine A. Maraman
The Hon. Steven S. Unpingco
The current Administrative Hearing Officer of the Superior Court is Linda L. Ingles.
The Courts and Ministerial Division of the Superior Court, is the first point of contact for people seeking the services of the courts of justice, as this division accepts the filing of all legal pleadings, and is responsible for processing and distributing these documents appropriately. This division is also responsible for providing court clearances. The current Clerk of the Superior Court is Danielle T. Rosete.
Unified Courts of Guam Retrieved June 12, 2006.
District Court of Guam Retrieved June 12, 2006.
United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit Public Information Office (April 26, 2006). "Guam Supreme Court Justice Nominated for Federal Judgeship." Press release.
Guam Organic Act Amendment, per THOMAS (Library of Congress reports)
International organization participation[edit]
Guam is affiliated to the ESCAP (associate), Interpol (sub-bureau), IOC, and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)..
Government agencies[edit]
Guam Department of Agriculture
Guam Environmental Protection Agency
Guam Police Department
Guam Power Authority
Guam Department of Chamorro Affairs
Guam Department of Corrections
Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services
Guam Department of Land Management
Guam Department of Education
Guam Department of Youth Affairs
Guam Public Library
Guam Department of Parks and Recreation
Guam Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Commissions:
Chamorro Land Trust Commission
Guam Ancestral Lands Commission
Guam Election Commission
See also[edit]
Micronesia portal
Politics of Guam
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "About DMHSA." Guam Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Retrieved on October 21, 2010. "[...]DMHSA become a recognized Department of GovGuam."
Jump up ^ https://gec.guam.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2016-ge-unofficial-summary-group1.html
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Magnavox Odyssey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Magnavox Odyssey
Manufacturer
Magnavox
Type
Home video game console
Generation
First generation
Release date
NA: September 1972
EU: 1973
Retail availability
1972–1975
Introductory price
US$99 (equivalent to about $579 in 2017)
Discontinued
1975
Units sold
350,000
Controller input
Two paddles
Successor
Magnavox Odyssey²
The Magnavox Odyssey is the first commercial home video game console. It was developed by a small team led by Ralph H. Baer at Sanders Associates and released by Magnavox in the United States in September 1972 and overseas the following year. The Odyssey consists of a white, black, and brown box which connects to a television set and two rectangular controllers attached by wires. It is capable of displaying three square dots on the screen in monochrome black and white, with differing behavior for the dots depending on the game played, and with no sound capabilities. Players place plastic overlays on the screen to create visuals, and the one or two players for each game control their dots with the three knobs and one button on the controller in accordance with the rules given for the game. The Odyssey console came packaged with dice, paper money, and other board game paraphernalia to go along with the games, and a peripheral controller—the first video game light gun—was sold separately.
The idea for a video game console was thought up by Baer in August 1966, and over the next three years he, along with Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch, created seven successive prototype consoles. The seventh, known as the Brown Box, was shown to several manufacturers before Magnavox agreed to produce it in January 1971. After releasing the console in September 1972 through their dealerships, Magnavox sold between 69,000 and 100,000 units by the end of the year, and 350,000 by the time the console was discontinued in 1975. The console spawned the Magnavox Odyssey series of dedicated consoles, as well as the 1978 Magnavox Odyssey². One of the 28 games made for the system, a ping pong game, was an inspiration for Atari's successful Pong arcade game, in turn driving sales of the console. Baer's patents for the system and the games, including what was termed by a judge as "the pioneering patent of the video game art", formed the basis of a series of lawsuits spanning 20 years, earning Sanders and Magnavox over US$100 million. The release of the Odyssey marked the end of the early history of video games, and the rise of the commercial video game industry along with the start of the first generation of video game consoles.
Contents
[hide]
1 Design
2 Development
3 Reception
4 Legacy
4.1 Lawsuits
5 List of games
6 References
6.1 Sources
7 External links
Design[edit]
An Odyssey controller
The Odyssey consists of a black, white, and brown oblong box connected by wires to two rectangular controllers. The primary console box connects to the television set through an included switchbox, which allows the player to switch the television input between the Odyssey and the regular television input cable, and presents itself like a television channel. The controllers, which are designed to sit on a flat surface, contain one button marked Reset on the top of the controller and three knobs: one on the right side of the controller, and two on the left with one extending from the other. The reset button does not reset the game, but instead is used by different games to reset individual elements, such as making a player's dot visible after it is turned off during a game. The system can be powered by six C batteries, which were included. An optional AC power supply was sold separately. The Odyssey lacks sound capability and can only display monochrome white shapes on a blank black screen.[1]
Internally, the Odyssey architecture is composed of digital computing parts. The circuitry is implemented in diode–transistor logic using discrete transistors and diodes, rather than the newly emerging transistor–transistor logic integrated circuits, due to cost concerns. The games themselves do not use cartridges like later consoles, but instead use "game cards" composed of printed circuit boards that plug into the console. These cards modify the internal circuitry like a set of switches or jumpers, causing the Odyssey to display different components and react to inputs differently. Multiple games use the same cards, with different instructions given to the player to change the style of game.[2]
Plastic television overlays
The Odyssey is capable of displaying three square dots and a vertical line on the screen. Two of the dots are controlled by the two players, and the third by the system itself. The main console has two dials, one of which moves the vertical line across the screen, and one which adjusts the speed of the computer-controlled dot. Different games direct the player to adjust the dials to different positions, for example to change the center line of a tennis game into the side wall of a handball game. The games include plastic overlays which stick to the television via static cling, to create visuals for the game. Different games that use the same game card can have different overlays, which can change a game with the same controls from, for example, a mountain ski path to a movement-based Simon Says game.[2]
In addition to the overlays, the Odyssey came with dice, poker chips, score sheets, play money, and game boards much like a traditional board game.[3] One peripheral controller was released for the Odyssey, the first video game light gun. Named the Shooting Gallery, the rifle-shaped device registered a hit when pointed at a light source such as a dot on the television screen.[1] Four shooting-based games were included with the light gun.[2]
Development[edit]
In 1951, while working for military contractor Loral Electronics, engineer Ralph H. Baer was assigned to build a television set; while doing so, Baer claims he had the idea to build something into a television set that the owner could control, rather than only hooking it up to a remote television station. Baer did not pursue the idea, but it returned to him in August 1966 while waiting for a bus. Baer, then the head of the Equipment Design Division at military contractor Sanders Associates, came up with the concept of using a television to play games, and the next morning wrote up a four-page proposal for a US$20 "game box" that would plug into a television screen and play games on it.[4][5] While the commercial video game industry did not yet exist at that point, the very first electronic computer games had been developed at the start of the 1950s, and by 1966 several early mainframe games had been developed for mainframe computers, which were typically only found in large academic or research institutions.[4][6] In the proposal, Baer began by referring to the project using military terminology, but by the time he finished it he was referring to it as Channel LP, short for "let's play".[4] The proposed device would transmit a signal that the television set could tune into as if it were a television channel, and Baer described several games that could be played on it.[7]
As Channel LP had little to do with the typical military contracts Sanders worked on, rather than bring the idea to his bosses Baer instead commandeered an empty room and assigned one of his technicians, Bob Tremblay, to work on it with him.[5][7] By December 1966 an initial prototype later christened "TV Game #1" was completed, which could display and move a vertical line on a television screen. Baer demonstrated the prototype to the Sanders director of research and development, Herbert Campman, who hesitantly agreed to fund it for US$2,000 of labor and US$500 for materials, making it an official project.[7]
The "Brown Box" prototype
Baer spent the next few months designing further prototypes, and in February 1967 assigned technician Bill Harrison to begin building the project. Harrison spent the next few months in between other projects building out successive modifications to the prototype. Baer, meanwhile, collaborated with engineer Bill Rusch on the design of the console, including developing the basis of many games for the system. The first game was developed by May, a two-player game where the players repeatedly press a button in competition to fill or empty a bucket of water, and by June multiple games were completed for what was then a second prototype box.[7] These included a game where players controlled dots chasing each other and a light gun shooter game with a plastic rifle. Baer demonstrated the new prototype to Campman, who enjoyed the shooting game, increased funding, and recommended Baer demonstrate the project to senior management.[4][7] Baer demonstrated the console to the board, who were largely uninterested, though a couple members were enthusiastic; nevertheless, CEO Royden Sanders authorized the project to be continued with the aim of selling or licensing the console as a commercial product.[4][5][7]
By August 1967, Baer and Harrison had completed a third prototype machine, but had found that to even come near to Baer's initial aim of a US$20 or $25 console would require so much to be excluded that the resulting console would not be very enjoyable. Baer additionally felt that he was not proving successful at designing fun games for the system; to make up for this he formally added Bill Rusch, who had helped him come up with the initial games for the console, to the project.[2] Though the pair found Rusch difficult to work with, he soon proved his value to the team by coming up with a way to display three spots on the screen at once rather than the previous two, and proposing the development of a ping pong game.[2][4] By November the team, now on their fourth prototype machine, had a ping pong game, a chasing game, a light gun game, and three types of controllers: joysticks for the chase game, a rifle for the light gun game, and a three dial controller for the ping pong game. Campman felt that the system was advanced enough to begin trying to find a manufacturer to buy it; they had decided to aim for selling the rights to produce the console, as Sanders was not in the business of making and selling commercial electronics.[2]
The Odyssey was packaged with board game accessories like dice and play money, as well as game cards.
The team first approached the cable television industry, and the prototype attracted the attention of TelePrompter Corporation, who had seen it during a visit. After a few months of talks, cash-flow problems forced TelePrompter to back out in April 1968.[4] The same economic downturn that caused TelePrompter's problems caused financial difficulties at Sanders as well, which put the project on hold after the fifth prototype was developed while simultaneously undergoing large-scale layoffs. It was picked up again in September, this time without Rusch, and went through two more iterations resulting in January 1969 in the seventh prototype, known as the "Brown Box" due to the wood-grain stickers on the casing.[2] With the system now largely complete, Baer and Harrison were unsure who to approach to sell it until a Sanders patent attorney recommended contacting television manufacturers. Baer demonstrated the system to several companies, who all expressed enthusiasm; only RCA was willing to purchase the device, however, and an agreement could not be reached. Soon afterwards, though, RCA executive Bill Enders left RCA for Magnavox and convinced them to look at the console again. The three creators of the Brown Box again demonstrated the device to Magnavox in July 1969; they received a tepid reaction from most of the executives, but Vice President of Marketing Gerry Martin was in favor and Magnavox agreed to produce the console. After a long period of negotiations the two companies finally signed an agreement in January 1971.[8][9]
Magnavox designed the exterior of the machine, and re-engineered some the internals with some consultation from Baer and Harrison; they removed the ability to display color, used only the three dial controller, and changed the system of selecting games from a dial to separate game cards that modified the console's circuitry when plugged into the console.[2] At the time, color televisions were still seen as a luxury item, and the ability to show color would have added additional expense and time spent dealing with FCC testing and regulations.[10] The internal circuitry had been designed with discrete components rather than integrated circuits due to cost concerns; these concerns were no longer valid by 1971, but Magnavox did not have enough time to redesign every internal component of the machine prior to the planned production start date.[11] Magnavox named the console first as the Skill-O-Vision while testing, and then released it as the Odyssey.[8] The rifle game was turned into a separately sold add-on game, Shooting Gallery, and Magnavox added paper money, playing cards, and poker chips to the console, to go along with the plastic overlays for the games that enhanced the primitive visuals. The new additions helped raise the price of the console to US$99.99. Baer was upset with the board game additions, which he felt were pointless add-ons that would go unused by players. Magnavox announced the system's launch date of September 1972, and demonstrated it for months prior to Magnavox dealerships and media.[8][12]
Reception[edit]
The Magnavox Odyssey at the 2010 Festival du Jeu Vidéo
Magnavox began advertising Odyssey in mid-September 1972, including an appearance on the game show What's My Line? on October 16, 1972. As neither Pong nor the term "video game" existed, the company described the console as "the new electronic game of the future" and "closed-circuit electronic playground".[13] After ordering 50,000 units, prior to release Magnavox increased its production capabilities and built a larger inventory, as market testing found an enthusiastic response to the console. The Odyssey was sold only through Magnavox dealers; the company hoped that as the first such product, consumers would visit its stores. The device retailed for US$99.99, or US$50 when purchased with a Magnavox television.[2][13]
There are conflicting reports between Baer and Magnavox employees as to whether Magnavox produced 120,000 or 140,000 consoles in 1972; additionally, Odyssey product manager Bob Fritsche recalled selling 69,000 units that year, while Baer recalled sales being closer to 100,000.[2][14] Baer stated that he felt the low initial sales were due to the high price—US$100 being the equivalent of US$587 in 2017—and because of Magnavox restricting sales to its dealerships and implying that the device only worked with Magnavox televisions.[2][12] Other sources have stated that dealers misled customers to sell more televisions, though advertisements explicitly stated that it worked with any set. Customers unfamiliar with the new device may have misunderstood Odyssey's interoperability.[13][15]
Magnavox assistant product planner Don Emry said that the sales were in line with the original projections, if not with the production run.[2] According to Baer, after the initial holiday season Magnavox considered dropping the console, but the modest continuing demand the following year convinced them to manufacture an additional 27,000 units for the 1973 holiday season, selling 20,000 of them. The console was also released in 12 other countries: Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Soviet Union, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela, with different games.[2][14] In late 1973 Magnavox ran a large advertising campaign for all of its 1974 products, including sponsoring Frank Sinatra's November television special Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.[16][17] Commercials during the special and advertisements for it showed the Odyssey and other Magnavox products.[13] The company sold 129,000 Odyssey units in 1974, or 150,000 according to Baer. Magnavox discontinued the console after 1975; according to Baer it sold 350,000 units in total worldwide, though statements by Fritsche indicate it may have been higher.[2][14] The light gun peripheral sold 20,000 units.[1]
Legacy[edit]
Ralph Baer being given the National Medal of Technology in February 2006.
As the Odyssey was discontinued Magnavox released the first successive dedicated consoles—consoles that could only play games built into the system—in the Magnavox Odyssey series, the Odyssey 100 and Odyssey 200, as part of the first generation of video game consoles; the Odyssey 100 was only capable of playing the ping pong and hockey games from the original Odyssey.[15] Eleven dedicated Odyssey consoles were produced before a true follow-up console in 1978, the Magnavox Odyssey².[2]
While it showed the potential of video game consoles and marked the end of the early history of video games and the beginning of the commercial video game industry, the Odyssey is not generally considered a major commercial success. Magnavox produced no more games for the console after 1973 and rejected Baer's proposals for an add-on that would add sound to games, a putting controller and associated golf game, and console variants that would have been cheaper or supported up to four players.[2][18] While a few clone systems were produced in limited quantities, and multiple dedicated systems—generally focused on ping pong game variants—were created by several companies, no other true home video consoles were produced until the 1976 Fairchild Semiconductor Channel F.[2]
In 2004 Ralph Baer was awarded the National Medal of Technology for "his groundbreaking and pioneering creation, development and commercialization of interactive video games, which spawned related uses, applications, and mega-industries in both the entertainment and education realms".[19] In June 2013, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) added the Magnavox Odyssey to its permanent collection of video games. MoMA's Paul Galloway described the console as "a masterpiece of engineering and industrial design" and stated that it was "hard to overstate the importance of [Ralph Baer's] place in the birth of the industry".[20] The Brown Box prototype and the TV Game #1 prototype are located at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C..[21]
Lawsuits[edit]
Patent drawing for the Magnavox Odyssey[22]
In May 1972, Nutting Associates chief engineer Nolan Bushnell, designer of the first commercial arcade video game, Computer Space, saw a demonstration of the Odyssey at a dealership.[8][11] Inspired, when he quit Nutting to start his own company, Atari, he assigned Allan Alcorn to create a cheap ping pong arcade game as a training exercise, though he did not tell Alcorn that it was for training nor that the idea was based on the Odyssey Table Tennis game. Alcorn soon developed Pong, which Bushnell recognized as a potential hit, and it became the company's first game. Pong was very successful, and in turn helped drive sales of the Odyssey; Baer once noted that customers bought the console because of Table Tennis, in turn because of Pong, and joked that they may as well have stopped designing games after that game card. In 1974, however, Magnavox sued Atari along with several competitors including Nutting, Allied Leisure, Bally Midway, and Williams Electronics for infringing on Baer's patents for video games played on a television screen.[8] Baer has stated that the lawsuits were not filed right away because Magnavox and Sanders needed to wait until they could expect to be awarded more money than it would cost to pursue the suits.[18] The root of the conflict was a pair of patents by Baer—one which described how the Odyssey showed player-controlled objects, or dots, on a video monitor and described a number of games that could be played with the system, and an earlier one that went into detail about how the Odyssey used that system to have two dots collide with each other and have one bounce off, specifically using a game of ping pong as an example.[22][23]
The judge ruled that Baer's more general patent for the Odyssey constituted "the pioneering patent of the video game art", and held the defendants' games as infringing the patents. Atari settled early on in the court case with Magnavox, and in return were granted a license in exchange for US$1.5 million and access granted to Magnavox to all technology produced by Atari from June 1976 to June 1977, while the other defendants paid higher penalties.[8][14][24] Over the next twenty years Sanders and Magnavox sued several other companies over the issue, focusing on "paddle-and-ball" type games like Pong and Table Tennis that were more clearly related to the ping pong game patent; the final lawsuits ended in the mid 1990s.[5][18] Defendants included Coleco, Mattel, Seeburg, and Activision; Sanders and Magnavox won or settled every lawsuit.[5][25][26] Many of the defendants unsuccessfully attempted to claim that the patents only applied to the specific hardware implementations that Baer had used, or that they were invalidated by prior computer or electronic games.[27] In 1985, Nintendo sued and tried to invalidate Baer's patents, claiming as prior art the 1958 Tennis for Two game built by William Higinbotham. The court, however, ruled that the oscilloscope-based game did not use video signals and therefore did not qualify as a video game, and ruled again in favor of Magnavox and Sanders.[1] Magnavox won more than US$100 million in the various patent lawsuits and settlements involving the Odyssey related patents.[28] In addition, they had a large number of licensees of patents, with over one hundred already by the mid 1970s.[11]
List of games[edit]
A total of 28 games distributed on 11 different game cards were released for the Magnavox Odyssey. 13 games were included with the console—a set of 12 in America and a different set of 10 in other countries—with 6 others available for purchase either individually for US$5.49 or in a pack for US$24.99; the additional games primarily used the same game cards with different screen overlays and instructions. Another game, Percepts, was available for free to players that sent in a survey card. A light gun accessory, Shooting Gallery, was available for purchase, and included four games on two cards that used the rifle. A final four games were released for sale in 1973, designed wholly or in part by Don Emry.[2] The games do not enforce game rules or keep track of score; that is left up to the players.[9]
Title[2]
Game card
Description
US version
International version
Table Tennis 1 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; does not use an overlay Included with console Included with console
Ski 2 One player moves a dot representing a skier back and forth as they go down a mountain path; players must keep track of their own time and penalties Included with console Included with console
Simon Says 2 A three player game where two players must race to touch the body part of their chosen character's picture when the third player tells them to, based on a deck of Simon Says cards Included with console Included with console
Tennis 3 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; uses an overlay of a tennis court and players are intended to follow the rules of tennis Included with console Included with console
Analogic 3 A math game where players can move to either squares depicted on the overlay based on if the number on the square is even or odd and is the sum of the other player's move and another number Included with console Included with console
Hockey 3 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; uses an overlay of a hockey rink and players score only if the puck reaches the opponent's goal on the overlay Included with console Included with console
Football 3, 4 Two players use a combination of on-screen movement, dice, and play cards to simulate a game of football; kickoff, passing, and punting plays use Card #3, while running plays use Card #4 Included with console N/A
Cat and Mouse 4 A two player chase game played on a grid, with the mouse attempting to return to its house before the cat catches it Included with console Sold separately
Haunted House 4 A two player chase game played on a haunted house overlay, with the detective trying to collect all of the clue cards without being caught by the ghost Included with console Sold separately
Submarine 5 A target shooting game, with one player moving a submarine along shipping lanes and the other player using their spot as a torpedo Included with console Included with console
Roulette 6 A game of chance where players bet with chips, and randomly spin their controller dial to launch a spot at a roulette wheel overlay Included with console Sold separately
States 6 An educational game played with an overlay of the United States and a deck of fifty trivia cards with questions about each state Included with console N/A
Fun Zoo 2 A racing game using an overlay of a zoo, with a third player drawing animal cards for the players to race to Sold separately N/A
Baseball 3 Two players use a combination of on-screen movement, dice, and play cards to simulate a game of baseball Sold separately N/A
Invasion 4, 5, 6 A combination of strategic moves made on a separate game board and tactical combat resolved on the screen; different assaults use different cards Sold separately N/A
Wipeout 5 A racing game using both a track overlay and a game board; the game board keeps track of laps and the second player's dot along with the ball dot keeps time Sold separately Included with console
Volleyball 7 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; uses an overlay of a volleyball court, and players must knock the ball over the net for scores to count Sold separately Included with console
Soccer 8 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; uses an overlay of a soccer court and players score only if the ball reaches the opponent's goal on the overlay N/A Included with console
Handball 8 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; uses an overlay of a handball court, and players are both on the same side of the screen with a wall on the other side Sold separately N/A
Prehistoric Safari 9 One player sets their dot on overlays of prehistoric animals, while the other player attempts to shoot the dot with the light gun in as few shots as possible Sold with light gun Sold with light gun
Dogfight! 9 One player moves their dot along a flight path on the overlay, while the other player attempts to shoot it with the light gun Sold with light gun Sold with light gun
Shootout! 9 One player is a bandit in an Old West town, and moves along a path, stopping at windows for the other player to try to shoot with the light gun Sold with light gun Sold with light gun
Shooting Gallery 10 The overlay contains rows of shooting gallery targets, and the player attempts to shoot the computer-controlled dot with the light gun as it moves over them Sold with light gun Sold with light gun
Percepts 2 A racing game in which the overlay has squares containing patterns and symbols on them; players race to the correct square when the corresponding card is drawn from a deck Free with survey N/A
Brain Wave 3 A complicated strategy game using cards and dice Sold separately (1973) N/A
W.I.N. 4 Players move their dot to symbols on the overlay to fill out their "Win card", while their dot is invisible until the reset button is pressed Sold separately (1973) N/A
Basketball 8 Two players use paddles to knock a ball back and forth on a screen; uses an overlay of a basketball court Sold separately (1973) N/A
Interplanetary Voyage 12 The player guides their dot, which has momentum, to planets to complete missions given by cards with a maximum number of moves allowed Sold separately (1973) N/A
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d Langshaw, Mark (2014-12-13). "Magnavox Odyssey retrospective: How console gaming was born". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Smith, Alexander (2015-11-16). "1TL200: A Magnavox Odyssey". They Create Worlds. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
Jump up ^ Knowles, Kitty (2015-03-25). "A history of videogames: the defining moments from Nimrod to now". British GQ. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Replay, pp. 10–13
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Baer, Ralph H. "Genesis: How the Home Video Games Industry Began". Ralph H. Baer Consultants. Archived from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
Jump up ^ Replay, pp. 7–9
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Smith, Alexander (2015-10-30). "The Baer Essentials". They Create Worlds. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Replay, pp. 14–26
^ Jump up to: a b High Score, p. 18
Jump up ^ Atari Inc., p. 147
^ Jump up to: a b c Bub, Andrew; Fulton, Steve (2005-06-07). "The Original GamerDad: Ralph Baer". GamerDad. Archived from the original on 2006-02-13. Retrieved 2006-11-10.
^ Jump up to: a b "The Great Videogame Swindle?". Next Generation. No. 23. Imagine Media. November 1996. pp. 67–68. ISSN 1078-9693.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Willaert, Kate (2018-01-10). "In Search of the First Video Game Commercial". Video Game History Foundation. Archived from the original on 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Baer, Ralph H. "How Video Games Invaded The Home TV Set". Ralph H. Baer Consultants. Archived from the original on 2016-04-24. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
^ Jump up to: a b Before the Crash, pp. 54–59
Jump up ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 1973-12-22. p. 47. ISSN 0006-2510 https://books.google.com/books?id=CgkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47. Missing or empty |title= (help)
Jump up ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 1973-09-29. p. 44. ISSN 0006-2510 https://books.google.com/books?id=AwkEAAAAMBAJ. Missing or empty |title= (help)
^ Jump up to: a b c Jackson, Bebito. "The "Odyssey" of Ralph Baer: Interview w/ the Father of Videogames". Diehard GameFan. Archived from the original on 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
Jump up ^ "The National Medal of Technology and Innovation 2004 Laureates". United States Patent and Trademark Office. 2004. Archived from the original on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
Jump up ^ Campbell, Colin (2013-06-28). "MoMA adds Magnavox Odyssey and six classics to game design exhibit". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
Jump up ^ "The Father of the Video Game: The Ralph Baer Prototypes and Electronic Games". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
^ Jump up to: a b US patent 3728480, Baer, Ralph H., "Television Gaming and Training Apparatus", issued 1973-04-17
Jump up ^ US patent 3659285, Baer, Ralph H.; Rusch, William T. & Harrison, William L., "Television Gaming Apparatus and Method", issued 1972-04-25
Jump up ^ Atari Inc., p. 204
Jump up ^ "Magnavox Patent". The New York Times. 1982-10-08. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
Jump up ^ "Magnavox Settles Its Mattel Suit". The New York Times. 1983-02-16. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
Jump up ^ Before the Crash, pp. 234–237
Jump up ^ Mullis, Steve (2014-12-08). "Inventor Ralph Baer, The 'Father Of Video Games,' Dies At 92". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "TVGE45" is not used in the content (see the help page).
Sources[edit]
DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (December 2003). High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill/Osborne. ISBN 978-0-07-223172-4.
Donovan, Tristan (2010-04-20). Replay: The History of Video Games. Yellow Ant. ISBN 978-0-9565072-0-4.
Goldberg, Marty; Vendel, Curt (2012-11-25). Atari Inc.: Business Is Fun. Syzygy Press. ISBN 978-0-9855974-0-5.
Wolf, Mark J. P. (2012-06-05). Before the Crash: Early Video Game History. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-3450-8.
Wolf, Mark J. P. (2007-11-30). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation and Beyond. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33868-7.
External links[edit]
Media related to Magnavox Odyssey at Wikimedia Commons
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