Ralph Baer, the Father of Video Games, Passes Away at 92

Ralph Baer, the father of video games

Pioneering inventor and "the father of video games" Ralph Baer has passed away, according to a report at Gamasutra. He was 92.

Baer invented the Brown Box, a prototype version of the Magnavox Odyssey, the world's first commercial home video game console. He's also credited with the invention of the light gun, the first video game peripheral. His contributions to the video game industry cannot be understated.

Born in Germany in 1922 to Jewish parents, Baer and his family escaped the Nazis in 1938 and fled to America. Before being drafted into World War II in 1943, where he worked in military intelligence, Baer served as a radio service technician. In 1966, Baer, then an employee of the defense-electronics company Sanders Associates, developed the "Brown Box" console video game system and several other prototypes along with Bill Harrison and Bill Rusch. In 1971, it was licensed to Magnavox, and in 1972 it was released to the public. Baer also co-created the iconic memory game Simon.

Baer with then President George W. Bush in 2006

In 2006, President George W. Bush awarded Baer the National Medal Of Technology, recognizing him for the "groundbreaking and pioneering creation, development and commercialization of interactive video games." Baer continued inventing for the remainder of his life, telling PBS in 2013 that, having outlived his wife and friends, he needed “a challenge” to keep him occupied. “I still get a big charge out of making something work," said Baer. "I’m no different than a painter who sits there and loves what he does.”