http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/07/ralph-baer-dead_n_6285638.html
Ralph Baer was credited for the creation of the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey as the very first home video game console to ever hit the U.S. market. There was no sound, you had no lights on the screen, you had overlays for different games, and the games themselves we're almost like board games where you had pieces and different accessories for each game which compared to the Atari 2600 at the time wasn't as advanced but it was the very first attempt at the home video game console market.
The Magnavox Odyssey only sold 300,000 units so it didn't sell well. Ralph Baer claims that the reason why the console didn't sell that many units was because the retailers wanted $100 for it when Baer wanted to sell it for $20, so what's the big deal about $100 for a piece of ground breaking technology from 1972 when it'd be worth up to $550 in today's market? Imagine going to a store now when people were complaining about the XBox One being $499 when it first launched and then shelling out $550 worth of technology you weren't sure of. Hurts doesn't it?
In comparison $20 back in 1972 would've inflated up to $100 in today's market which would've been much more palatable and it makes sense as to why Baer wanted to sell the Odyssey for $20 back when it first launched. When you think about it back then having a 300,000 units sold at that asking price is pretty impressive If you wrap your brain around it. In 2006 Baer was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President George W. Bush and in 2008 he also received the Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award for creating the video game industry as we know it today with the following acceptance speech:
You're probably thinking that If Baer hadn't done what he did then someone else would've stepped in and be credited for his invention. If you go back to the early 70's, keep in mind that color TV didn't become mainstream until the mid to late 60's when color TV was still considered high tech in the early 70's and you go up to a bunch of investors back then and say, "Hey I want to make this box that puts up little pixels or white dots on the TV screen where people can move them around with this little thing called a joystick and have fun doing it so please give me some money to make that happen."
Investors would laugh at your face saying, "Yeah... no. People would rather watch TV instead of sitting around moving crap on their TV screen. They were wrong and he was right, Baer may not have become the Bill Gates of gaming like he deserved to become but he did pioneer gaming as we know it. We owe this man a lot of respect, he lived a long happy life as he got to see the gaming industry grow into the big amazing empire that it is today. If it wasn't for Ralph Baer I never would've gotten my first NES console in the mid 80's bundled with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt with the NES Zapper.
Ralph Baer was credited for the creation of the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey as the very first home video game console to ever hit the U.S. market. There was no sound, you had no lights on the screen, you had overlays for different games, and the games themselves we're almost like board games where you had pieces and different accessories for each game which compared to the Atari 2600 at the time wasn't as advanced but it was the very first attempt at the home video game console market.
The Magnavox Odyssey only sold 300,000 units so it didn't sell well. Ralph Baer claims that the reason why the console didn't sell that many units was because the retailers wanted $100 for it when Baer wanted to sell it for $20, so what's the big deal about $100 for a piece of ground breaking technology from 1972 when it'd be worth up to $550 in today's market? Imagine going to a store now when people were complaining about the XBox One being $499 when it first launched and then shelling out $550 worth of technology you weren't sure of. Hurts doesn't it?
In comparison $20 back in 1972 would've inflated up to $100 in today's market which would've been much more palatable and it makes sense as to why Baer wanted to sell the Odyssey for $20 back when it first launched. When you think about it back then having a 300,000 units sold at that asking price is pretty impressive If you wrap your brain around it. In 2006 Baer was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President George W. Bush and in 2008 he also received the Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award for creating the video game industry as we know it today with the following acceptance speech:
Ralph Baer said:
You're probably thinking that If Baer hadn't done what he did then someone else would've stepped in and be credited for his invention. If you go back to the early 70's, keep in mind that color TV didn't become mainstream until the mid to late 60's when color TV was still considered high tech in the early 70's and you go up to a bunch of investors back then and say, "Hey I want to make this box that puts up little pixels or white dots on the TV screen where people can move them around with this little thing called a joystick and have fun doing it so please give me some money to make that happen."
Investors would laugh at your face saying, "Yeah... no. People would rather watch TV instead of sitting around moving crap on their TV screen. They were wrong and he was right, Baer may not have become the Bill Gates of gaming like he deserved to become but he did pioneer gaming as we know it. We owe this man a lot of respect, he lived a long happy life as he got to see the gaming industry grow into the big amazing empire that it is today. If it wasn't for Ralph Baer I never would've gotten my first NES console in the mid 80's bundled with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt with the NES Zapper.
