Ralph Baer, the man known for creating the first-ever video-game console, which continues to serve as a blueprint for the Xboxes and PlayStations of today, has reportedly passed away.
The news of the 92-year-old inventor’s death was confirmed to gaming website Gamasutra by sources close to him.
Baer, a German immigrant, built a device he called the Brown Box in the late 1960s, which hit the market in 1972 as the Magnavox Odyssey. It consisted of a main electronic unit that connected to a television screen, two player control units that enabled user interaction, and insertable electronic cards that held different games. Sound familiar?
Over the course of his career, Baer accumulated over 150 patents and won several awards and honors — including the 2006 National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush, and an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2010.
“I can never thank Ralph enough for what he gave to me and everyone else,” reads a quote from Apple Computers co-founder Steve Wozniak prominently displayed on Baer’s website.
Right until his final days, Baer retained a passion for creating new products. “I still get a big charge out of making something work,” the Verge quoted him as saying in a 2012 interview.
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