The History of Gaming

The first recognized example of a game machine was unveiled by Dr. Edward. The game, based on the ancient mathematical game of Nim was played by about 50,000 people during the six months it was on display, with the computer reportedly winning more than 90 percent of the games.

However, the first game system designed for commercial home use did not emerge until nearly three decades later, when Ralph Baer and his team released his prototype, the “Brown Box,” in 1967.

The “Brown Box” was a vacuum tube-circuit that could be connected to a television set and allowed two users to control cubes that chased each other on the screen. The “Brown Box” could be programmed to play a variety of games, including ping pong, checkers and four sports games. Using advanced technology for this time, added accessories included a lightgun for a target shooting game, and a special attachment used for a golf putting game.

According to the National Museum of Art, Baer recalled, “The minute we played ping-pong, we knew we had a product. Before that we weren’t too sure.”

The “Brown Box” was licensed to Magnavox, which released the system as the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972. It  preceded Atari by a few months, which is often mistakenly thought of as the first games console.

Between August 1972 and 1975, when the Magnavox was discontinued, around 300,000 consules were sold. Poor sales were blamed on mismanaged in-store marketing campaigns and the fact that home gaming was a relatively alien concept to the average American at this time.
However mismanaged it might have been, this was the birth of the digital gaming we know today.