The Magnavox Odyssey was the world's first commercially available home video game console. It came with paddle controls and a slot for swapping out a printed circuit board that unlocked different games on the system.
When Bushnell started Atari, he felt he could build a better game console.
"It was definitely an inspiration for me because I thought, 'People are having some fun with it,'" he said. "And I thought, 'Boy, that is crappy.'"
Magnavox would later sue Atari for patent infringement over "Pong," claiming the company got the idea from a game on the Odyssey. The case was settled out of court.
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