Ed Averett developed a whopping twenty-four games for Magnavox’s Odyssey2 system. Responsible for roughly half the game library, Ed believed in the Odyssey2 and kept it humming long before Magnavox and parent company Philips saw the light. His creation, KC Munchkin, pitted Magnavox against industry leader Atari in the courts over the fate of maze games resembling Pac-Man.
M T > You generally stay off the radar and rarely grant interviews. How did Old School Gamer Magazine get so lucky?
E A > During the Odyssey years, staying off the radar was very intentional. First, there was just no time, I was locked down 24/7 designing games trying to show the potential of the Odyssey system and video games in general. Those were the days when there were many doubters of the future of video games and computer graphics. Just like today, it’s hard to see how impacting both will be 30 or 40 years into the future.
Second it would not have served Odyssey’s best interest if everyone knew there was only one person working on games for Odyssey2 vs all the game designers at Atari.
I’ve always been a fan of listening to others unless I really have something worthwhile to say. So I’ve done a lot of listening and watching over the last 30+ years.
There is also a classic retro ad of the classic KC Munchkin as part of the interview to show how they promote their product. – Read the rest of this article on page 22 by clicking here!
This is the general editors account for Old School Gamer Magazine. Press releases and other general information sent to Old School Gamer are often posted here.
