I really, really hate writing obits. I really do. But I take it as a personal honor to be able to say good things about the men and women I respect, whether in this industry or just in my life, and Ralph Baer is the reason all of this exists in the first place. He’s not nearly as well known as he deserves to be, which is why it brings me some pleasure in being able to talk about him.

His story of coming to the US to escape Nazi Germany during World War II, coming up with the idea of playing games on a television set and bringing it to fruition, and essentially creating the video game as we call it today is entirely unmatched in this industry. This is the guy that developed, for the first time, the ability to play a game on a television set in your home. He did that. And it wasn’t as if he was a one-hit wonder, either; you ever played a game with a light gun? He made that too, which was created with the first console (which he himself made), the Brown Box, and later released with the Magnavox Odyssey.

Ever played the electronic game Simon? He made that too. By the time he died he had well over 100 patents in his name, developing games and technologies we still play with today. He was not only an engineering genius, but a gamer, and one that developed for us what we’re here for now. Nolan Bushnell and Atari may be better known for kickstarting this industry into what it is today, but without the Odyssey, there would be no Pong. And without the Brown Box, there would be no Odyssey. And without Ralph Baer and the stray thought of “what else can you do with a TV set in your house?” in the early 1960s, there would be no Brown Box to evolve into the Odyssey.

The argument could be made that these things would’ve come anyway, that somebody else would’ve made and monetize them. But what happened was, he did. Without Ralph Baer, who knows what we’d be doing right now (maybe reading or something, it wouldn’t be quite as much fun).

Thank you, Mr. Baer. I will, unlike the later stages of Simon, always remember you.