Born Rudolf Heinrich Baer in Germany in March 1922, Ralph Henry Baer, the “Father of Video Games,” passed away at his home in Manchester, NH on Saturday, December 6th. He was 92.
Baer held 150 patents including the console which would become the Magnavox Odyssey, the very first home video game. He was also instrumental in developing the memory-matching game, Simon, in the late 70s. The game is still popular today.
The Baer family fled Germany in 1938. Ralph went on to study radio technology before joining the U.S. Army in 1943. During his service, he became recognized as an expert in small arms. Upon returning home, he continued his education at the American Television Institute of Technology. He went on to become one of America’s most notable modern inventors.
I confess it is tempting to believe that interactive video games, as a concept, would have still existed had it not been for Baer and his Magnavox Odyssey, which shipped in 1972. Yet I find the uncertainty of Baer’s influence to be, in a perversely paradoxical manner, a fitting tribute for any pioneer. He, like all geniuses, had an idea so simple and brilliant that it seems obvious now.
Read the full story: Goodbye Ralph Baer, and Thank You
Read the NY Times coverage of Mr. Baer’s death.
