Remembering New Hampshire's Ralph Baer, The Father Of Video Games

The next time you pick up a controller for a PlayStation, Xbox or Wii, think of Ralph Baer. He made possible what is now a $90 billion business by inventing the first home video game system back in the 1960s on a legal pad. It was what would become the first "game box." People would be able to play board games or sports on a standard TV set, and in 1973, he and his employer, Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire, won the first video game patent.

Ralph Baer died Saturday at 92 years old at his home in Manchester, New Hampshire. He was born into a Jewish family in Germany and fled Hitler by escaping to New York.

Harold Goldberg, author of “All Your Base Are Belong to Us: How 50 Years of Video Games Conquered Pop Culture.” He tweets @haroldgoldberg.

The New York Times: Ralph H. Baer, Inventor Of First System For Home Video Games, Is Dead At 92

Esquire: A Flash Of Genius That Sparked The Video Game Industry