Ralph H. Baer Passes Away at 92

[alec006]

The father of all video games has passed away at the age of 92. A close friend of his, Leonard Herman, posted last night on Facebook and Twitter that he came to rest in his New Hampshire home on the night of Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014. May the man who started all of these electronic dreams rest in the greatest of peace.

http://static.squarespace.com/static/5182a30de4b099d36dd6f233/t/52e5584ee4b0743985bea8c9/1390762065404/ralph_h_baerlg.jpg

[Tupin]

So much was changed by what he put into motion. Rest in peace.

[Greg2600]

Ralph was a fine man, a great inventor, and his contribution to gaming will live on.

[Tanooki]

Rest in Peace, who knows what the world have been without the vision he had for home entertainment. Same, delayed, radically different? I recall him doing interviews and things over the years, always a gentleman and very friendly.

[tom]

RIP, he was the main man

[rkotm]

Rest in Peace, who knows what the world have been without the vision he had for home entertainment. Same, delayed, radically different? I recall him doing interviews and things over the years, always a gentleman and very friendly.

I was wondering the same thing-probably delayed invention of gaming..was anyone else coming up with video games? Im glad he got to see the how far games got, though. RIP

[kai123]

That is true. He got to see the beginning of VR which I assume is the direction tons of games are going. Great guy always seemed so humble.

[AdamAnt316]

Wow! I am very sad to read this. :( Last year, I had the privilege of meeting him along with a few members of the antique radio club I belong to. He talked to us for a few hours while sitting in his basement workshop, where he was still designing things as a consultant.
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/ralphbench.jpg
He was a font of knowledge about the early days of radio and television, when he ran a couple of radio repair shops in New York City. He also talked about serving in World War II, his work in the electronics industry, his creation of the video game, and the toys and devices he invented afterwards. He then showed us the rooms where he had several of his creations displayed, including a replica of the original "Brown Box" prototype (he made them for various museums, since the original is stored at the Smithsonian).
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/brownboxodyssey.jpg
I played him in a game of TV Tennis, and naturally, I was handily schooled by the master.
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/adamvsralph1.jpg
He even signed the top of my Magnavox Odyssey 300 console.
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/odyssey300.jpg
I am grateful to Ralph for all of his achievements, and I feel privileged to have been able to meet him.
http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/adamvsralph2.jpg
RIP, Mr. Baer. :bawling:

[Nz17]

I am genuinely very upset about this. :bawling:

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Great post, AdamAnt316. May Mr. Baer always be remembered for his pioneering work in the favorite pastime of millions. His was a life well lived.

[zemmix]

RIP Mr. Baer.

I still remember lining up to get the O2 Pinball! cart at CGE '00. I think the original brown box was there in the museum too.

[Gentlegamer]

AdamAnt, that's fantastic!

The father of our hobby has passed, but I'm not sad. Mr. Baer was 92, and he lives on in the medium he pioneered.

[retroman]

Sorry to read this.

[Gamevet]

I remember reading an interview some magazine had with him a couple of years ago. I remember him saying something along the lines of "growing old sucks!"

Yes it does Mr. Baer. It's sad to see that Father Time finally won. :(

[Videogamerdaryll]

R.I.P

[Sanriostar]

Had to come back to the Old Guard after hearing the news. I hope there's one thing that those of us on the older game sites (DP, AA, et. al) can take comfort in:
We held his banner high From the start. I'd like to think our support of his efforts were the initial snowball roll that turned into the Smithsonian donations and the National Medal of Technology.

God bless you Mr. Baer. It was a highlight of my life to meet you in 2000.

[Aussie2B]

Rest in peace, Mr. Baer. Thank you for planting the seeds of our hobby.

[AdamAnt316]

Great post, AdamAnt316. May Mr. Baer always be remembered for his pioneering work in the favorite pastime of millions. His was a life well lived.


AdamAnt, that's fantastic!

The father of our hobby has passed, but I'm not sad. Mr. Baer was 92, and he lives on in the medium he pioneered.

I'm glad you liked my post. I intended to talk about it earlier, but wasn't sure if it would come off as bragging; when I heard about his passing, I felt compelled to pay tribute to him. Several months after meeting Mr. Baer at his house (about which I wrote an article (http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/baerarticle.pdf) for the club newsletter), he attended a meeting of the antique radio club, and gave an excellent lecture about his days in the radio/TV repair business (among other things). I had my Odyssey 300 set up at the meet for everyone to play, and he was happy to see it running.

A month or so later, I managed to find an example of the original Magnavox Odyssey at a ham radio flea market. It was missing the cable which connected the console to the TV/game switch, but the other hardware was there. I sent an email to Mr. Baer, and he graciously offered to give me an example of the missing cable. Went back to his house, picked up the cable, and was able to get the Odyssey up and running. The graphics are nothing to write home about, but it definitely made for a good start for our hobby. :)
-Adam

http://www.electronixandmore.com/adam/temp/odyssey.jpg

[wizardofwor1975]

A true visionary. He will be missed. Rest in peace.

[Tron 2.0]

R.I.P Baer the father video games,without his vision there wouldn't have been a console market to begin with.

[thisIsLoneWolf]

He seemed like a good man, and I'm thankful for what he did for us.
RIP Mr. Baer.

[kaedesdisciple]

An inspiration, for the hobby that we all share, for his passion for technology (a field in which I am proud to participate), and for his passion for life.

While I mourn his loss, the world is certainly better for having had men like him.

[vintagegamecrazy]

Just found out about this. He was such an honorable man, I remember seeing his panel at MWGC a few years ago and it was a treat. This is tough news to swallow nonetheless.

[otaku]

great guy honored by a president no less for his inventions take the time to read the book about the odyssey its a great read

[sloan]

Hard to say there would have been no video games or home consoles without him. I mean, plenty of others may have gotten the same idea. We will never know.

[T2KFreeker]

Wow, I can't believe I missed this one. Sorry to hear this. Baer was the Man. Not sure where the gaming industry would have went without him. R.I.P. Ralph Baer...

[AdamAnt316]

Hard to say there would have been no video games or home consoles without him. I mean, plenty of others may have gotten the same idea. We will never know.

It truly is hard to say. The concept of playing a game on a computer already existed in the mid '60s, but computers in those days were the size of or larger than a refrigerator (not to mention insanely expensive), so were well outside of the realm of in-home use for most folks. My guess is that, without the 'Brown Box' or Odyssey, gaming would likely have remained mostly limited to universities and such until home computers evolved to the point of showing the sort of graphics needed for a game (late '70s/early '80s?), and might not have gone too far outside of that realm. Of course, the concept of the arcade game does seem to have appeared independent of Ralph Baer's contributions (with a little help from Steve Russell's "Spacewar!", of course), so who knows.
-Adam