The Father of Modern Video Games has Died

Game Informer

Ralph Baer, inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey, has gone to the Great Arcade in the Sky. May his pockets be ever-full of quarters, his cartridges never dusty, and his online sessions free of abusive teenagers.

Farewell Baer, may your achievements be remembered forever.

edited 8th Dec '14 7:07:00 AM by SaintDeltora

Rest in peace, Mister Baer. You leave a lasting legacy.

One of the titans of the medium, finally out of extra lives.

I was a bit shocked to see his age... I knew he was getting up there, but 92? Talk about seen it all.

And pretty much done it all as well.

Without this guy, who I had probably heard of only dimly, I would never have played Final Fantasy VII, or Xenogears, or Fallout 3 on consoles. My life would really have sucked as a result.

I wonder if there's a link to send donations in his name or some flowers or whatever. I think I owe him that much.

It is truly a shame that his legacy, although strong, is tainted by the legal actions of his company. (Magnavox sued and forced everyone to pay for a license to make video games in the early days, including Atari and Nintendo.)

R.I.P. Baer. Time to crack open a cold soda, and toast to your memory.

It's a tragic day for all of us. He will be missed.

@6 Well, there's at least a little hero and a little villain in everyone. I'm reminded of when Hiroshi Yamauchi died, and even he got lauded - we're talking about someone so resented, even his employees tended to take shots at him (for example, see how many times in credits that his name is transposed with a bad guy - Super Mario Kart and Super Mario 64 are classic cases, with prominent Bowser pictures along with his name).

If nothing else, the record will stand to show how much of either Baer deserves to be recognized as. But for today, I'll only laud the good.

Might consider watching the AVGN episode of the Odyssey.