Ralph Baer, legendary electronics engineer and father of video games, dies at 92

Some may recognize the eclectic inventor Ralph Baer as recipient of the national Medal of Technology and an inductee into the National Investors hall of Fame in 2006. Others may recognize him as the “Father of Video Games,” the inventor who laid down the foundation for the idea of a home video game console. Either way, the man was a legend in electronics engineering and his contributions to technology cannot be disputed, but now, his 92-year journey finally came to an end on December 6, 2014.

Baer co-developed the very first video game console, originally known as the Brown Box, but later licensed and sold in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey, as well as the precursor and inspiration for Atari’s Pong. 

The story began in 1966 when color television and low-cost electronic components were becoming widely available, with as many as 40 million units spread across American living rooms. Baer, then a chief engineer for the defense contractor Sanders Associates, envisioned a device that would allow users to interact with their television sets and control an object on screen. 

The “game box,” as it was named, was conceived as an entertainment device that would bring the family together by transforming a traditionally passive form of entertainment (television) into an interactive form of gaming. At the time, this was virtually unprecedented and garnered heaping media attention. Television manufacturer Magnavox jumped at the opportunity and funded Baer’s “game box” home console project and the games that would accompany it, such as Tablet Tennis.

In truth, the Odyssey console was relatively basic, even for its time. The console was battery powered, could not output sound, lacked a built-in scoring system, and forced users to manually keep track of points themselves on themed score cards. Roulette, a later title, even used paper notes and dice. Essentially, many of the games were board games with novel television elements. There was plenty of room for innovation, but unfortunately for Baer, that innovation came from the outside.

Baer also pioneered the “rage quit”

In May 1972, Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell witnessed a private demonstration of Odyssey’s Table Tennis and adapted the design to create a coin-operated “arcade” version for his own company, taking care to include score keeping and sound, the key elements that Odyssey lacked. Atari’s pong became a massive success, resulting in a home console called the Atari 2600, and a lawsuit for patent infringement from Baer. 
 
Baer eventually left video games toward the end of the '70s, but continued inventing for the next 30 years, accruing more than 150 patents under his name. His long dossier of patents and inventions includes surgical-cutting equipment, submarine-tracking radar systems, video simulations for trainee pilots, talking books and talking doormats, iconic ‘80s toys like SIMON and Laser Command, and even launch displays and a lunar-resistant camera grip for the Saturn V and Apollo 11 space programs.

Baer continued tinkering with electronics until the day he died; whenever asked about a potential retirement he would respond, “Would you ask a painter whose been painted all his life if he’ll retire? Retire to what? Stop painting? Why would I want to do that? So here I am!”

Source: Ars Technica, Engadget, Gamasutra