Short film about Ralph Baer, the “Father of Video Games”

PBS Digital Studios profiled Ralph Baer, the “Father of Video Games”

Ralph Baer’s inventing career began following a two-year service in the military during World War II. Returning home from Europe, he went to school on the G.I. Bill and graduated with a B.S. in Television Engineering. In 1955, he joined an electronics firm called Sanders Associates, which did work for the military. Still there in 1966, he began work on an electronic box that would allow people to play games on their televisions. The working invention was later licensed as the Magnavox Odyssey and became the first home console system for video gaming in 1972. Last year he celebrated his 90th birthday – the same year the Odyssey turned 40. Here he talks about those early days of video game history and why now, at 90 years old, he's still inventing.

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

MORE: documentaries • video games

More at Boing Boing

Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

feetleet

Before his time. If you nerds are any indication, retirement is gonna be bitchin.
http://twitter.com/DonCarlitos Charlie McHenry

The Trilobyte is in awe of our grandfather. Thanks for posting. One hears so little about such a disruptive, tinkering maker of a man. BB does him, and the industry, an honor by sharing.
IronEdithKidd

I wanna give this man a big hug. Without his work, my childhood wouldn’t have been half as fun.

Thank you for being who you are, Mr. Baer.
Paul Vining

Mr Baer, thanks for all you have done.