The Father of Video Games

[njiska]

I'm amazed I couldn't find a post like this since i think it's a classic.

Who do you think deserves the title of the Father of Video Games. The man who created it or the man who made it famous?

Ralph Baer created the brown box, the very first video game system. He took his invention to Magnavox and thus the Oddesy was born.

Nolan Bushnell created pong and took the arcade world from pinball and whack-a-mole to a video game paradise.

Ralph made it, Nolan made it popular. So who deserves the title?

I'm voting for Ralph. He created gaming and he filled the "Video Game" patent the lead Magnavox to sue Atari. He man is a legend and i seriously doubt that we'd have ever gotten pong with out Ralph making the brown box.

[jezt]

I guess one can be the father and the other can be the mother. But who will be which.........? Hmmmmmmmm....

[MrRoboto19XX]

Baer takes the honors in my book.

As an analogy, Baer is columbus, and Bushnell/Atari were the mayflower.

Plus, I was always more of an O2 guy anyway.

[Gapporin]

Where's the Willy Higginbotham option?

[njiska]

Willy Higginbotham lost the lawsuit against Baer and he's done nothing to deserve credit.


Higginbotham’s demonstration of a ball’s/dot’s ballistic motion and rebounding action may have qualified as a game but cannot plausibly be credited with being the “first video game”. His demo used an oscilloscope as a display and an analog computer to move the CRT spot around. To qualify as a video game, you have to have to pass one major test: Can you play the game on a standard home TV set or a TV monitor ?

By definition, video games use video displays (ordinary TV sets or TV monitors). Higginbotham’s apparatus was that small Donner analog computer hooked up to an oscilloscope. It involved no video signals, being a strictly point-plotting circuit arrangement. All Higginbotham “built” was to attach a switch to the analog computer for user interaction. He then programmed the computer to create the ballistically-moving spot and its reversal upon intercept. His was one-time physics demo for an open-house occasion. No effort was made to commercialize that demo nor was it thought of as a commercial product at the time. Nor were patents applied for. Nobody thought it was a big deal until Nintendo’s lawyers dragged it up in court in 1985 to prove a point. They lost.

Baer said it best, “W.H is a straw man put in the spotlight by a fluke of history”

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I've gotta go with Baer. If you're looking for how history views them...well...Nolan's still struggling to put interactive entertainment under the same roof as Italian food after all these years. Ralph has been able to kick back and live, to some extent, off of his patent and licensing income.

The old phrase "work smarter, not harder" springs to mind here. LOL That said, they're both very nice guys, and they've both earned a place in the history books.

I think people spend so much time arguing over whether or not Nolan is the father/grandfather of video games that they miss his true historical significance: more than Baer was, wanted to be, or was in a position to be, Nolan Bushnell was the original populist of video games, much like Carl Sagan was a great populist of science. Nolan wasn't shy about putting his face and his story out there - amended and aggrandized though it may have been - or about promoting Atari and its goods as long as he was associated with the company. For that, he deserves a lot of credit.

[GamecubeFreek]

I voted Baer also. It was nice to see him get some recognition on this year's G phoria, even though he was underappreciated.

[izret101]

Baer.
Open and Shut case.
A father is someone who creates something.
Not popularizes it.
That would be a pimp/pr person.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I'd go with Ralph Baer as well. He created it; thats what fathers do.
Nolan Bushnell is more like Ralph Baer's son.
And Joe Santulli is Nolan's cousin :P

[hbkprm]

its bushnell.
have you read (past tense) the ultamate history of video games?

[Richter Belmount]

believes , is a baerligist

[PDorr3]

ralph without a doubt. If he created it then there would be nobody to make it popular.

[Slimedog]

I still think Willy Higginbotham should be an option since his name is generally mentioned in the history of videogames. However, even if he was an option, I would still vote for Baer.

[Bluteg]

Ralph Baer...

Let's see he CREATED VIDEO GAMES.

Do you credit Hudson Soft for the popularity of Mario just because they created the longest running Mario series?

[izret101]

Heh totally unrelated to the topic at hand but i just thought it was funny how it rounded.

Who's your daddy?
Ralph Baer
80% [ 21 ]
Nolan Bushnell
19% [ 5 ]
Total Votes : 26

Back to topic
But honestly how could someone who knows Ralph Baer MADE the FIRST "videogame system" say it was Bushnell?

Bushnell is the father of Chuck E. Cheese not video games.

[RetroYoungen]

Mr. Ralph Baer is the father of video games. Nolan Bushnell was the man who really created the industry, but the man who actually created the first video game (unless you count Willy Higinbotham and his oscilloscope, or Steve Russel and Space War) was Ralph Baer.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Hold on guys....I voted Baer...until I read this...
http://www.pong-story.com/inventor.htm

Baer's statement of his invention...

"However, it clearly qualifies Bushnell for the title of the “Father of Arcade Video Games”."- Ralph H. Baer

"Hence, I am equally clearly the “Father of Home Video Games”.- Ralph H. Baer

That is the only big difference we have between the two, so you could say, it's BOTH almost...

[JJNova]

I am voting for the man that actually made video games "popular".


Ken Kutaragi.

[SoulBlazer]

Right, that's the distinction I've always made:

Father of the HOME video game: Baer
Father of the ARCADE video game: Bushnell
Father of the COMPUTER video game: Russel

All three of them did something important for the industry and the games we love to play.

[RetroYoungen]

Right, that's the distinction I've always made:

Father of the HOME video game: Baer
Father of the ARCADE video game: Bushnell
Father of the COMPUTER video game: Russel

All three of them did something important for the industry and the games we love to play.

Wouldn't the father of the arcade video game be Al Alcorn?

Your post just got me thinking about how poor A.A. has kinda been overlooked for his own contribution. Not trying to be mean or anything, just got me feelin' for the guy.

[JJNova]

Back to topic
But honestly how could someone who knows Ralph Baer MADE the FIRST "videogame system" say it was Bushnell?
games.

I remember a long time ago, hearing something about how any man can be a father, but only the good ones can be someones "Daddy".

I feel that Bushnell has been more of a "Daddy" for gaming than baer has. He may not have implanted the industry with his seed, but he did stick around to watch it grow into a multi-million dollar sports star.

I did't vote though. Because the poll seems vague.

[Haoie]

The Ultimate History of Video Games [a very nice read] credits Baer as the father, but Bushell as the man who really made the world notice.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I'd go for Bushnell. It takes a greater genius to take an existing idea and make it better in my opinion. Hence why the PlayStation is all ruling, as Sony are experts at creating perfection.


Then occasionally you get another genius come along like Miyamoto who takes it one step further... If it weren't for Bushnell, would Miyamoto have created the Mario series? If it weren't for Star Trek (Gene Roddenberry), would George Lucas have created Star Wars?


Let's put it this way, Ford created the internal combustion engine, but it took a genius to eventually come up with something like the Ferrari Enzo.

[digitalpress]

The question isn't who's the better genius, who has the better marketing talent, or who was more successful. The question is who is the father of videogames.

Baer *is* the father of videogames.

Bushnell *is* the father of arcade videogames.

I've met and talked to both men at CGE in the past. Both Baer and Bushnell would agree with my statement and are probably on record saying it themselves in recent years.

[njiska]

I am voting for the man that actually made video games "popular".


Ken Kutaragi.

Ken Kutargi is an asshole! Sorry i'm still a little pissed at him for the whole "gamer's will have to adapt" statement about the PSP square button.

Seriously though how could you claim Kutaragi made games popular? Game were popular before the Playstation and they didn't become main-stream because of him. They became main-stream because of many hard working talented developers.


Baer *is* the father of videogames.

Bushnell *is* the father of arcade videogames.

I think you're absolutely right Joe. The only shame is that Ralph has been only a footnote in history at best until the last few years. I'm glad to see the man is finally getting the repect he deserves.

But both men are responsible for what we all love today. Video Games.

[Pantechnicon]

For purposes of establishing a "creator" I think this distinction some of you are trying to draw between home and arcade games is irrelevant. In essence the two are the same: analog or computerized components generating movable signals on a screen and operating under a defined set of conditions and for entertainment purposes. One is initialized by pushing a switch, one is initialized by dropping a coin in a slot (which, of course, pushes a switch). As a famous philosopher once said. "Big whoop."

Ralph Baer is the All-Father. End of story.

[Slate]

Ralph Baer.

[Griking]

Father of the COMPUTER video game: Russel

Russell who? O_O

I voted Baer because he did actually invent the concept over the videogame. But I completely believe that we wouldn't be where we are today with videogames with Bushnell as well. Baer was the father but he didn't really seem to know what to do with it. The inventing part was his thing. Bushnll on the other hand wasn't the inventor that Baer was but he could have sold ice to an Eskimo.

[Richter]

Baer - the game
Bushnell - the industry

to me they should be the fatherS, not one man did it all

[rolenta]

To keep the peace, on the cover of Ralph's book "Videogames: In The Beginning", we credited him as "The Inventor of Home Videogames".

If you haven't heard about Ralph's book, check it out at www.rolentapress.com

By the way, speaking of The Ultimate History of Videogames, here's what that book's author had to say about Ralph's book:

"Videogames: In the Beginning, like everything else from the engineer/inventor who wrote it, is tight, intelligent, and meticulously documented. Baer is brilliant, knowledgeable, and, perhaps, a little angry. Can you blame him?"
Steven L. Kent – author: The Ultimate History of Video Games

[shvnsth]

baer is the grandfather of videogames. his son was the one who made the family famous, and is the father of video games as we know them now.

[NeoZeedeater]

It seems to me that A.S. Douglas was the first.
http://www.adit.co.uk/html/noughts_and_crosses.html

[rolenta]

It seems to me that A.S. Douglas was the first.
http://www.adit.co.uk/html/noughts_and_crosses.html

Noughts and Crosses, like Spacewar, were computer applications. They were software. Ralph Baer invented the hardware that is the ancestor of all the consoles that we play today.

[NeoZeedeater]

Noughts and Crosses, like Spacewar, were computer applications. They were software. Ralph Baer invented the hardware that is the ancestor of all the consoles that we play today.
True but the topic of this thread says "video games" not "video game specific hardware" or consoles.

I'm not sure I agree with reasoning mentioned before that Higginbotham's game isn't a video game either but I suppose it's a grey area.

[ROBOTRON]

Ralph is the winner here. :D

[digitalpress]

Father of the COMPUTER video game: Russel

Russell who? O_O

Whoa.

Time to do your homework, son! Steve Russell, who designed "Spacewar!" on a PDP-1 mainframe computer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1961.

Why do I always assume that our members have at least a basic understanding of videogame history? Maybe we should hold an entry-level certification class on DP!

[Griking]

Father of the COMPUTER video game: Russel

Russell who? O_O

Whoa.

Time to do your homework, son! Steve Russell, who designed "Spacewar!" on a PDP-1 mainframe computer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1961.

Why do I always assume that our members have at least a basic understanding of videogame history? Maybe we should hold an entry-level certification class on DP!

Sorry, when I read father of computer gaming my thought process was years ahead. I was thinking along the lines of personal computers.

[SoulBlazer]

True, Spacewar was for years only playable on big honkin mainframes that cost a gazillon dollars and were only in a few universities of the country, but Russel was the one who got the whole PC gaming thing started with his game. Baer even says as much in his opening chapter of his book. But since Russel was a hacker and belived in free stuff, he never took out any patents or rights or anything. Years later he sued to get some and failed. So he's gotten even LESS credit then Baer has over the years for the contributions that he made.

[Haoie]

Russel, or 1 of his pals, did create the first joysticks.

I remember this as I wrote a 2000w term paper partially about Spacewar. Good times.

[rbudrick]

The question isn't who's the better genius, who has the better marketing talent, or who was more successful. The question is who is the father of videogames.

Baer *is* the father of videogames.

Bushnell *is* the father of arcade videogames.

I've met and talked to both men at CGE in the past. Both Baer and Bushnell would agree with my statement and are probably on record saying it themselves in recent years.

Considering Atari had to pay Magnavox licensing after a series of court battles that determined Bushnell stole their patents an exploited them, why is this even a topic? Hasn't this already been beaten to death? It's pretty well known that videogames were conceived by Baer. He even had the idea for them back in the early 50s...he just didn't have the resources or authority to begin the project until the late 60s.

I have a feeling even ol' man Russel didn't think of videogames that early. LOL Maybe...who knows. Baer brushes him off as it was different technology (what was it on...an oscilloscope screen?)....but then is a Gameboy the same as a TV? No, but it is a videogame system. Baer has a bit of a logic flaw there, But I don't think Russel gives a shit. Is he alive?

-Rob

[lendelin]

I agree with all of you that Ralph Baer is the clear "winner." (if there is one and if there should be one)

But I go further. I think Nolan Bushnell's historical significance for videogames has to be diminished further than has been the case already.

Baer invented videogames and 'his' commercially successful Odyssey laid the groundwork for an incredibly successful console industry.

Bushnell is NOT the inventor of arcade games. He created the arcade business, not arcade games. The games Bushnell used to create the business were designed by Russell and Baer.

The hesitancy to evaluate realistically Bushnell's role for creating games AND the industry comes from the longstanding myth-buildup which was fortunately destroyed in the last ten years.

About Baer and his book:

I read very often in reviews that Ralph Baer sounds 'bitter' and maybe comes over as too aggressive making his points.

I disagree. As a rule an author should not mention a single person too often and not too often take a stand against prevalent hypotheses of a single person because it makes the other person more important than he/she is. Furthermore, your own work is perceived as an anti-X product which again elevates the other person.

However, Baer's position was and is very different. Baer had to correct a myth, a powerful myth because it was a longstanding one and one about a guy who is very likeable and admired for his relaxed style running a business.

Myths ARE powerful, and if they are in place long enough they are almost impossible to destroy. Leonard Herman, Steve Kent and others just caught it in time when it was still correctable. Twenty years from now, no records, no documents, no passionate pleas and analyses from historians would have helped to topple Bushnell from his pedestal;

and given Bushnell's track record about the Pong history which was ambigious at best and deceiving at worst, it is unrealistic to assume he would have corrected his undeserved place in game history himself. I wouldn't even demand such an altruistic move from a human being.

It was important that not only others, but Baer himself took on the Bushnell-myth; and he was right to go into the offensive. The documents, his meticulous records, his straightforward reasoning and arguments, and the tried-and-proven history of his invention speaks volumes in his 250-page book.

No invention or great idea falls from the sky, every inventor stands on the shoulder of others. So did Baer. The invention of videogames was gradual. What we can do, however, is to identify who made the biggest step towards an invention, and there is no doubt that this person is by far Ralph Baer.

He IS the inventor of videogames; the man had a very simple and ingenious idea combining practicability of an invention with the widespread established system base: maybe we can do more with TVs than just watching stuff. Not just running software on an oscilloscope or other monitor, but using a TV for games. The Brown Box can be regarded as the cradle of videogames indeed.

About Bushnell's role:

Bushnell might be the creator of the arcade business, but neither did he do this with game design ideas nor with the groundbreaking ideas of using certain monitors for arcade machines. Bushnell has to be credited with the business side of arcade games to the same extent we credit Yamauchi for reviving the home console business in 1983/1985. I don't see a myth about Yamauchi for doing more than that, but the myth of going beyond the business aspect is certainly there in the case of Bushnell.

Still, one of the connotations with the name of Bushnell is creation of games and a visionary although we know better. It is difficult to disassociate his name with the myth he partially created himself and which was partially created by others.

Bushnells vision was indeed to put existing games into arcade cabinets and put them in bars with the possibility they would become much more than just playgrounds for adults in smoke filled rooms. He was a savvy business entrepreneur. So was Ray Kassar and Yamauchi we don't like because they wore suits. We like Bushnell because he wore t-shirts and held business meetings in hot tubs smoking pot.

Bushnell IS the business man behind the arcade business; nothing associates him with game design. Computer Space (the first coin operated videogame) was Steve Russell's Spacewar, nothing else, and Bushnell put it in an arcade cabinet. The game was a failure because it was too complex.

Bushnell stole the table tennis game from the Odyssey he saw and played at an electronics show, gave it to Alcorn and Al Alcorn improved it significantly. Pong was a tremendous success because it was ingenious in its simplicity.

Bushnell deserves his place in game history as the first savvy business entrepreneur for arcade games; as such, he plays a slightly more important role than Yamauchi, Kassar, Kalinske, and many others because he was simply the first; but he was a businessman, not a game designer, and not an inventor.

We have to disassociate his name from game creation and game design, and reduce his role to the business aspects of the arcade industry and business aspects founding and running Atari.

This is a disillusioned view of Bushnell. One that might hurt after we adored the myth about him for a long time, but I think it is a realistic one.

If we need myths (and for the love of the games we do and build them necessarily) I can't see a reason to build one around Nolan Bushnell. I can see a lot of reasons to create a myth around Ralph Baer.

[Sanriostar]

While Ralph B gets the mass love here at DP; I think it's the stair step evolution that created gaming: Highbotham, the MIT/ Spacewar guys, Baer, and Bushnell.

[-hellvin-]

To me, Ralph is more of the egg, and Nolan the chicken. So I voted Ralph. Then again, that kinda brings up the whole chick/egg argument, but personally, I think the egg came first ;D.

[slapdash]

This discussion is always full of variation due to the impreciseness of the phrasing of the poll.

What does "father" mean? I voted Baer because (1) it was video he had in mind all along and (2) he was thinking of it very early on.

I'm happy to see someone mentioned the EDSAC Noughts And Crosses game which appears to be the first computer, or at least computer+display, game, but even this could be argued as a simulation of a game rather than an ORIGINAL game like Spacewar -- hence Steve Russel still deserves a big credit, possibly big enough to still call him the "father of computer games".

I'm not sure I like calling Bushnell the "father of arcade videogames" as much as "the father of the videogame industry". That gives Baer less credit for his part in starting the industry, in a sense, but only because the people he worked for didn't get it and slowed him down, so I'm okay either way in the long run.

I've never been sure about Higginbotham's place... I think to use the term "evolution" as it was above places his work as an indirect predecessor, hence no real claim as "father" of anything. It just wasn't "game-like" enough to really get that credit. At least that's my read. It's important enough to mention in describing the history of videogaming, but not as a direct actor on it.

Also note that there has been some discussion over the term "videogame" as well. Does a Gameboy count as a videogame? There are people -- some from the industry itself -- who would explain to you that it isn't (i.e. it doesn't have a "video" screen), but I suspect most of use just lump it in. Game Gear and TurboExpress are even trickier, since the screens could DO video with hardware add-ons, but still weren't built for "video". And these days, does "video" imply CRTs? That LCD flatscreen you've been eyeing makes me wonder if I should argue that the Gameboy is a "videogame" after all, at least these days...

Whee!