If you’ve played video games at anytime since the 1970s, you have Ralph H. Baer to thank. This video game pioneer passed away last weekend at the age of 92.
Mr. Baer is credited for patenting and inventing the first home video game. Ralph Baer was born to a German Jewish family in 1922. He left with his family to New York City in 1938 to escape Hitler’s regime. He fought in World War 2 and after the war, Mr. Baer earned a college degree from the American Television Institute of Technology in Chicago, at a time when television what in it’s infancy. In the early 1950s, when he suggested adding games as a TV feature, his boss scorned him for such a foolish idea. Many years later, at a company called Sanders, his boss saw potential in his wild idea. In 1966, Baer and some colleagues came up with a box that would allow games to be played on TV sets. Five years later, Mr. Baer and his employer, Sanders Association, patented the first home video game system. In 1972, Magnavox ?Odyssey was born. It was the first home video game console, and it sold well over 100,000 copies that year alone. Their influence was immediate. In 1974, Atari released a more popular video game called Pong. Out of court, Odyssey became a partner with Atari in licencing this historic game. The rest is history. Ralph Bear is survived by his wife of 53 years, three children and four grandchildren.
And by the early 1980s, Atari and Colecovision became household names. By the late ’80s, Nintendo and Sega were in many a home. And today, Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo Wii are on Christmas lists all over the world. Just to think, this $90 billion a year phenomenon came from one crazy vision. It’s a vision so crazy he was often ridiculed for it. But then again, most innovations usually are before they reach massive success. What lessons can we learn from Ralph H. Baer’s legacy?