Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Videogames: In the Beginning
By James Grahame
Ralph Baer is the father of modern videogaming. He created the Magnavox Odyssey console in 1972. The game was best known for a 2-player game called Table Tennis, although a
total of 12 game cartridges were available (six shipped with the console
itself).
The system didn’t use a microprocessor, relying instead on an intricate network of discrete electronic components to generate the paddles, tennis net and bouncing ball. The game cartridges had a series of jumpers that modified the game play by moving or removing the net and controlling how the ball and players interacted. To make the games more visually interesting, a set of transparent screen overlays were provided. Over 350,000 Odyssey systems were sold before Magnavox replaced it with the simplified Odyssey 100 system in 1975.
This book offers Baer's perspective on the early days of video gaming from before the creation of the Magnavox Odyssey, his work with Coleco, and beyond.
Videogames: In the Beginning (Amazon)
