Mark Lesser (Mattel Football, Frogger II, NHL '94) at CGE
I'm going to announce the industry legends we've confirmed attendance for at this year's Classic Gaming Expo at the Classic Gaming Expo site, but in this forum I'm going to detail them so you can take note of which games and items that you might want to bring along for signatures!
Mark Lesser
Mark's career in electronic gaming has spanned 25 years, from the early days of 4-bit handhelds through the evolution of the video game console.
In 1975 Mattel Electronics approached Rockwell International with the idea of using handheld calculator technology to create the first handheld electronic game. Mark Lesser, as an electrical engineer at Rockwell, was given sole responsibility to redo the circuit design and program a calculator chip to make the ground-breaking handheld game Mattel AutoRace. This was the first computer program Mark ever wrote, but hardly the last. Mark proceeded to program the very popular Mattel Football I and Mattel Baseball, as well as a host of other handhelds, including Mattel Missile Attack, Brain Baffler, and Horoscope Computer.
Later, at Parker Brothers, Mark started programming and designing video games, including Frogger II and Lord of the Rings for the Atari VCS.
Still later, Mark single-handedly programmed a series of very popular sports games on the Sega Genesis for Electronic Arts. These games include Madden '93 Football, and the NHL Hockey series from 1994 through 1997. Mark's name can be found in the credits of dozens of other video and PC games.
Mark and his wife Mary Ellin are currently raising two sons on the coast of Maine, both of whom have inherited the gaming bug. Mark is delighted to see Mattel Football I and Mattel Baseball recently reissued after more than 25 years and finds it interesting to watch his sons playing the games he programmed so long ago.
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