Ralph Baer, the father of video games, passes away at age 92

Ralph Baer, a German immigrant of Jewish ancestry, who left his country in 1933 as an 11-year-old kid in search of a better life in New York City with his parents months before the Kristallnacht attacks (part of the Holocaust), became known as the Father of Video Games after his dedication for making the Brown Box, the prototype for the creation of video game consoles.

In the US, Mr. Baer became a radio service technician (in 1940) and television engineer (in 1949), as well as military intelligence personnel for the US Army in London (in 1943).

Since 1966, Baer wanted to expand the fun times people at universities and military were having with computers, and he accomplished his goal after many years of trying to convince many companies. The Magnavox Odyssey became the first-ever video game console in 1972 after Baer licensed his invention.

Baer received the National Medal of Technology by President George W. Bush in 2006 for his creation of video game consoles.

The rest is history: The life and death of Atari consoles, the battle between Nintendo vs Sega in the 80s and 90s, the arrival of Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, and much more.

Gamers owe a bunch of gratitude to Baer for making gaming consoles a reality. Baer passed away at his home yesterday at the age of 92. The cause of his passing was not disclosed.

Thanks for making electronic entertainment available to millions of people, Ralph Baer.

[Source]: Gamasutra: Obituary: Ralph Baer, ‘father of video games,’ passes away.

[Info]: Wikipedia: Ralph Baer.