1: Hi, I'm Ralph Baer. Well, I'm usually known as the inventor of the video game, particularly the
8: console video game business.
17: We built a succession of seven models, the last one of which we called the Brown Box
22: because it was covered by brown adhesive paper. And then we went on a two year trek trying
27: to find somebody who would take a license and actually produce something. That turned
31: out to be Magnavox.
36: COMMERCIAL VO: This is Odyssey, the new electronic game simulator. You attach Odyssey to your
41: television set in seconds to create a closed circuit electronic playground.
46: RALPH BAER: The Odyssey sold quite well. About 100,000 were sold the first year in '72. By
53: the end of life in '74, 350,000 Odysseys were in homes. Not a bad start.
62: So several million people played video games by then.
65: COMMERCIAL VO: It's new from Magnavox. Odyssey.
69: RALPH BAER: For the last 30 years I've been doing toys and games, some of which became
75: quite well known like Milton Bradley's Simon game for example. But by and large I'm in
82: the same boat as other inventors. You know, we come up with a lot of stuff, spend a lot
87: of time developing and building things, marketing them, and if we're lucky out of 10 or 15 items
94: we do a year, maybe one or two of them will wind up with a licensing agreement.
100: My measure of success isn't a proper explanation of why I do what I do. First of all, my wife
107: died in 2006. She died on a Friday, on Monday the President of the United States hung a
112: National Medal of Technology around my head. She didn't make it.
117: So here I am. We built this house 53 years ago. I rattle around in it alone. So what
122: do you expect me to do? All my friends, they're all gone. I've outlived them all. I'll be
128: 90 in March of next year. So what am I gonna do? I need a challenge.
138: And I still get a big charge out of making something work. I write the hardware, I push
141: a button, I download it into the microprocessor, and it works. Aah. Beautiful. It's like I'm
149: basically an artist, right? I'm no different from a painter who sits there and loves what
154: he does. Would you ask a guy who's been painting all his life, "Why do you keep painting? Why
161: don't you retire?" Retire to what? I mean, stop painting? This is insane. I mean, why
167: would you want to do that, right?
170: [laughs] So here I am.
Another great video in the Inventor series from PBS. What was the first video game console, and who invented it? Find out in this video, which not only introduces us to great man, but also gives us some great expressions and vocabulary related to the video games industry.
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