Ralph Baer

[ONeilcool]

Who do you think invented video games?I believe it was a man by the name of Ralph Baer. You probably dont know who that is, so im trying to educate you. G4 did a documentary about him, here is the link to the g4 website so you can read the article
http://www.g4tv.com/icons/episodes/4174/Ralph_Baer.html

Basicly he created orignal concepts for Pong, but then Nolen Bushnell came long and stole his technology and created Pong. Magnavox(where Baer worked) brought Atari(where Bushnell worked) to court, as well as many other companys such as Nintendo and Sega. He made money of his patent, but he never really got the credit. He has the patent and that is undeniable, Ralph Baer is The Father of Video Games

[Daarkseid]

You fail to bring up that whereas Baer possibly created the concept of electronic gaming, Nolan Bushnell did something with it that had more impact at the time than the Magnavox Oddyssey did.

He may have stolen the technology, but he brought it to a medium that at the time was much more accessible. Pong was sold as an arcade cabinet, to be coin-operated and played in a parlor. For 25c a play, this did provide an affordable means for people to actually play the game, whereas 100 dollars was needed for the Oddyssey version.

While videogame arcades have certainly died, the period in which they prospered brought their own innovations to gaming that I think would allow Bushnell some credit in videogame pioneering.

Simply put, consoles were an expensive luxury and provided fairly primitive games. That these games ultimately failed to rise in quality helped bring about the '84 crash. Arcade Games, on the other hand, allowed for greater technological advancements since the cost in purchasing the units was not on the consumer but on distributors and perhaps the establishments that operated arcade games. The consumer only needed to bring their pocket change.

[ONeilcool]

Your right, but still most people dont even know who Baer is. Just because he didn't make it popular doesnt mean he doesnt deserve credit.

[ZomfgIts0rzlolo]

I miss all the arcades that were around even when I was really little (I'm only 14). Seriously, Aladdin's Castle and all those were so absolutely awesome. Luckily Dave and Busters/Gameworks exists, but it's not the same.

[Daarkseid]

Just because he didn't make it popular doesnt mean he doesnt deserve credit.

Yes it does. He deserves to have his wrinkly old body dragged from his bed at 2 in the morning, and taken into the street in front of his house by Bushnell's goons. They will then beat Ralph Baer until the surface of his skin is a glistening black, at which point a loaded shotgun will be shoved into his rectum and discharged. His remains would be chained by the feet to the back of a car, which will drive off, dragging his remains into the ground, leaving behind a festive trail of blood and gore.

When he's grounded down to the stumps of his feet, the car will stop and out will come Nolan Bushnell, dressed in regalia as he's joined by his royal entourage that will follow him, as he walks along his "red carpet" down the street to accept his crown as the sole creator of videogames.

Is this the kind of attitude you were trying to argue against in people?

[DarkDragoonX]

Besides, Steve Russel created Spacewar about 7 years before Baer did a damn thing.

It's all academic anyway, because as Daark pointed out, none of those people had any real impact in making games a true industry. It took Nolan Bushnell to turn what was really nothing more than a novelty into something of true significance.

[MottZilla]

Who cares who "invented" whatever concept. You know some of the greatest inventions have no known inventor. Such as things like firearms. They know a good bit about the history, but there is no one person that made it.

Anyways, I don't really care who he is/was, as Atari 2600, NES, and Sega Masters System are what really made the game industry what it is. In my opinion mainly the NES is what shaped the video game industry. Nearly everyone that was alive during the 80s probably knew of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

My form of respect will be withholding from what Daarkseid is gonna do. ;p