The name Ralph H. Baer might not be familiar with a lot of gamers, but to those who do recognise the name, they know that without Baer and his invention, the Magnavox Odyssey, home consoles might never have existed.
In an interview about his career, the 89-year old home console pioneer reflected back on his work and achievements, while also expressing some disdain for the direction that modern games have taken as of late.
"I think it’s a disgrace", Baer told the Salt Lake Tribune."What I created got abominated. You can see the same thing in music, literature, art, any form of art". While Baer may not be too pleased with the direction of contemporary games, he’s still quite proud of his work, with his original home console prototype, the brown box, on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
With the gaming industry reaching new heights in terms of acceptance and financial success, Baer expressed some surprise at how far his work has come. "All I did was come up with what I thought was a fun idea that was the result of a little box that was attached to a television set", Baer said.
"It just grew and grew and grew."
Last Updated: November 8, 2011