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EoFF is Sad to Announce the Passing of Ralph Baer
Whilst this isn't strictly Final Fantasy related, we wanted to take a moment to hold a brief tribute to a man named Ralph Baer.
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Known affectionately as "The Father of Video Games", Ralph Baer was born in Germany in 1922 but would later move to the United States with his family due to Hitler's rise to power. He eventually became an engineer and, in the 1950s, the at the time very radical idea of playing games on a television screen began to swirl around in his imagination. In 1966 he decided to start experimenting with this pipe dream, and in 1971 he unveiled the very first home video game console: the Magnavox Odyssey.
The Odyssey went on to inspire several more people and companies who would also go on to be known as video game innovators, such as Nolan Bushnell (who created Pong and Atari) and Nintendo, whose first real shift from a card and toy company to a video game one was the result of securing the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey in Japan.
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Would video games be like they are today, had it not been for Ralph Baer? Maybe, and maybe not. But one thing is for certain: as fans of Final Fantasy, we should all take a little moment of silence for the father of the game console. He lived a long and fulfilling life and finally left us last week, on December 6, at the age of 92. Rest in peace, Ralph - we won't forget your contribution to our favorite hobby.
