Another important award for Ralph Baer

[lendelin]

Ralph Baer who needs no introduction received the first Pioneer Award from the Game Developers Conference.

Congratulations to Ralph Baer for this well deserved recognition for his incredible achievements. This is really sweet because there is for years now no doubt anymore who the father of videogames is, who made the breakthrough when it comes to console gaming despite Nolan Bushnells below-the-beltline-attacks after he (Bushnell) misrepresented, lied, mislead and continues to besmirch the reputation of Ralp Baer as recenty as March of this year. (Baer is a "nuisance" who was good at getting patents.)

Bushnell finally should give credit to Ralph Baer like all of us, and should stop to take credit for something he didn't do. Bushnell misrepresented himself for years as the ideal mix of game designer, entrepreneur and industry leader and let others celebrate him as Pong inventer; the truth is that Bushnell stole the idea of Pong from Ralph Baer, he stole the idea for Computer Space from Steve Russell, he didn't do a thing as a game designer, his sole achievement is as an entrepreneur who created the videogame industry; as such he deserves as much credit as Yamauchi from Nintendo, nothing more and nothing less.

Congrats Ralph Baer, videogames have their father figure, he deserves this recognition because he did it, and last but not least thanks to Leonard Herman whose research set this very important chapter of videogame history right.

SOURCE:

From GameInformer News:
http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/8b57aa63-7fea-4744-bf53-2a61631af2a3.htm

"Organizers of the CMP 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards have announced the recipients of two of its annual honors, which will be presented at this year’s Game Developers Conference on Feb. 20. Ralph Baer, the so-called “Father of video games” is receiving the Pioneer Award for his work in inventing the first commercially available game system, the Magnavox Odyssey. This is the first year that the Pioneer Award is being awarded, and is designed to recognize industry leaders who have introduced breatkthrough technology, game concepts or design features at key points in gaming history.

“Ralph Baer invented video games. In the inaugural year of the Pioneer Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards, it felt natural to bestow that award on the man who established our entire industry,” said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the Game Developers Conference. “Ralph is an inspiration to all who attend our conference, and we are proud to host this opportunity for our attendees to recognize and thank the creator of their vocation and art form.”

In addition to the Pioneer Award, Jason Della Rocca will be receiving the Ambassador Award, which highlights people who have worked as advocates for the gaming industry or helped further its art. Della Rocca is executive director of the International Game Developers Association."

[Snapple]

Baer is the father of video games, and Bushnell was a dick to him. However, video games also wouldn't be what they are today without Nolan Bushnell, so he deserves credit as well. Maybe not credit as the inventor of the video game, but as a pioneer and visionary at least.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Honors to Ralph Baer for great justice! :)

[rbudrick]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar%21

I'm sure most of you know all that's in that article, and Steve Russel was mentioned above, but Space War! was truly the first videogame.

Bushnell envisioned and created videogames seperately (and made a commercial product first out of them), but he was not the first.

Just because it was on an oscilloscope monitor does not change the fact that SpaceWar! was a videogame.

Russell gets very little credit because nobody heard or gave a crap about what he did until many years later. He basically contributed nothing to video games as an industry. Baer created the industry, Bushnell blew it wiiiide open.

-Rob

[BillKunkel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar%21

I'm sure most of you know all that's in that article, and Steve Russel was mentioned above, but Space War! was truly the first videogame.

Bushnell envisioned and created videogames seperately (and made a commercial product first out of them), but he was not the first.

Just because it was on an oscilloscope monitor does not change the fact that SpaceWar! was a videogame.

Russell gets very little credit because nobody heard or gave a crap about what he did until many years later. He basically contributed nothing to video games as an industry. Baer created the industry, Bushnell blew it wiiiide open.

-Rob

There's a problem with your thesis, Rob; a game on an oscilloscope might be somehow included within the broad spectrum of electronic gaming (and today they even call computer games videogames). But it was Ralph's seminal vision that something interactive could be done with all those TV sets out there that launched the entire concept of the videogame. Space War would never have been anything more than a faded footnote had Ralph not spawned the idea of hooking games up to TV sets.

As for Bushnell, he didn't even build the VCS; he only produced Pong after serial failures to bring electronic gaming to arcades and companies like Bally kept telling him to "make it simpler." Ralph's ping pong game was perfect.

Let's also look at Nolan's history after Atari tossed him out: Sente, Andropets, Chuck E Cheese (long ago sold and a blight on the nation) and an endless tendency to live off his manufacturered history. Ralph would have become a legend based exclusively on the success of Simon had he not already become far more famous for inventing the idea of videogames.

[Icarus Moonsight]

It's worthy of mention that Ralph brought his concept of TV games to the suits of a major television manufacturer he worked for in the late 50's (Magnavox or Zenith... ICR). The suits shot it down and directed him to just build the sets, as designed, and not waste time on stuff they couldn't sell and no one would want anyway. That predates SpaceWar quite a bit. It was a game of tag - where one player would be a "runner" dot and another would control a slightly larger "chaser" dot and the roles would switch when the dots touched. Neat! :)

[lendelin]

While every inventor stands on the shoulder of others, the breakthrough invention for videogames was made by Ralph Baer. He simply asked the question if we could do something else with TV sets than just watching; and he found a way to do something else with them, and what a great idea it was.

I don't intend to reduce the role of Steve Russell when it comes to the invention of videogames; but we have to put Russell's contribution in perspective. There is a difference between creating an innovative computer game played on a cathode ray tube (based on vector technology) on a sixty thousand dollar computer, and the idea of taking moving objects to TV sets readily available in almost every home -- and this way making it possible to create a mass product for the general public. The latter vision goes to Ralph Baer, and therefore the credit for THE breakthrough invention for videogames and the videogame industry belongs to Ralph Baer.

About Nolan Bushnell: I think the role he plays after the truth came out is very sad. Bushnell intentionally claimed credit for something he didn't do, he mislead the public, he lied, and was in the spotlight for twenty years celebrated as THE ideal mixture of game designer, industry leader, and laid-back and casual entrepreneur.

We loved Bushnell and he became a myth; like every successful industry we need myths, we need a mytholigical past to look back. We loved him because he was the ideal father figure who transcended the separation line between game developer and hard-nosed businessman. He seemed to combine the design and business aspect of the industry. The laid-back, casual, successful game designer who turned successful industry leader was at the heart of the myth Bushnell successfully played and orchestrated.

However, the game design part wasn't true, and piece by piece Bushnell's role for the game industry was truthfully corrected. Bushnell's actual role can be accurately characterized as a visionary entrepreneur who created the ARCADE INDUSTRY -- and as such plays an important role like Yamauchi from Nintendo.

Looking at Bushnell's behavior during Atari times, how he sold Atari, how he departed, and the role he played since then in the industry characterizes him as an entrepreneur who was always more interested in marketing and profits, and less in games and game design. Laid-back and casual for sure, but always and foremost businessman.

His so called game designs were plagiarisms. He presented himself as Pong inventor, he was celebrated as such, but it simply wasn't true. The consequences for Bushnell's reputation once stripped of the game design part was devestating.

We respect industry leaders, but we don't love them. We are gamers, we love game designers, our relationship to businessmen ranges from acceptance to dislike. Therefore, the myth of Bushnell collapsed like a cardhouse.

We love Al Alcorn who improved significantly on Baer's Pong, but we don't like Bushnell who stole the idea from Baer and put it on Alcorn's desk.

As a PR man Bushnell was and is top notch. He sold himself well. He constructed and manufactured a role he didn't deserve based on questionable merit and straightforward lies.

The more Bushnell tries to save his myth as the inventor of videogames based on lies at the cost of Ralph Baer, the more I loose respect for the man. It is not only annoying; it is sad because Bushnell has merits and played a very important role in the game industry. He himself endangers the perception of this reduced role by using below the beltline reasoning and misleading PR strategies of the past to this day.

My advice to Nolan Bushnell: accept that the old manufactured myth is dead, accept your new reduced role in game history, keep your mouth shut, and give credit to the ones who deserve it.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Bravo len, well put. :)

[lendelin]

I looked around online a bit about Bushnell's interviews, and I have to say, those twists, exaggerations, and misrepresentations are truly sad.

Here is part of a recent interview (October 2007) in the German weekly magazine "Der Spiegel" (in English) with Nolan Bushnell. It is interesting, and underlines what I explained and judged about Bushnell's behavior in my recent post.

The myth of Bushnell is still strong. But soon, very soon, there will be pro-Baer threads without turning into anti-Bushnell threads because the Bushnell-myth will be forgotten. Thank goodness.


INTERVIEW

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Was the beginning of Atari the birth of the video game industry?

Bushnell: Absolutely.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What about Ralph Baer, what about the Magnavox Odyssey, the first gaming console for the living room that was sold before the first Pong machine was ever installed?

Bushnell: Atari was in the business long before the Magnavox came out. We did "Computer Space" before Magnavox. Atari had success after success, and Magnavox had one analog game that wasn't very well received. It just wasn't fun. Ralph Baer likes to think he invented Pong, but he invented Magnavox, which is a totally different game.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Well, he did get a presidential medal for his "groundbreaking and pioneering creation, development and commercialization of interactive video games." But then you were way more successful financially. When Baer was here in Germany last year, he said he still goes down to his basement every day to solder stuff and invent things. Is that the same with you?

Bushnell: Not really. I'm a different guy. I think in terms of businesses, in terms of things that are really big and marry technology with entertainment. That's where I like to spend my time, and I try to make sure there's a business case for it.


The interview in full length can be found here:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,512798,00.html

[Slate]

Congratulations to Ralph Baer :)

[rbudrick]

There's a problem with your thesis, Rob; a game on an oscilloscope might be somehow included within the broad spectrum of electronic gaming (and today they even call computer games videogames). etc, etc.

If you play a video game on a TV, oscilloscppe, LCD screen, or one of those Coleco filament thingies form the eighties, it's a videogame. The TV doesn't make it a videogame. Nothing wrong with my theory.

-Rob

[mezrabad]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar%21

I'm sure most of you know all that's in that article, and Steve Russel was mentioned above, but Space War! was truly the first videogame.

Bushnell envisioned and created videogames seperately (and made a commercial product first out of them), but he was not the first.

Just because it was on an oscilloscope monitor does not change the fact that SpaceWar! was a videogame.

Russell gets very little credit because nobody heard or gave a crap about what he did until many years later. He basically contributed nothing to video games as an industry. Baer created the industry, Bushnell blew it wiiiide open.

-Rob


If you play a video game on a TV, oscilloscppe, LCD screen, or one of those Coleco filament thingies form the eighties, it's a videogame. The TV doesn't make it a videogame. Nothing wrong with my theory.

-Rob

If you are going to continue to support your theory then getting the following facts should help you support it better.

Spacewar! was done on a computer monitor, not an oscilloscopic monitor. You're thinking of Tennis for Two.

By your definition, the first videogame would be from 1947 (no-title for it), the second from 1952 (Tic-Tac-Toe), the third from 1958 (Tennis for Two) and then Spacewar! in 1961.

Facts can be used as evidence to support a theory. If you were using the wrong facts to begin with, then you may want to re-examine your original theory. Start by checking your assumptions and looking at the facts, as well as some of the generally accepted definitions given in some of the above posts. Perhaps you'll reconsider your position, or perhaps not.

[Snapple]

If you play a video game on a TV, oscilloscppe, LCD screen, or one of those Coleco filament thingies form the eighties, it's a videogame. The TV doesn't make it a videogame. Nothing wrong with my theory.

-Rob

I think the answer to what the first video game is, depends on one's definition of a video game. OXO and Tennis for Two both predate Spacewar, but although they were computer games, they weren't really generating "video." Spacewar then came along, but it used a vector display. Does that count? Maybe. Ralph Baer made the first game with a tv display, and Nolan Bushnell made the first comercially available game. Each of these five events is a "first" of sorts, and as I said, it depends on your definition of what a video game is, that determines which you consider the first video game.