Ralph Baer and his Brown Box

Ralph H. Baer wasn't just a dreamer. He really was responsible for the start of home videogaming. A World War II veteran with Millitary Intelligence experience, he started work as a television engineer in 1951. He was fascinated by the potential of television to become an interactive medium, not just a passive device, and in 1966 -- while waiting for a friend at a New York City bus terminal -- he scribbled down some notes about a home videogame system. He came up with possible game categories: Action, Puzzle, Instructional and Sports. That same year he got together with some fellow engineers and built a prototype, a system that could move dots around the screen. A later version allowed for multiple games, including one with a light gun. One version even played Pong. (read more>>)