Video game pioneer Ralph Baer dies, 92

 

 

For video gamers who know their history, this is a sad time: Ralph Baer, who developed the first video game console system, has died at age 92.

 

Gaming site Gamasutra.com said it confirmed Baer's passing through independent sources close to Baer, who it dubbed the "father of video games."

 

"Baer developed the very first console video game system, originally known as the Brown Box, but later licensed and sold as 1972's Magnavox Odyssey, which laid the foundation for video games as we know them today," Gamasutra said.

 

His invention since paved the way for modern gaming consoles such as Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation.

 

Gamasutra noted Baer also developed the light gun, considered the first peripheral for video game consoles and the interactive memory game Simon.

 

 

He has been awarded the National Medal of Technology from President George Bush, and has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

 

Baer also received a 2008 Game Developers Choice Pioneer Award. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News