Videopac+ G7400 [Philips]

The Philips Videopac+ G7400 has now also joined the collection. The successor to the G7000 was released in Europe in limited quantities in 1983. The device was not released in the UK or the USA, even though it had been planned for the American market as the *Odyssey³ Command Center*—it was even showcased at the 1983 Consumer Electronics Show, and prototypes already existed. Unfortunately, the collapse of the video game industry put an end to all plans; among other things, there had been intentions to launch 50 additional games as well as accessories such as a 300-baud modem, a speech synthesizer, and even a LaserDisc interface.

The console can display three types of games: standard G7000 games, special G7000 games with additional "high-resolution" backgrounds visible only on the G7400, and special G7400 games with "high-resolution" sprites and backgrounds.

Compared to its predecessor, the keyboard has been slightly modified, a power switch has been added, and the joysticks are detachable.

The G7400 was primarily available in Western Europe, with a strong sales focus in France via the local Philips distribution network. Consequently, the console is comparatively rare in Germany today. A technically interesting licensed version was marketed in France by Brandt (Thomson-Brandt) under the name Jo 7400 (better known as "Jopac"); this model featured a slimmer design than the original.

Technical Specifications
CPU: Intel 8048, 5.91 MHz
RAM: 6 KB + 192 bytes
ROM: 1 KB
Display: 320×238×16
Audio: 1 channel, 8 sounds
Input/Output: RF modulator, SCART connector (with RGB), joystick ports, ROM cartridge port

Graphics chips – the key to backward compatibility

The G7400 contains two separate graphics units that together are responsible for the console's unique capabilities:

• Intel 8245 (VDC): Handles the G7000-compatible display (128×64, 16 colors) – ensuring all existing cartridges run.
• Thomson EF9340 + EF9341: These two chips enable the enhanced G7400 graphics, featuring higher resolution and background overlays.

This architecture explains why the G7400 is fully backward-compatible with the G7000 while simultaneously being capable of significantly higher performance.

Games and Compatibility

The first game to take advantage of the enhanced capabilities was *Terrahawks – Videopac 51+* (based on the British TV series by Gerry Anderson); all subsequent cartridges were enhanced for the Videopac+. The games were also compatible with the G7000; due to the limited storage capacity of the cartridges, it was not possible to offer anything more than colorful backgrounds as an enhancement.

There are three exceptions: *Helicopter Rescue* (#59), *Trans American Rally* (#60), and *Norseman* (#56)—all three highly sought-after cartridges and, consequently, the most expensive ones. The first two broke away from the G7000's two-dimensional world, ranking among the first high-resolution, three-dimensional game environments available for game consoles.

Later, the ROM for *Flashpoint* was discovered. *Flashpoint* was planned as a launch title for the American version of the G7400—the Odyssey³. Dieter König made the game available as *Videopac #63*, along with a wooden joystick holder, since the game was designed to be played by a single player using two joysticks simultaneously.

The G7400 manual states that cartridges 5, 30, and 31 do not work with this console. No explanation for this is currently known.

Special modules and accessories

C7420 – Computer Module: This module is compatible only with the G7400. It upgrades the system with a Zilog Z80 processor, additional RAM, and a ROM containing Microsoft BASIC-80—thereby transforming the G7400 into a full-fledged home computer.

Chess Module: Another notable accessory is the chess module, which boosts the processing power of the G7400 (and the G7000) enough to enable it to play chess at a respectable level.

C7441: This cartridge contains #59 Helicopter Rescue and #60 Trans American Rally. Each game has 16 KB of ROM and was therefore too large for the standard C7051 multicart.

C7051 Multicart: For all 2K, 4K, and 8K games.

C7060 Multicart: Also supports 16K games—specifically, VP59 and VP60.

Dragon/CoCo Multicart with Videopac adapter: It may also be possible to use #59 and #60 with this, since two adjacent 8K banks can be combined into 16K.

The notorious on/off switch

The G7400's Achilles' heel is the on/off switch. It is likely defective on 95% of the consoles. 🙂

Here are repair instructions:
http://videopac.nl/forum/index.php?topic=1712.0

Modern availability

Anyone wishing to try out Videopac games today does not need to own the original hardware: the *Videopac Collection Volume 1* has been available on Steam since November 2022. The collection uses the O2EM emulator and includes the enhanced G7400 versions of the games, where available.

Conclusion

Due to the video game market crash, this console unfortunately never achieved widespread recognition. However, for Videopac collectors, it is the better choice compared to the G7000—despite its rather modest power switch—because it is capable of playing the entire library of games. Recently, a number of titles have been released, particularly in the homebrew scene, that take advantage of the G7400's enhanced capabilities.